“We Could Be Great” – Business Council Plan For Australia’s Prosperity

Apr 04, 2012

Tony ShepherdThe President of the Business Council of Australia, Tony Shepherd, has delivered a speech calling for more imaginative leadership and offering “a plan to lock in Australia’s prosperity”.

Shepherd said Australians “are beginning to lack confidence in the future and in our economy”. Many Australians are “doing it tough”. He suggested “the feeling of optimism and clarity that characterised Australia through my childhood” was on on the wane.

“But Australians are waiting for the call, the vision for the future and the plan that’s going to help us get there.”

Shepherd offered a wide-ranging plan covering infrastructure, taxation, population and immigration, and engagement with Asia.

The BCA represents around 100 of Australia’s largest companies. Shepherd gave the speech to the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce in Sydney. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economy, Gillard Tagged With: , ,

We Want Gough!

Jul 11, 2011

Edward Gough Whitlam is 95 years old today.

Whitlam on the steps of Parliament HouseWhilst it is thirty-five years since Australia’s 21st Prime Minister was dismissed by the Governor-General, his political career contains lessons and his unbounded spirit is missed.

The present Labor government is already nine months older than the Whitlam government was on November 11, 1975. Yet, if it fell today, its record would pale by comparison. The reservoir of good-will would be low and few would hanker for Rudd or Gillard.

Whitlam, however, is loved by his party and many in the community. Affection and loyalty walk arm in arm with him through the pages of history. He is a living lesson in political leadership.

Forty years ago, Whitlam was the Opposition Labor Leader who spoke to a generation of people who had known nothing other than the coalition in power in Canberra. Menzies was long gone and the government of William McMahon was a joke. Only the most rabidly partisan would deny it. The Liberals had disposed of their former leader, John Gorton, and opted for an overweeningly ambitious replacement who wasn’t up to the job. [Read more...]

Filed Under: A.L.P., Audio, Opinion, Whitlam Tagged With: , , ,

Drifting Into The New Year On Thin Gruel

Jan 27, 2011

The Australian political year is regarded as commencing around Australia Day. The Prime Minister’s National Press Club address today kicks off 2011.

Thin GruelBut it’s a myth that politics in Australia stops over the summer holidays.

In fact, experience suggests leaders are often made, broken or changed in January. In the past, elections have been called, ministries reshuffled and major policies announced. In this way, the parameters of the new political year are set.

Sometimes it is only in retrospect that we can see how significant were the somnolent weeks of January. Who would have thought last January that Kevin Rudd had just made a fateful decision? Had he announced a climate change election on this day last year, we can but speculate what the political landscape would be like today.

For the people who work in and around politics, or follow it slavishly, there has been only one topic of conversation this January: the future of Julia Gillard. Even for those with only a passing interest in politics, there has been but one question: “How do you think she’s going?” The question’s myriad variations all seek to know the same thing: will she last? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gillard, Opinion, Political Words Tagged With: ,

2CC Commentary: Liberal Leadership & Climate Change

Jun 29, 2009

I appeared on Mark Parton’s breakfast show on Canberra Radio 2CC this morning.

Mark Parton, Radio 2CC Canberra

We touched on the state of Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership of the Liberal Party, especially in the light of today’s opinion polls which show a significant collapse in coalition support and approval of Turnbull.

Click the PLAY button to listen to the discussion:

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Filed Under: Audio, Climate Change, Liberal Party, Opinion Tagged With: , , ,

Costello To Quit Politics; Will Not Seek Or Accept Liberal Leadership

Nov 25, 2007

The Treasurer in the defeated coalition government, Peter Costello, has announced that he “will not seek and will not accept” the leadership or deputy leadership of the Liberal Party.

Speaking at a press conference in Melbourne, Costello said: “I will continue to serve my constituents and in serving my constituents I hope that I will have a role to play perhaps mentoring some of the newer MPs.” Significantly, he did not commit to serving the full three years of the term he was elected to yesterday.

Costello said he “will be looking to build a career post-politics in the commercial world”.

Costello has been deputy leader of the Liberal Party since May 23, 1994. He was been Treasurer since the Howard government was elected in 1996. His decision to vacate the field will likely lead to a contest between outgoing ministers such as Malcolm Turnbull, Brendan Nelson, Tony Abbott, Joe Hockey and Julie Bishop. [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2007 Federal Election, Audio, Howard, Liberal Party Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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