Abbott slams green power industry
Tony Abbott has sparked a war with the renewable energy sector, saying their product was driving up power prices “very significantly’’ and fostering Australia’s reputation as “the unaffordable energy capital of the world’’.
RBA keeps rates on hold at 2.5pc
Updated | The Reserve Bank of Australia kept the official cash rate at a record-low for a 10th straight meeting to support an economy still struggling to shake off weak household sentiment.
Japan visit marks ‘new, special relationship’ with Australia
The Prime Ministers of Japan and Australia will take turns in conducting annual official visits to each other’s countries as part of an agreement to escalate the status of the relationship between Tokyo and Canberra.
Financial advice rules likely to die in Senate within a week
The government’s controversial changes to consumer protection for financial advice could last as little as a week if Labor, the Greens and Clive Palmer’s senators succeed in abolishing the rules as one of the first acts of the new Senate.
Fresh snow dump sets off a flurry of holiday bookings
A dumping of fresh snow is pushing holidaymakers straight to the ski fields with unique conditions and powder quality not seen in almost a decade.
Tobacco companies’ $2.2b payday
Despite warnings by executives of the threat that plain packaging, graphic health warnings and rising excise duties posed to their earnings, tobacco profits have more than doubled in the last five years.
Victoria wins $85m appeal against Tatts, Tabcorp
The Supreme Court of Victoria will allow an appeal by the state government over a disputed payment of $84.6 million in levies from gaming operators Tatts Group and Tabcorp.
NSW port sales were a big mistake, say Maersk and Asciano
Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping company, and freight operator Asciano have added their voices to criticism of the NSW port privatisations, saying the high prices fetched would damage the economy in the longer term.
House price growth set to taper in year ahead
House price growth had broken the double-digit barrier at the end of the financial year at 10.3 per cent, bolstered by strong results for Sydney and Melbourne, according to RP Data.
How greens keep Aboriginals in poverty
Nyunggai Warren Mundine | It was great to see Cape York traditional owners defeat Queensland’s Wild Rivers legislation in the Federal Court last month.
Audit chair Shepherd: more cuts needed
Tasked with finding ways to restore the budget to surplus, the outgoing president of the Business Council of Australia Tony Shepherd says he found the process ‘stimulating’.
Sailing into the valley of death
If war is too important to be left to the generals, defence procurement is too important to be left to armed services and the Defence Materiel Organisation.
The big budget sell must go on
Editorial | A senior Abbott government minister has conceded what the polls have been saying for weeks.
CRAWFORD AUSTRALIAN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM 2014
China’s muscle flexing splits opinion
Tony Walker | Participants in a global issues forum were reminded yesterday how different the world looks depending on the vantage point, whether in Canberra, Washington or Shanghai.
Weight of expectations on Modi’s shoulders
Greg Earl | Indian won’t achieve its destiny as an emerging global power unless the new government of prime minister Narendra Modi is able to focus squarely on economic transformation.
Economy
Audit commission chair Shepherd: more cuts are needed
Tasked with finding ways to restore the budget to surplus, the outgoing president of the Business Council of Australia Tony Shepherd says he found the process ‘stimulating’.
Abbott slams green power industry
Tony Abbott has sparked a war with the renewable energy sector, saying their product was driving up power prices “very significantly’’ and fostering Australia’s reputation as “the unaffordable energy capital of the world’’.
Politics
Ex-US diplomat pushes broad path for Middle East peace
A former top American diplomat has offered a possible roadmap to re-define the Palestine issue under which the United States would seek to have a new framework for Middle East peace adopted by the United Nations Security Council.
Audit commission chair Shepherd: more cuts are needed
Tasked with finding ways to restore the budget to surplus, the outgoing president of the Business Council of Australia Tony Shepherd says he found the process ‘stimulating’.
Education
University of Sydney receives $10.4m gift
The University of Sydney has received a $10.4 million cash donation from one of its own, Professor Brian Trudinger.
Mindful of local talents
In these days of tight budgets, investment in academic research is sometimes questioned. I am writing to say that Australians have some of the best minds in the world working hard to ensure that the nation’s interests are well served.
Legal Affairs
When data breaches become a breach of directors’ duties
A class action has been launched against US retailer Target after a massive security breach occurred last year, with claims including breach of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate assets, aggressive risk management and abuse of control.
The battle of Nowicki and the process server
For masters of the legal universe, sometimes the temptation to beat the system is just too much to bear.
Workspace
Bank boss Gail Kelly to women in business: be prepared to fail and fail quickly
Westpac boss Gail Kelly says the post-GFC generation of bank leaders have to show an agility and a flexibility to let others make decisions if they want to be innovative, competitive organisations.
How to make sure you don’t hire a Flanagan
Andrew Flanagan became the poster boy for a growing trend when he hoodwinked a series of recruiters and employers into giving him plum roles. Experts tell Workspace why lying in CVs or on LinkedIn is on the rise – and how to catch the phonies out.
Arts & Saleroom
John Roskam: the man out of right field
The youthful man sitting opposite me at Bistro Vue in Melbourne’s Little Collins Street is not wearing a Rasputin-like beard or a flowing monk’s cassock. Neither does he have a puppeteer’s spindly fingers with strings tugging defenceless Abbott government ministers to the right.
Urban cool and the dedicated dandies down under
Far from being ocker slobs, well-coutured Sydney blokes make a stylish splash in an international men’s fashion bible.
Government Business
Government Business briefs
The Australia and New Zealand School of Government annual conference is on again, this time in Canberra, from August 5 to 7.
Centre’s focus on making red-tape cuts really count
The Centre for Policy Development been busy marshalling arguments about how best to make the public sector more efficient.
Professional Services
Fake CVs are on the rise
Recruiters say the rise of LinkedIn and the difficulty checking some people’s references have made it harder to ensure employment history stacks up.
Incoming McGrathNicol chair warns of tough times ahead
Incoming chairman of one of the nation’s biggest insolvency boutiques, Peter Anderson, said Australian businesses will do it tough in the next 12 to 18 months, and warns delusionary politicians against careless spending and debt comparisons with economies abroad.
