Weekend Reflections is on again. Please comment on any topic of interest (civilised discussion and no coarse language, please). Feel free to put in contributions more lengthy than for the Monday Message Board or standard comments.
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John Quiggin 
I don’t usually post here, but for those involved in NAIDOC week this year, we will be missing a much loved speaker and performer.
Aboriginal writer and activist Lisa Bellear passed on two days ago, aged only 45. She had many links with Queensland, including teaching at the University of Queensland and publication of her poetry by University of Queensland Press. I have put up a brief obituary here.
Anyone who enjoyed her writing and performing, or just loved her wonderful festive spirit is invited to pay us a visit and leave a recollection.
Perhaps I have missed it, but I am surprised there has not been more comment on the speech Dr Ken Henry, Secretary to the Australian Government Treasury, gave to the Australian business economists on 16 May –
http://www.treasury.gov.au/contentitem.asp?NavId=008&ContentID=1112
Henry argues that the resources boom will continue for at least the medium and probably long term because he foresees no sustained downturn in China and India’s economic expansion. Henry argues this will shift Australia’s economic activity further away from manufacturing to mining. Since this will reallocate the factors of production from labour to capital, wages will fall.
The Government’s goals, according to Henry, should be to make this transition smoother by improving pricing, competition and competitive neutrality in transport, energy and water, and by making labour even more flexible. Hence Work Choices, big increases in skilled migration, the temporary overseas worker program and a new trade skills training visa which helps overseas people take apprenticeships in the regions. If this continues for much longer Australia will institutionalise an underclass of temporary low skill and lower paid workers.
Rather than further narrowing its economy, Australia should be broadening its economy to develop exports in high and medium-high manufacturing which generate interesting and high-paying jobs and which would protect Australia against changes in the global economy. Australia should reverse its very high trade deficit in high and medium-high technology goods of 15.6%, the third highest deficit of OECD countries after Iceland and New Zealand.
But Henry does not believe that the Australian Government has a greater responsibility than business to insure against a sustained fall in income from minerals and apparently does not believe that the Government has any role in investing for the long term for when the minerals boom ends.
The alternative is not, as Henry suggests, industry policies that seek to divert resources from mining to industry. The issue is where Australia wants to invest its second cycle of ‘lucky country’ surpluses: to develop industries that would broaden the country’s economy and create interesting and high-paying jobs, or in air-conditioned McMansions and subsidised gas-guzzling 4-wheel drives?
Has anyone else noticed that ever since Dogz was banned Katz seems to have disappeared from the site as well. Does this lend weight to the theory that the two are actually the same person with a seriously split personality?
There is Good News indeed from Italy with the news of the indictment on a raft of criminal charges involving his companies,… of formerPM/media mogul/and general neo-fascist ,Sylvio Berlusconi.
Not long ago he made a great impression to Howard on his visit to Italy and there was talk of a Berlusconi visit to Australia…but those were better days for the coalition of the willing !…
Just yesterday it seems Berlusconi was parading with his friend Dubya on the White House Lawn.
Now the Milan Magistrates,who have already jailed a whole busload of mafia dons,.have Silvio in their sights! Great stuff.and a bad time for Bush’s friends. Berlusconi in the dock,the war-criminal Sharon on his death-bed,and the swindler “Kenny Boy”:Lay of Enron infamy.now in his grave ,George best Friend’s certainlyare falling away !…On my calculations that only leaves Blair(surely ,soon for the high-jump !)..and hopefully Howard .
Of course both Howard and Blair will retire,with eulogies from Murdoch and Co…but at least we’ll be ride of them !!What the old saying..Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish !!!
“Has anyone else noticed that ever since Dogz was banned Katz seems to have disappeared from the site as well”
Yes.
“Does this lend weight to the theory that the two are actually the same person with a seriously split personality?”
No.
Lots of coverage of the Howard-Costello leadership deal this morning. Do other people think this is the start of an attempt to portray Costello more favourably? Instead of being the insipid, evil treasurer, he becomes the loyal, uncomplaining ally and the spin is that it is only fair he gets to be Prime Minister after waiting in the wings for so long while John The Energiser Bunny kept on running.
Gough Whitlam is right – the issue of fixed parliamentary terms is pretty important. It’s curious that Labor is quiet on it, since a change will require a referendum and a lot of preparatory work.
And, I’ve been asking myself for the couple of weeks since Costello beat his drum – why hasn’t anyone pushed Costello on fixed terms? Is he a dyed-in-the-wool Howardite, or not?
Whitlam’s jibe at Labor on fixed terms got one-line mentions in the majors, but no follow up, either.
Michelle Grattan’s article in the Sunday Age, Past presents a future, may provide a clue. She wrote
Perhaps she thinks Beazley does not want to stir up any issue that would require a referendum. If so, and if that’s a reflection of Beazley’s state of mind, then Labor could be snookered by its own timidity.
All of the political columnists in Melbourne, I guess, including those at Fairfax, would prefer the PM to come from Melbourne.
I reckon that if Peter Costello is given the mantle to lead into the next election, and he ran on a promise of fixed terms, he’d win well and inflict collateral damage on the Nats at the same time.
