Past Programs
Government - State - 2008
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Getting technical: Victoria's attempts TAFE reforms
28/11/2008
Victorian students are to be the guinea pigs in an experiment with the training system. From next year, fees for some courses in Victorian TAFE colleges will triple and students will be able to take out HECS style loans to pay for them. Not only that, vocational education will be open to tender, so TAFE colleges will be competing with private training organisations for the training dollar. This all amounts to the road-testing of changes which could eventually be rolled out Australia-wide, so the stakes are high and opinions are divided. Centre-left think-thank Per Capita is right behind these market-based reforms; while the National Tertiary Education Union, NTEU, thinks they'll be a disaster. But the road ahead was never going to be easy and Australia's skills shortage may require some lateral thinking.
Feed my solar panels
14/11/2008
Fancy earning a few extra dollars while helping the environment? It may sound too good to be true, but there are plenty of Germans doing it already. A feed-in tariff pays households for pumping electricity into the grid from roof-top solar panels, and proponents of the system say it offers a real incentive to invest in renewable energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Feed-in tariffs already exist in some states and territories, but rules vary from place to place and politicians of all stripes on the Senate Environment Committee agree it would make much more sense to have a consistent, Australia-wide system. So why is a bill to implement just such a system is about to be killed in parliament?
Size matters: digging the biggest mine in the world
07/11/2008
BHP Billiton plans to expand its Olympic Dam operations at Roxby Downs to develop the world's largest open cut mine. The copper, gold and uranium project could be a massive boost to the South Australian economy; but BHP will have to move a million tonnes of earth a day - every day - for four years just to get to the ore. The profits will be large, but so will the environmental footprint. It's a project of such scale that it could shape the economic future of South Australia - with jobs and revenue for the state - but it could also affect the area's ecological future. BHP Billiton says an Environmental Impact Statement for the expansion will be lodged with the government before the end of the year, but the company won't talk about its plans until that statement is released for public comment next year. However, last week the BHP Billiton took a bunch of industry analysts on a tour including Olympic Dam - its copper, gold and uranium mine at Roxby Downs. And in the process, BHP executives revealed a bit more detail about their plans to expand their operation.
Territorians set to farewell majority rule
10/10/2008
Here's something for Canberrans to mull over as they prepare to go to the polls: whoever leads the ACT after October 18 will probably have to get along well with the Greens. The proportional representation of the Hare-Clarke electoral system means the Territory's third party may become the king-maker in a future, minority government. It will be a shock to the system for the ALP, which has governed in its own right since 2004. But while all politics may be local, the outcome of the election taps into some interesting political trends in other parts of the country. Chief Minister Jon Stanhope has been accused of being arrogant and out-of-touch; a youthful opposition leader, Zed Seselja, has been able to steer his party back from the brink after years of bitter divisions. It all sounds a tad WA - and that's not good for Labor.
Uncertain outcome places WA Nats in the spotlight
07/09/2008
The prediction at the close of counting in the West last night was that Labor and Liberal would both fall short of an absolute majority in parliament, with the Nationals winning four or five seats and likely to hold the balance of power. It's a terrible outcome for Premier Alan Carpenter, who had gambled on an early election which nobody appears to have wanted. But the result may give Nationals' leader Brendon Grylls a chance to extract as much as he can from either the Liberals or Labor, if he does find himself in a position to make or break government. And anyone who thinks the Nats will automatically choose the Liberals over Labor may want to think again.
Do bike helmets make you fat?
22/08/2008
Libertarian Bill Curnow argues there's a disincentive to riding. He argues the problem are mandatory helmet laws which do little to prevent injury and actually discourage people for getting on their bikes. So, the risk of head injury is outweighed by the risk of disease caused by lack of exercise. PhD student Marilyn Johnson disagrees and says she has the stats to prove bike helmets work.
Close NT poll places independent at centre-stage
10/08/2008
The final result of Saturday's election in the Northern Territory may not be known until Friday, after the counting of postal votes. Today, Labor appears to be ahead by just 57 votes in the Darwin seat of Fannie Bay - the seat vacated at the polls by former Chief Minister Clare Martin. If the final count gives the electorate to the Country Liberals, the CLP, then the Territory Assembly will be divided 12 all: that's 12 for Labor, 12 for the CLP, with independent MLA Gerry Wood holding the decisive vote. But even if Labor wins Fannie Bay, it will be hoping Mr Wood is amenable to the idea of becoming speaker. And that's a big assumption to make.
Territory political slug-fest goes suburban Read Transcript
01/08/2008
It's the early election territorians had to have: NT voters go to the polls on Saturday August 9 and political sparks are flying. But let's keep it real: chances of the Country-Liberal opposition winning appear slim. Labor now holds 19 of the 25 seats in the Legislative Assembly - including all seven seats in Darwin's northern suburbs, which it snatched from the CLP at the 2001 election which brought Labor to power. And suburbia is the Territory's only political battlefield, because unless the opposition can fire up the imagination of voters in Darwin's northern sprawl, they don't stand a chance. But the economy's booming, and Chief Minister Paul Henderson says Japanese investors in a massive gas project planned for Darwin Harbour need political certainty. It's a gamble which could pay off.
