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Neutering the net is about repression, not protection
It seems like only yesterday that the country was prosperous and the Labor Party was going to make everyone's internet faster. But now the Federal...
Politics and the top cop
Being the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police sounds like a terrible job. In the aftermath of Christine Nixon's announcement to step down as...
Pokies unfairly stigmatised
Perhaps emboldened by having taken up his position in the Senate, Nick Xenophon seems to have moved from espousing further restrictions on poker...
Get off the turps - idiots are the problem, not alcohol
Hardly a weekend goes by without a heavily publicised nightclub bashing or brawl plastered all over the newspapers. Melbourne seems to have...
City car levy is just another taxing burden
There are two basic tasks governments have historically been very good at - collecting taxes, and thinking of interesting new taxes to collect. So...
Protecting kids from TV swearing is not Canberra's job
One of the most appealing features of Australian democracy is our enthusiasm for parliamentary committees. Committees are to politicians what Bob...
Who will cut the apron strings of government?
Kevin Rudd's vision for the country is now starting to emerge. It's nothing if not ambitious. He has promised to change our health system, our...
Don't close the door on our envied bar culture
Premier John Brumby probably wasn't expecting a backlash this big. Nearly 30,000 distressed drinkers have signed just one of the many Facebook...
Logic locked out
Sometimes politicians make ill-informed decisions, and sometimes they are just plain dumb. John Brumby's proposed trial to ban entry into bars and...
Put a cork in it, Mr Rudd - you're missing the point
Very quickly, Kevin Rudd has set the tone for his first term. His is a government that doesn't just want to govern, it wants to parent. Health...