—
ps John this is a pretty good comment box; I’ve tagged this thread in my news feed to see what happens.
I took Dogz’s choice of pseudonym as a backhanded compliment.
I’ll admit that Dogz’s demise has made my life a little greyer.
I’d like to thank Stephen L for believing that I might have the imagination and the energy to invent Dogz.
And I’d like to thank EG for applying Occam’s Razor on my behalf.
Must Watch Show – 4 Corners tomorrow night:
“Peak Oil?
“Peak Oil?” … on Four Corners, 8.30 pm Monday 10 July, ABC TV.
This program will be repeated about 11 pm Wednesday 12 July; also on ABC2 digital channel at 7 pm and 9.30 pm Wednesday.
*Four Corners also presents a Broadband Edition on “Peak Oil?” … See the program in full; watch extended interviews with the experts; delve into interactive maps showing who produces the oil and who buys it; browse key reports about how much oil remains untapped; learn about the alternatives; and discover the impact of peak oil on Australia’s economy and way of life.”
skepticlawyer, that’s really awful news. I met Lisa once or twice and heard her speak a couple of times as well. If your post had registered when I made my previous entry I certainly would not have had the heart to be making jokes.
Sacked ship crew stand firm despite fines threat
from : http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200607/s1682140.htm
A group of seamen sacked by the owners of an Australian tanker docked in Hobart says they are prepared to risk big fines for taking industrial action over the issue.
Eighteen crew from the Stolt Australia were sacked last night, as part of a plan to reflag the tanker under a Cayman Islands flag, and hire cheaper, foreign labour.
The group are still refusing to reload the vessel or leave it, vowing to stay on the ship until they get their jobs back.
The crew members have ignored union advice that their protest could incur big industrial relations fines.
At a protest earlier today, spokesman Roy Muir said he and his colleagues hoped their actions would highlight the impact of Federal workplace changes on Australia’s shipping industry:
“1996 there was 104 Australian-manned ships, now we’re down to less than half of that – if this one goes it’s just another one so – shame Johnny shame,” he said.
Mr Muir says he and his colleagues feel they have to take a stand.
“Stolts have been the recipient of shipping reforms, crew reductions via multiskilling and training, including government funding, and still they’re not prepared to commit to the employment of skilled, experienced and safe Australian seafarers,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Australian Maritime Union (AMU) says the practice of allowing more foreign shipping crews into Australia is a chink in the nation’s armour.
AMU spokesman Mike Wickham says the disappearance of Australian-crewed ships from Australian waters is a worry.
He says local crews have to go through rigorous security checks that many foreign crews do not, and that puts Australia at risk.
I nourish a secret fantasy that Dogz and Katz are actually a married couple.
SSAS,
Bad news indeed about the demise of Australian crewed ships. What it does show is that it doesn’t matter what cooperation is offered these palukas-the outcome is always the same. The prospect of having no countervailing power whatsoever at the workplace is such an age old wet dream for employers, that any opportunity to extinguish democratic rights at work to increase the share of output seized by the managerial class and their hangers on, will be seized with alacrity.
However, remember, every dog has its day. The circumstances facing people now is slowly sinking in. The appalling and incompetent clique running things at the moment have paradoxically made themselves very big hostages to fortune. Howard is very smart, but he can’t bend the inexorable march of events to his will, he can only try to ‘spin it’. Unfortunately for him, he has had his Tampa and his interest rate scare. The good thing for him is each one worked-once. The bad thing is that he has spent all his political capital-twice over. His ‘credibility deficit’ is now as high as the personal debts racked up by the country under his incompetent economic policies. Watch this space!
Looks like the AMU hope that making Australians frightened of foreigners on boats will work for them too.
Your spin on the issues involved in the AMU dispute is worthy of the BCA and ACCI. Unfortunately for you and your real employers, it won’t work. It is not about where the crews come from, it’s about the fact that exisitng crews were sacked in order to employer people on lower wages and conditions, using ‘Workchoices’ (not). The attempt of palukas like you to turn these issues into one of union xenophobia is laughable coming from a crowd that adopted all of Pauline Hanson’s policies (and constituency) just as soon as you had ensured she was banged up in jail. Might work out in Jonesy land old son, but it won’t work here and it sure won’t work with people who know exactly what the government is doing and why. Pull the other one.
You don’t think there’s a tiny bit of irony in you mentioning Tampa dissapprovingly in a post approving of someone saying that foreign workers on boats puts Australia at risk (implied) of terrorism?
But the point I should be making is that trying to look after people by trade barriers and guaranteed jobs for life simply doesn’t work, and isn’t what unions should be asking for.
stoptherubbish:
It is not about where the crews come from, it’s about the fact that exisitng crews were sacked in order to employer people on lower wages and conditions, using ‘Workchoices’ (not).
Look. This issue has nothing to do with the Workchoices package and everything to do with where you stand on free trade.
Obviously you support trade barriers and oppose the hiring of foreign labour. Whats the problem if two consenting parties agree to exchange labour for wages ? I don’t see how government has any business intervening in a voluntary transaction.
The employer now has the option of hiring foreign labour at a cheaper price, well good for them. The sacked workers are better suited at developing skills that the market will value and employ,