You look sweet, upon a seat... of an e-bike
18/07/2008
If you're serious about reducing your carbon emissions and your fuel bill, look no further than the e-bike. It combines pedal-power with a small, efficient electric motor and a battery that can be recharged at the end of the day. They're a must for people who would be unable to undertake long trips on a run-of-the-mill bicycle. The problem is that our legislators can't work how electric bikes should be classified. And so if you use one on the road you risk getting slapped with a traffic fine for riding an unregistered motor vehicle.
COAG and water: a deal with appeal? Read Transcript
04/07/2008
It was smiles all 'round at this week's COAG meeting, with a $3.7 billion deal to save the Murray-Darling river system announced amid much fanfare. But critics are outraged, arguing the decision to delay lifting a ceiling on the amount of water to be returned to the basin amounts to an environmental death sentence for the river as the Coorong and the Murray's lower lakes turn to acid. So, how could anyone argue that Australia's water management system is a model for other countries to follow?
Plans to revive euthanasia legislation
04/04/2008
In 1995 the Northern Territory was the first place in the world to allow people suffering incurable illnesses to end their lives prematurely. But the Territory's voluntary euthanasia laws were overruled by the Commonwealth. Well, the issue is now back on the political agenda, both in the Senate and in the Victorian parliament. But what's changed in the past 10 years? Are attitudes of Australians - and their elected representatives - towards 'dying with dignity' legislation any different? The proponents of the new measures believe they are.
Drought-proof or in water denial?
28/03/2008
Queensland's Water Commission has released a drought-proofing strategy, which it says guarantees that residents will never again have to bucket water on to their gardens. It's a 50-year strategy which holds open the possibility of building more desalination plants beyond the one already under construction on the Gold Coast. It also includes provision for the use of purified recycled water. Isn't strange, then, that the Queensland city of Toowoomba voted overwhelmingly against recycled water in a 2006 plebiscite? So, water will flow again, but to mention the e-word (effluent) may still be too politically unpalatable.
Spivs, sleaze and Labor mates
28/03/2008
It's a good thing for New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma that the electorate won't be getting its collective hands on him until 2011,when the next state election is due. By then, what one newspaper has described as the 'hacks, the spivs and the sleaze' of the Iemma government may be a distant memory. But some commentators aren't so sure - in fact, there's plenty to suggest the scandals of the current government reflect a deeper malaise within the party. Could it be that the only way forward may be to overturn what's been described as a Labor 'clique' which calls the shots in New South Wales.
CUGs (Cashed Up Gamblers)
14/03/2008
The one machine in the Melbourne casino you can rely on to pay out loads of cash is the ATM. Well, the Victorian government has moved to change that, by banning automatic teller machines from gambling venues. The hope is that once problem gamblers are out in the fresh air they'll think twice about shovelling the rest of the rent money down the slot. Premier John Brumby's announcement, which followed discussions with pokie-sceptic PM Kevin Rudd, could put pressure on other states to follow suit. But does it go far enough?
Refund my drink: SA boosts container deposits
15/02/2008
South Australia's rubbish is the envy of the country, with fewer bottles, cans and cartons ending up as landfill or litter on the side of the road. And it's all thanks to the humble five-cent piece. In the mid 1970s, visionary Premier Don Dunstan introduced container deposit legislation. What that meant is that you'd pay five cents extra when buying a drink in a bottle or a can, but you could get your money back by taking your empty receptacle to a recycler. The original purpose of the law was KESAB: Keep South Australia Beautiful. In other words, it was a litter-busting measure. But nowadays it has a more important outcome in reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. And the refund is about to double.
Local IR problems. National IR solutions?
01/02/2008
Remember WorkChoices? It was supposed to create a national industrial relations system, so as to save business the trouble of mucking around between state and federal legislation. Well, the Howard government's IR laws fell short of that aim. About 75 per cent of workers were drawn into the national system, but some, like small business employees, stayed under state laws; the status of others (such as council workers) is still the subject of complex legal argument. What's odd is that business, unions and governments at all levels actually agree that a national system is the way to go. The tricky part is deciding how to go about it.
A marriage made in Queensland
01/02/2008
The Nationals' head honchos from all over the sunburnt country have met to discuss the way forward for Australia's ailing, rural-based political party. One idea -- championed by Queensland Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg -- is to merge with the Liberal Party. Does this sound familiar? Mr Springborg campaigned hard for a state-based merger of the two conservative paries in 2006 but federal Liberal and Nationals leaders poo-pooed the idea. And chances are they're not going to embrace the idea in 2008 either. So why is Mr Springborg so determined to push ahead with his wedding plans?
