Blogs

People sometimes say that I focus on second and third-order causes, but I'm really more interested in first-order causes of unexpected correlations and parallels, such as the fact that women are significantly more likely to participate in the Resistance than men, or that one of the strongest predictors for a state supporting Bernie Sanders in the primary was lack of ethnic diversity, or the strong tendency of serial killers, mass shooters, and terrorists to be male, or the intense gender divisions in my industry.

Voters in the North Queensland electorate of Dawson are being asked to donate to the Eco Barge Clean Seas Turtle sanctuary to help rescue the now endangered Christensen turtle. The Christensen turtle, which some political scientists say could be extinct after July 2, is a slow moving and dim-witted reptile, struggling to survive in the modern political environment.

It’s been 43 years and 6 months since the election of the Whitlam government. Since then both Labor and the Coalition have been in government for the same amount of time (21 years and 9 months).

So how do they compare on managing the economy?

Jobs:
Annual employment growth was 0.216% higher under Labor. Given the size of today’s labour market that amounts to 25,710 extra jobs per year. Since 1972 565,000 addition jobs were created under Labor.

It is understandable that, when a governing party is faced with downward opinion polls, that they may attempt to throw a dead cat. Immigration is always a good target these days, even for a country built on immigrant labour (how quickly we forget).

The Turnbull government has promised faster speeds when responding to leaks about the National Broadband Network.

Following a string of embarrassing leaks the government will now devote more NBN resources to improving the speed at which AFP officers execute search warrants to recover any compromising documents.

Dear Mr Storrar,

You are a low income earner with mental health issues. According to the front pages of a number of Australian newspapers you have a criminal history, did not pay tax and are disliked by some of your children. Those newspapers have therefore deemed your opinions irrelevant.

Dear European Union,

I note with equal amounts of resignation and disgust, that many within your borders are calling for the EU to adopt Australian government policies in relation to asylum seekers.

Now I'm sure I don't need to warn the EU that this is a dangerous path to go down. And I certainly shouldn't need to point out the consequences of when the inhumane treatment of people becomes condoned and institutionalised. Although history shows you can be bloody slow learners at times. That however is not my reason for writing to you.

In a recent interview with Leigh Sales of ABC1, the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, claimed that he didn't need any evidence for his claims that a third of "investors" will leave the property market if Labor's proposals on negative gearing are introduced and that Labor's negative gearing reforms would "take a sledgehammer" to property prices.

Fair Go Australia, the nation's largest manufacturer of compassion, will cease operations in Australia next month.

After years of poor domestic returns, competition from non-compasionate producers, and a general lack of political leadership on either side of parliament, the Australian compassion industry is winding down local production.

"Cynical dole-bludgers making us sick"
- Headline in several of today's Murdoch papers

Now I could respond by talking about the impact of mental health on unemployment, or the impact of long term unemployment on mental health.

Or I could talk about the irony of a string of News Corp journalists who, every time a Coalition government gets in, line up for taxpayer funded positions on committees where their only contribution is political bias.