Trade is boring. We hear about G7 meetings discussing trade, Trump dumping trade agreements and glaze over. Maybe we should pay more attention. When Hawke and Keating came to power in Australia (1983) they completely revised our trading arrangements. What they did, and the reasons they did it are lost in the decades since. It […]
For the last two weeks the local media has been full of Israel Folau’s comment on homosexuals. For people who are not aware, Israel Folau is probably the best rugby player in the world. He is also deeply religious. In the recent debate on gay marriage, he was firmly on the “no” side. He was […]
With those four words, Bill Clinton summed up the relationship between business and politics in the 21st century. Politics become focused on the economy. Politicians then started to assume the “economy” is a pseudo name for business. Somehow “It’s about Business stupid.” does not have the same ring. It was not always thus. There were […]
If I were to say that democracy was in danger of collapse, that dictators would emerge over the next few decades would you say I was deluded? Many would. Maybe I am. The niggling problem is that there are signs democracy is imploding. When a form of government implodes, it can happen very quickly. Here […]
Let’s start with this premise. Businesses exist to make money for the shareholders. If anyone says anything other than to make money, get out your bullshitometer. The concept of companies goes back to the Dutch East India company in 1602. It was the first public company formed to make money for shareholders. For 400 years […]
This is an article that will reach no conclusions. It is a collection of thoughts someone smarter than me may be able to answer. If you want to be led nowhere, and end up with only a bunch of questions, read on. You have been warned. I was listening to a podcast about Cortez and […]
My favourite program on TV is Utopia. For those who have not seen it, Utopia is a comedy about a fictional government body responsible for Australia infrastructure. They are constantly hassled by politicians wanting to get their favourite infrastructure project approved regardless of the benefit to the country. Many of the projects are grand concepts […]
The financial intelligence agency Austrac has alleged the Commonwealth Bank’s Intelligent Deposit Machines broke anti-money laundering laws on 53,700 occasions, and that the bank turned a blind eye to suspicious activities. The potential fines of almost a trillion dollars have already overshadowed a record $9.8 billion full-year dollar profit. The whole CBA money laundering scandal needs […]
I have this image in my mind. A tent. Not the modern nylon and aluminium variety, but more the wooden pole and deerskin covered type. The ones you you see in movies about American Indians. That is how I see the Trump presidency. Nobody thought it would stand but sure enough, the teepee managed to […]
Paul Keating hit the nail on the head. He has always had a way of doing that. He said recently that no recent government has had a ‘narrative’. In other words, governments – or oppositions for that matter – cannot sell a vision of what they want to achieve. They can’t do it at either […]