Today's Headlines
Wednesday 24th April 1996
International:
National Member of Parliament, Bob Katter, is controversial but also speaks his mind a quailty that most Aussies appreciate. Like too few others in his political position Bob
speaks his mind instead of checking with minders for political correctness and then embarking in the resulting silence.
Bob is now having a go at the oil companies who have not only soaked the Australian motorist they have damn well run the petrol tank
dry as well. Bob made a blistering attack on the oil companies yesterday in Brisbane claiming that they were scoring 20 cents profit
out of every litre of petrol sold. Now thats a lot of malooka in anybody's language.
He claimed that the oil industry had soaked an extra Au$6 billion out of the Australian economy. Money that went straight out of the
country. Bob I and most Aussies agree with you - time to get tough on the ********.
Political:
The big loser of the 1996 Federal Election held only 6 weeks ago, Paul Keating, has resigned his seat. We have always been fairly
circumspect about our belief in the things that the man said or the promises that he made. But there again, if you
see his classic insults I guess we are not alone.
It is likely that Keating is going to become a consultant using his Asian contacts as his business development base. Sounds like he is
following in Bob Hawke's footsteps once again!
Business:
If the head of the average Aussie you meet is spinning it is quite easy to find out why. When you are trying to earn an honest dollar and
buy a family home it doesn't help when you are told that interest rates are going up one day and down the next. Its like a game of intellectual
ping pong where the intellectuals are the financial geniuses who never get their predictions right in the first place! Well wait for the latest.
After reporting only a couple of days ago that rates are likely to rise because of wage demands we are now told that they will come down because
of low inflation, but wait there is a catch!! If the gap between exports and imports jumps this month we will see another interest rate rise -
maybe. Depends on the size of the rise.
Sport:
In an interesting development that has been brewing in the opposing camps of the Australian Rugby League (ARL) claims have been levied
by ex-Super League clubs that referees in two key matches were biased in favour of teams who stuck with the ARL. The Super League
clubs are not happy with the standard of the refereeing of matches and have been very vocal about their dissatisfaction.
The move appears to be aimed at getting three top Super League referees (now in the wilderness) appointed to run ARL matches.
Social:
Two thirds of all university students are satisfied with the quality of their courses according to a new report. The Course Experience
Questionnaire report by the Graduate Careers Council of Australia which will be released next month will show that 61% of bachelor
degree graduates were satisfied against 14% who were dissatisfied.
Global Gripe of the day:
The rape of Australia:
There is a sand mining company in New South Wales which is fully Japanese owned and which is devastating large tracts of virgin bush
in the NSW hinterland. The damage it does is irreparable as layers of sand and the vegetative structure on which the native vegataion depends
to establish are permanently destroyed, and any amount of smoothing, re-decorating with foreign vegetation or other "environmental
patch-up" startegies will never restore the land to what it was.
Now I am pro mining where the environment is managed properly, but what makes me mad about this operation is that not only does the
mine belong to the Japanese, but the money it makes is filtered through a number of trusts and off-shore companies so that they pay no
tax to Australia and the minerals are exported back to Japan.
We might have won World War II but we are certainly losing the financial war!
Another day in the big smoke yesterday. With soft falling rain and a cool day it was quite pleasant but the roads were busy and after the
long dry quite slippery. Will probably have to go into the big smoke again today, missing out on my Brisbane river view.
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