Tony Abbott has correctly pointed out that under his new government the reduction in the number of asylum seekers taking the dangerous journey between Indonesia and Christmas Island has dropped by “almost 90%.” Already over 600 people, seeking asylum in Australia, have been stopped by Indonesian authorities giving the PM plenty of scope to claim a major coupe in his goal of ‘stopping the boats’. So has the problem been solved? Or have we simply ‘pushed back’ the problem to Indonesia? Before we address this question it is worth looking a…
Get use to it folks. The GST will be increased. It's just a matter of when. So how do I know this 'inside' information? Logic. Simple as that. And if you don't think I am right in saying that our political leaders will increase the rate and expand the range of GST, then read on: Firstly, just consider how many people, like me who are the baby boomer generation, now getting ready to retire. Only one problem: Most of us don't have enough super in which to live on. "Oh, that's OK", you say. "They can go…
Here we go again. "My holiday to Bali has 'gone' wrong' and it's Bali's fault": Of course; isn't it always? Australians love Bali; our island paradise. But we also love to 'bag' Bali whenever things go wrong and more than often when things go wrong due to our own stupidity or bad behaviour. So now we have the 'Bogan-Brain Brigade' at it again. This time blaming Bali for cancelled and delayed flights due to the APEC Conference this week. Sure, could the authorities have done it better? Cer…
By Ross B. Taylor AM Tony Abbott has, depending on which way you look at it, simply capitulated to his Indonesian hosts during his recent visit to Jakarta, or exercised great humility and pragmatism towards a country that will play an enormous role in our region in the future. Within Indonesia it is being seen as the latter, and that can only be a good thing for both countries. But now that our prime minister has formally acknowledged Australia’s mistakes in the handling aspects of the bi-lateral relationship, the issue is whether …
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