Come, woo me, woo me; for now I am in a holiday humor, and like enough to consent."
-Billy Shakespeare, As You Like It
Despite being well off by any objective standards, most Australians believe that their incomes are inadequate to meet their needs Why Australians will never be prosperous
Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Hole in the Wall: Mountain of Debt Murmurs
A decade-long borrowing binge has left Australian families with more financial obligations than their US counterparts
Twenty years ago Australian households spent less than 11 per cent of their available income on meeting regular financial commitments, such as debt repayments, rents, council rates and insurance premiums. But this proportion has surged to 18.6 per cent, according to the financial obligations ratio. The results underscored how Australians were much more vulnerable to higher interest rates and rising unemployment than in the past
• Long shadows from the past Decade of debt eats family cash [Although ‘Super Choice’ arrived on 1 July, the overarching goal of superannuation is to constrain choice A super way to turn a vicious circle into a virtuous one ; The popular image of the welfare cheat as greedy and street-smart could not be further from the truth, new research shows. They are more likely to be poor, uninformed, "sad people" who are trying to survive Cheats turn out to be on the margins ; Over time, water prices need to move to their own level Going with the flow ; The government has control of the Senate but not of public opinion, writes John Spoehr. So the industrial relations debate is far from over Fightback revisited ]
• · In medieval art the rat symbolised evil and decay. At the Art Gallery of NSW the rat has come to symbolise either unfair dismissal or misconduct, depending on who's talking Gallery's sacked staff smell a rat ; Another long shadows from the past - Latham's former speechwriter Dennis Glover has some sound advice for the former ALP leader Second-rate rant will spoil the party
• · · As many as five Australians were on the bus that was blown apart by terrorists in London Aussies flee one blast to be caught in another ; Ruthless terrorists get their wish: public transport chaos across the globe - as planners assume attack is inevitable liberties to be thrown out of the window Security clampdown for Australian buses and trains ; State governments and public transport authorities ramped up security yesterday, deploying additional police and guards and conducting urgent reviews of counter-terrorism plans Transport security swoop
• · · · The former Chinese diplomat Chen Yonglin can stay in Australia and will be able to apply soon for citizenship after being granted permanent residency Chinese defector wins permanent residency ; Sex industry figures and brothel workers have been summonsed in an Australian Crime Commission investigation into sex slave trafficking Sex trafficking under the microscope ; The fairytale is definitely over for the Vizard of Oz - When the perfect storm engulfed Steve Vizard on Monday, the uncanny sixth sense that gives him his comic timing placed him overseas enjoying a European holiday with his family How funny money made joke of Vizard
• · · · · 137 people have signed up, 263 more needed www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent St. Francis - from tiny acorns and all... ; ICYE is an international non-profit youth exchange organisation promoting youth mobility ; Hundreds of Sydneysiders are raking in huge rents from phone companies by allowing their roofs and walls to be used for mobile phone base stations Tower to the people
• · · · · · Health Minister Gordon Nuttall has been embroiled in the so-called "Dr Death" scandal after a senior bureaucrat yesterday disputed his claim that he had never been warned about problems with overseas-trained doctors Dr Death scandal embroils minister; Immigration head Bill Farmer has been made the scapegoat for a host of monumental departmental blunders but rewarded with the high-profile job of Australian ambassador to Indonesia Immigration scapegoat given elite job ; Career public servant Paul O'Sullivan was named Dennis Richardson's successor as head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), with Mr Richardson now Australia's ambassador to the United States. PM's adviser appointed top spy