Federal Treasurer Peter Costello will demand the states use their GST windfall to cut up to $15 billion in taxes for home buyers, small business and consumers Abolish mortgage taxes or pay price, Costello warns states
Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Oasis No More
The Carr Government deliberately sabotaged the $1 billion Oasis project at Liverpool to stop any competition to its own loss-making SuperDome at Sydney Olympic Park.
This sensational allegation has been made by George Paciullo, former mayor of the now-disbanded Liverpool Council, police minister in the Wran government, and one-time aspirant to become premier. "There have been so many lies and distortions told about the Oasis project that I have decided to open my files and put the facts before the public," Mr Paciullo said.
"The sneaky, underhand and largely anonymous bowler who got us out as councillors was the Carr Government which had been plotting since 1999 to completely destroy the Oasis project.
"It destroyed the Oasis to protect its white elephant, Olympic Park, which was hugely successful for 14 days of the Olympics but near useless for everyday community use - exactly the purpose the Oasis was designed for.
It should now be obvious that the Carr Government saw the Oasis sports and recreation complex as an annoying hindrance and unwanted competition to its troubled venues at Homebush and decided to eliminate it
• Paciullo says Carr sabotaged Oasis plan [Disrespecting parliamentary courtesies: What next? Close the indoor pool? No more Henschke's Hill of Grace in the parliamentary bottle shop? State MPs are voting with their lunch boxes and boycotting the parliamentary dining room because they now have to pay the same price for a steak as everyone else in the state. How ironic that while Carr was willing to charge developers and big business $5000 to bend his ear over an ALP fundraiser dinner this week, he and his mates still sit down to enjoy far cheaper meals than other workers in this city. Although the Parliament is the place in which laws are made, over the years it has often been exempt from the law Steak to the heart of MPs' dining perks ; Jonathan Sayeed, MP for Mid Bedfordshire, gave lunches or dinners in Commons dining rooms or personal tours of the Palace of Westminster to nine groups of the firm’s clients, staff and guests Erskine May's parliamentary history ; 'The absent MP' accused of deserting his voters ]
• · Australia's judiciary is often lauded as one of the most respected in the world, but all judges are human and when human failings affect their duties, who judges the judges? In most cases the answer is, no one Law unto themselves ; As a rule lawyers aren't good at copping criticism, but as this is coming from one of their own it might stick. Queensland's Chief Justice Paul de Jersey has warned wayward judges and lawyers to think before embarking on conduct that might embarrass the profession Strewth: Laying down some raw law
• · · The Middle Eastern year began with a flourish and it has scarcely slowed since. As the stages of a democratic revolution have followed each other at a mounting pace, even the most bitter cynics among the long-disappointed Arab intelligentsia are daring to hope that freedom and open politics may come to flourish in their world The genie is out of the bottle ; For all the glorified tale of 14 years' growth in Australia's economy, nothing has grown faster than low-paid crummy jobs for women. To tell their side of the story, I joined them, taking unpaid leave from this newspaper to work undercover as a kitchen hand, checkout chick and office cleaner. But I had to find the jobs first. By poring over the classifieds in local papers, often the best source of the worst jobs ... A slippery slope to inequality ; MP mum pushes for baby-friendly offices
• · · · Kelly, Robertson and Rayward were among the local youth who called themselves the Mac Fields Boys. This week some of them wore T-shirts sporting their slogan: "I wish I was anywhere but here." The Kelly country curse ; The NSW Government has rejected an Opposition call for a parliamentary inquiry into the Macquarie Fields riots Carr rejects call for riot inquiry: Outcome Unknown
• · · · · The dirty secret of the GST is that both state and federal governments are many billions better off because of it - at least $2 billion in 2003-04 and another $2billion to $3 billion in this financial year. The federal share of the loot is about $1 billion a year Fight for a shrinking pie ; Queensland Opposition called today for the sacking of the new Information Commissioner, criticising the Government of Premier Peter Beattie for providing another Job for its Mates
• · · · · · Brendan O'Connor: A Labor MP and six party officials have been accused of branch stacking, forgery and organising phantom meetings in an investigation that found such abuses had flourished in Victoria without challenge for years State MP accused of forgery ; Carr joined editor Campbell Reid and his team around the table to discuss the day's news and how it might be covered in Saturday's paper Carr's inside story