Category Archives: Sundries

Posts on sundry matters of life the universe and everything: Culture, Environment, Life, Politics & Government, Science, Social Science and Society, Technology etc.

Networks to spend another $50bn on Australia’s electricity grid

The news comes courtesy of Giles Parkinson at RenewEconomy:

Should Bill Shorten give up?

Newspoll has the LNP on a comfortable lead of 52-48 on TPP terms. Last week Fairfax-Ipsos came in at 53-47, which is landslide territory.

If you go to Fairfax Polls and click on “Poll of polls” and go to last week, you’ll find that Labor averaged 46.7 across the polls. Roy Morgan has been the most negative for Labor. Continue reading Should Bill Shorten give up?

Saturday salon 24/10

1. The ‘sharing economy’

The ‘sharing economy‘ has crept up on policy makers. Perhaps best known are Uber and Airbnb.

Uber, which competes with the taxi business, has chalked up 2.5 million rides in Brisbane in just 18 months. Andrew Leigh told the ABC that one in 200 homes in Australia are listed on Airbnb to be available for accommodation. Continue reading Saturday salon 24/10

Back in Oz

Away for 35 days, it was really five holidays in a row – Berlin, Erlangen, Prague, Poland and the boat trip from Passau to Budapest. The overall impression is of 500 million people on the move. A surprising number of people we met had connections with Australia, but if we dropped off the map, I think the world would just blink and carry on.

One way of judging Europe is by their cars. They drive better cars than we do, and that includes Poland and the central European countries. No bombs or rust buckets on the road. Did you know that Slovakia with a population of 5.4 million makes over a million cars per annum? Continue reading Back in Oz

Saturday salon 17/10: late edition

1. Turnbull’s ascension

Abbott’s fall and Turnbull’s ascension was the first news we got from home, via a text from our son.

I must admit I didn’t see it coming. I’d written Turnbull off as unacceptable to the Liberal Party. Now suddenly he’s there and Shorten looks like a dead man walking.

Mark has a piece in the Guardian. Continue reading Saturday salon 17/10: late edition

Malcolm the LNP Leader

It is nice to have an LNP leader who doesn’t think “we stopped the boats” is all that he needs to say about economic policy.  However,  the Tea Party faction is still strong in the LNP and Nats so my guess is that the left side of politics is going to be disappointed.  So what effect do you think this will have on the next election?