NDIS is having a powerful impact
Getting a morning coffee on the way to work is a ritual many of us take for granted. Not Jeremy, who is a young man with a communication disability.
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About those infrastructure delays, State Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey
If he takes two months to sign a letter, what hope he can build a road? The problem with blaming others, as every five-year-old knows, is that sometimes you get caught out. State Main Roads Minister, Mark Bailey, should clearly find a five-year-old and take a lesson after getting caught blaming the Feds for his own political torpor. Mr Bailey has been busy singing the Labor song that infrastructure delays are all the fault of the Federal Government not giving Queensland the money to get on with the job. He said as much in State Parliament recently when he moved a motion calling on the Federal Government to expedite the funding of the Northern Australia Roads Programme. The only problem is that the Feds are waiting on him, not the other way around. In fact, they have been waiting on him for a very long time. Worse still, there is a letter to prove it. Fairfax has obtained a letter sent to Mr Bailey on August 5 by his Federal counterpart committing to fund 80 per cent of $176.51m of roads under the very Northern Australia Roads Programme Mr Bailey mentioned. The Federal Government funding of $141.21m included sealing 36km of the Kennedy Development Road (also known as the Hann Highway), duplicating 5.2km of the Capricornia Highway between Rockhampton and Gracemere, and four other projects. All Mr Bailey was asked to do was write back to the Federal Minister saying he agreed to the funding, so that officials from the two governments could get on with the job. That was two months ago, and Mr Bailey has done nothing since but blame the Federal Government for his own inaction. Oh, the embarrassment of being caught so completely in the wrong! However, the embarrassment for Mr Bailey doesn't end there. The funding for these projects was actually requested by the State Government, which nominated them as a priority. This makes Mr Bailey's behaviour all the more puzzling. If this guy takes over two months to sign a letter accepting money he wants, what hope is there he will ever get the road built? With Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk endlessly talking about wanting to create jobs, you'd think Mr Bailey could do a little better. Deputy Opposition Leader, Deb Frecklington hasn't missed the irony of the Minister responsible for Main Roads is holding Queensland road projects. "Labor have been caught asleep at the wheel, trying to blame the Federal Government for delays with vital Northern Australia Road projects, when Mark Bailey isn't up to date with his correspondence," she said. "Queensland is missing out on over $140 million of Federal funding because a Labor Minister hasn't cleared his in tray." Labor's Ministers have an admirable record in singing from the same song sheet, but perhaps Mr Bailey needs to leave choir practice long enough to see what is sitting on his own desk.
The unviable industry that taxpayers shouldn't be backing
Logging native forests must be a front in the culture wars, because it's not economically rational.
Change our focus to abilities, not disability, and barriers will fall
I have had cerebral palsy since I was a few weeks old. I have never been able to walk which isn't ideal but it does not necessarily need to make me disabled. When I interact online, people are quick to point out my skills and compliment me even going so far as offering me a job.
An unforgivable betrayal of Canberra by the NCA
The National Capital Authority's recently publicised intention to sell Anzac Park East and Anzac Park West – the Portal Buildings – into private ownership is an unforgiveable betrayal of the national capital and the Australian nation.
Andrew Fifita doesn't deserve this shabby treatment
Australian rugby league fans will now be represented by at least one player who has been selected more for his choice of friends than his ability at football.
How many hours of your life have you wasted on work email?
Email is like the dirty laundry of the Internet. I do not mean that metaphorically. It's this burdensome time-suck that everyone hates but that remains essential to functioning.
Commonwealth Bank's customers are happy on the whole, but that's not enough for us
Strength and fairness are among the most critical characteristics of an effective banking system because it's through the combination of these that we build and we sustain trust.
Girl from a country church choir became an inspirational teacher of singing
Bettine McCaughan started her singing career in a country church choir and soon became an inspirational and highly influential teacher of singing.
Photojournalist who took last pictures of Monroe
Monroe leant forward and blew a kiss to the camera. It was the last image he ever took of her
Harbour Master who managed bicentennary celebrations
As Harbour Master he was both popular and highly skilled
Why you should switch banks more often
When the chiefs of Australia’s largest banks appear before the Standing Committee on Economics this week it’s likely they’ll be asked about the current level of competition in retail banking.
In the Herald: October 5, 1927
Election jitters
Unmasking a shadowy author did nobody any favours
Is it important that we know who the writer is? The answer is surely no; her books are all that matter.
Freeway obsession outdated
The car-based logic of Melbourne’s 1969 plan has been deeply implanted into Victorians’ collective consciousness.
China's progress is killing the instant noodle
Profits for Chinese noodle makers are dropping dramatically.
Nike's Back to the Future shoes are a hopeless failure of imagination
Power-lacing shoes may not be too terrible in and of themselves. However, they are a physical reminder that we are in danger of becoming obsessed with looking backward instead of staring off into the future.
I thought America was in a bad way ... until I realised what's happening here
Last week while watching the US presidential debate I texted one of my best friends in America.
Actress who starred with Peter Sellers and Morecambe and Wise
Sellers was so paralytic with drink that he "pulled me over in one scene and we rolled off the stage together and into the orchestra pit".
Why we don't need a royal commission into banks
Recent calls for a royal commission into Australia's banks pose a new risk at a bad time because it would send the signal to our lenders that our banks are not stable after all.
How Trump turned white male entitlement into victimhood
Journalists tend to treat Trump's sexism as an episodic flare-up rather than a central strategy of his campaign.
Wartime radar operator was a trailblazer for women in maths
Statistician and researcher Katherine Thomas broke new ground for women in the fields of statistics and education research.
Our new reality: the rising politics of stupid
The flat-earthers and denialists are rising.
Infrastructure Victoria's wish list is the easy part ...
And now for the hard part.
WA's road toll is everyone's responsibility
With still a quarter of 2016 left WA is well on the way to surpassing last year's road toll.
Ignorant Australians are the threat to my society
Fear of the other is alive and well, and damaging.
The local council's lost its way
Canberra's worthless light-rail project is the symbol of a sick government.
Why I stutter when I mention my husband in Australia
What little difference a year makes. Today I find myself, like many gay and lesbian Australians who have married overseas, in a state of marital limbo. A husband abroad, a boyfriend at home.
Playboy adds the hijab to its wardrobe of fetishes
By featuring a Muslim woman among its profiles, Playboy capitalised on a now-prevalent trend among American Muslims, and especially American Muslim women, to appear "normal" at all costs.
The coup that proved Australia could lead the world
The Abbott and Turnbull governments' insouciance to global environmental challenges could not come at a worse time.