Opinion

Federal election 2004 will be memorable for several reasons, not least, the clash between the Lying Rodent, Prime Minister John Howard’s latest nickname, and the Road Rager, as Liberal Canning MHR, Don Randall, has dubbed Labor leader, Mark Latham.

Labor’s education policy is as educationally unsound as it is socially divisive.

In the wake of the Prime Minister’s $6 billion weekend spending spree, I couldn’t help reflecting on a piece I had read recently on the purchasing power of election promises.

Mark Latham’s promise to give up to $75 million a year to Western Australia to attract major new gas and processing projects to the State largely went unnoticed at the weekend.

Last week’s State Scene lifted the veil on the unwitting moves by Premier Geoff Gallop and Energy Minster Eric Ripper that are helping Alinta further tighten its stranglehold over Western Australia’s domestic and industrial gas markets.

State Scene has long argued that the Court-Barnett Liberal duo’s most disastrous move was privatising the Dampier-to-Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline (DBNGP).

At this time of year it’s perhaps not surprising that our universities start making new appointments as they prepare to compete for the hearts and minds of students-to-be.

We've received a fair bit of feedback in recent weeks about building magnate Len Buckeridge’s interview at our Success & Leadership forum.

Now that we’re well and truly into the Federal election campaign pundits will begin predicting the date of the looming State election.

I hate to be a killjoy when our Olympic athletes have performed so well, but I did feel it was time to put some of the bragging in context – but a little less subjectively than Roy & HG did in the various tallies they provided.

Labor enjoyed watching Prime Minister John Howard searching for explanations after one-time Defence Department officer Mike Scrafton belatedly surfaced to claim the PM knew the so-called kids overboard claims were phony.

How could wily and experienced politicians like Mr Howard and Tasmania’s late premier, Jim Bacon, have gotten it so wrong?

WHAT is it about the company building skills that are missing from our entrepreneurial ranks in the field of technology?

Political scientists have expended tens of thousands of hours over many decades researching why people vote in particular ways.

I hate to repeat myself week in and week out, but the skills shortage in Western Australia is looming as a major issue for this State.

Mr Barnett’s so-called new policy (‘Liberals release IR plan’ WA Business News August 5) is not new, it’s back to future – back to the unhappy days of

Overshadowed by some clever politicking by Labor leader Mark Latham on the US Free Trade Agreement, the Federal Opposition’s industrial relations policy has failed to get the scrutiny it deserves.

As the past two State Scene columns have considered the forthcoming State election – predicting Labor will win in the legislative assembly, thereby forming the next government, and the conservatives will re-gain control of the legislative council – this w

Last week State Scene outlined the likely outcome of the forthcoming State election, which Premier Geoff Gallop will call for sometime between October 2004 and February 2005.

I write with regard to the article “Council ad deal queried” (WA Business News, July 22).

As the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre begins the process of opening its doors to the public, the foreshore building has attracted a fresh round of analysis/criticism.

The feature on Western Australia’s top brands (WA Business News, July 22) was intriguing and I readily concede I concurred with most of the results.

Goeff Gallop-led Labor is now scanning the horizon of spring 2004 and summer 2004-05 in search of a date that best suits Labor for a State election.

The economic implications of an ageing Australia are of such concern to the Federal Government that it has recently asked the Productivity Commission to undertake an enquiry into

I did try to slip away quietly for a couple of weeks but my colleagues let it be known that I was “on assignment” in the US, so I’d best deliver a few pearls of wisdom on that front, otherwise some of you might be disappointed.

During the past few weeks the words ‘dirt’ and ‘dirt unit’ have been used rather liberally, most especially by Labor leader Mark Latham, a man who never hesitates publicly insulting anyone, from an American president to dissenting journalists.

Tim Treadgold’s article on hot fractured rock geothermal power (WA Business News, July 15) is not only cynical and highly factually incorrect, but is without a clear understanding

Branding is a concept that, although not widely understood, attracts enormous attention.

While it was interesting reading, I was dismayed that an article written about the Western Australian potato industry by Tim Treadgold (“Propping up th

Western Australia’s rapid economic growth and falling unemployment have created a rare opportunity for the State to rethink its industry policy.

The Gallop Government’s recent reluctant admission that it won’t continue pressing for fixed-term parliaments comes hard on the heels of its reneging on the proposed one-vote-one-value legislation.