Sydney is choking with traffic congestion, but the Government has neglected it’s public transport to the point where patrons are driven away. Their attitude of contemptuous indifference was well summed up a few years ago when the then Minister for Transport in NSW mocked me for my well known preference for traveling by public transport. “Surely you must get trains all the time.” I innocently replied. “Oh, no,” said the Minister “I’ve got a driver.”
-Malcolm Turnbull
James Salzer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution used state records to show that Gov. Sonny Perdue has championed limiting the gifts that lobbyists can give legislators and other state officials, but he has accepted airplane rides, NASCAR tickets and dinners from lobbyists Georgia Lobbyist Gifts
Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Federalism, Infrastructure, Tax and Welfare Ideas: Shaken and Stirred
As practical people we should judge our leaders, in whatever field, on output, not rhetoric; on substance not process. Now, I am not one of those people who imagines that the Government’s management of the economy means it is responsible for all our prosperity.
Certainly Labor is in no position to criticize the Government’s economic record; not least because they have no policies of their own to put up as alternatives. Last night Greg Combet, Secretary of the ACTU, complained about the lack of investment in “roads, ports, transport and other infrastructure”. Well he might, but given that the Labor Party is the political wing of the trade union movement, it is a great pity that he has not directed his considerable political influence towards the Labor Premiers.
In New South Wales, where Bob Carr has perfected the concierge style of government, we have a Government which is rolling in money as a result of the GST and the property boom. They have never had it so good and possibly never will again.
Yet, a city which is running out of water has no plan to recycle its waste water. Sydney Water, the monopoly water company, has a profit margin of more than 25% and a massive dividend yield the envy of anyone in the private sector. It is being run for cash. There has been no significant addition to the city’s water supply for forty years, and as the BCA points out within twenty years demand will be nearly 40% greater than sustainable yield...
• Sustaining Prosperity [A disturbing exhibit probes the depths of human cruelty. Experiences from World War II concentration camps are brought to life with a grim combination of text and images The dark side; Bridge or barrier? Three Cold War veterans assess the role of the EU's newest member nations as seen from both East and West Bearbaiting? ]
• · The secret thoughts of Iron Mark Publishing Latham's memoirs ; Latham tome tells of despair, euphoria ; The gloves are off the Liberal Roman Empire will Never be the same ... Tim Dunlop On the Liberal Leadership Limricks
• · · There were more than a few raised eyebrows last week when the Housing Minister, Joe Tripodi, used ownership of a BMW to illustrate the Government's plan to remove subsidies from undeserving public housing tenants Car culture ; How teens' high-speed chase ran out of fuel; Ian Demsky of the Nashville Tennessean used local police data to show that “a record number of police pursuits zipped through Nashville streets last year, even as beefed-up safety measures caused officers to cancel more of the dangerous car chases than ever before Nashville Police Chases ; Patrick Lakamp of the Buffalo News analyzed records from 24,000 parking ticket hearings, finding that most Buffalo residents pay the majority of their fines, whereas as a select few city insiders get their fines dismissed Buffalo Parking Ticket Fix
• · · · While rich-world investors struggle to make decent returns, investors from emerging markets are lending to America as never before ... WHAT links the ludicrous price of property in London with financial markets? One answer is obvious: the buying power of the City shilling, or rather many millions of them Many unhappy returns ; If you have an overdue tax bill or you think it might be easier to skip lodging your tax return this year, watch out: the Tax Office has resolved to get tough on "the most blatant forms of tax avoidance" - continual non-payment and deliberate non-lodgement Tax Office resolves to get tough; When people think of taxes and the European Union, the first thought is normally of value-added tax (VAT) and customs duties ... A time bomb for EU tax systems? ( Hans van Capelleveen )
• · · · · Rivkin death may open Swiss door; The matriarch of the Rivkin family has been touched by tragedy before The sorrowful tale of Mother Rivkin ; HOW do you condense a life to a few paragraphs? Especially when it is a life such as Rene Rivkin's
• · · · · · The life and times of Rene Rivkin have filled newspaper columns for years. Naturally publishers are keen to do the book. Spike hears that the Australian Financial Review journalist Andrew Main is close to publishing his book Rivkin Unauthorised, through HarperCollins. The book will probably go on sale in early July and is described as a warts-and-all biography of Rivkin. I'm going to rewrite the ending, which obviously won't be as upbeat, Main told Spike yesterday. Meanwhile, Penguin Books has said it has no plans to publish an authorised biography of Rivkin by The Sunday Telegraph's gossip columnist, Ros Reines. The project never materialised, the Penguin publisher Robert Sessions told Spike. It was started but never completed. Rembering Rivkin ; The madness of money Rivkin Editorial