http://www.thepunch.com.au/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 17 May 2012 01:00:07 +0000 Thu, 17 May 2012 01:00:07 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/they-must-pay-for-ones-bitter-disappointments/ A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not providing her with the necessary tuition and support to get into a law course at an elite university, and so they should. The girl in question, a pouting, willowy petal by the name of Rose Ashton-Weir, boarded at Geelong Grammar in 2008 and 2009 and was clearly neglected to the point of indifference. The school is Prince Charles’s alma mater, and is Victoria’s most expensive secondary institution with annual fees topping $30k, yet evidence was tabled in court yesterday that Ms Ashton-Weir was never once given a silver spoon with which to imbibe her daily Bircher muesli. Further, the school patently failed the young lady by refusing to provide an immaculate gravel pathway lined with lovingly-tended hedges stretching all the way from the doors of its Geelong campus to the nearest sandstone university law school. Quite rightly, the family is outraged. ant@thepunch.com.au (Anthony Sharwood) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/they-must-pay-for-ones-bitter-disappointments/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/they-must-pay-for-ones-bitter-disappointments/#item8521 Thu, 17 May 2012 01:00:07 +0000 They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/our-budget-blade-didnt-cut-aid-its-being-paid-in-spades/ Ten million children vaccinated. 2.5 million people with access to safe drinking water. And 30 million people supported through humanitarian crises like famine and war. These are some outcomes to be delivered this year, by Australia’s Budget for overseas aid. This year, Australia’s aid budget will rise – by $300 million, to a record $5.2 billion. And it will go on rising - reaching $7.7 billion in three year’s time. In dollar terms our aid budget is the largest in our history. As a percentage of Gross National Income, it’s at 0.35%, rising to 0.5% by 2016/17. That’s just one year later than planned – a pretty good outcome in a tough budget year. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Richard Marles) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/our-budget-blade-didnt-cut-aid-its-being-paid-in-spades/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/our-budget-blade-didnt-cut-aid-its-being-paid-in-spades/#item8514 Wed, 16 May 2012 20:00:36 +0000 They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/An-insecure-workforce-makes-for-an-insecure-society/ It’s usually best to avoid putting too many statistics in a post but reading the ACTU’s report on insecure work the statistics speak volumes so bear with me if you’re interested. Almost a quarter of Australian workers, or 2.2 million people, are in casual employment. Women (25.5%) are much more likely to be in casual work than men (19.7%). According to the report: “Over half of all casual employees are ‘permenant casuals’ in that they have long-term, ongoing and regular employment but, by virtue of being a casual, have non of the basic entitlements associated with ongoing employment.” tors@thepunch.com.au (Tory Maguire) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/An-insecure-workforce-makes-for-an-insecure-society/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/An-insecure-workforce-makes-for-an-insecure-society/#item8517 Wed, 16 May 2012 19:55:17 +0000 They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Finding-Nemo-will-be-much-harder-if-we-mine-the-reef/ I’ve been told that some people don’t associate the Greens with money, people or facts. So I’m starting this piece on the Great Barrier Reef with some facts about money and people: 5.1 billion dollars. This is how much Great Barrier Reef tourism contributes to the Australian economy every year. 54,000. That’s how many people are employed full-time in Great Barrier Reef industries, mostly tourism. 3 million. That’s the number of visitors who come to see this World Heritage icon every year, about 2.1 million domestic and nearly 900,000 international visitors to gateway towns. 5 billion dollars. This is the Government’s estimated value of the “ecosystem services” the Reef provides every year – cleaner air, cleaner water. And we get it for free. Extraordinary, isn’t it? And this awesome economic powerhouse is just sitting on the doorstep of Queensland. Here are some more Great Barrier Reef numbers, which you might find extraordinary for different reasons: feedback@thepunch.com.au (Larissa Waters) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Finding-Nemo-will-be-much-harder-if-we-mine-the-reef/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Finding-Nemo-will-be-much-harder-if-we-mine-the-reef/#item8518 Wed, 16 May 2012 19:50:31 +0000 They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/im-sorry-nanna-you-havent-won-a-million-dollars-on-the-net/ My grandma will never own a computer. She has a mobile phone, one with a flip screen that her kids and grandkids have programmed contacts into. Lately she has become a big texter, messaging grandkids to see how they went at footy or whether they want her to pick them up from school. But the family probably won’t get her a computer. Logic is she doesn’t need or, really, want one. Besides, she’s got plenty of people who are happy to look things up for her. It’d be a challenge to teach her computers - the learning process would be long, the jargon difficult. And there’d be big questions about her security online. piotrowskid@newsltd.com.au (Daniel Piotrowski) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/im-sorry-nanna-you-havent-won-a-million-dollars-on-the-net/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/im-sorry-nanna-you-havent-won-a-million-dollars-on-the-net/#item8519 Wed, 16 May 2012 19:45:11 +0000 They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-must-cure-heteros-of-their-unnatural-ways/ Let’s get one thing straight from the outset. I am not heterophobic. In fact, some of my best friends are heterosexuals. (Oh, OK, maybe “best friends” is not as accurate a descriptor as “some monodimensional caricatures I once saw on a sitcom”, but you get the picture.) Anyway. Up until recently, I was open-minded about people who chose heterosexual lifestyles so long as they didn’t indulge in any of their perverted hanky panky in public, in private or in their fervid imaginations. Lately, however, it has become clear that radical straights are infiltrating the highest echelons of Western society in a nefarious attempt to indoctrinate young people with their deviate, pro-heterosexual agendas. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Emma Jane) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-must-cure-heteros-of-their-unnatural-ways/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-must-cure-heteros-of-their-unnatural-ways/#item8513 Wed, 16 May 2012 19:40:17 +0000 They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/life-after-masterchef-will-there-be-a-new-reality/ By the year 2014, scientists - meaning my brain - predict that four out of every five Australians will have participated in a televised cooking, singing or renovation competition. Unable to find anyone over the age of six who hasn’t ruined a batch of macarons, covered an ‘80s ballad or panicked about tiling patterns on national TV, producers will be forced to resort to the construction of an army of immortal robots tasked with endlessly installing water features and preparing fusion dishes until civilisation crumbles and George Calombaris becomes ruler of the rag-tag group of rebels who patrol the Earth’s shattered highways. For years, our screens have been dominated by accountants and architects in aprons, couples having domestics on building sites and bubbly teens with floppy fringes sacrificing themselves to Kyle Sandilands - the human-shaped God of Patronising Rage. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jason Tin) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/life-after-masterchef-will-there-be-a-new-reality/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/life-after-masterchef-will-there-be-a-new-reality/#item8512 Wed, 16 May 2012 19:35:21 +0000 They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-17-05-2012/ One Puncher had a dream the other night about showering in tea. Could it possibly be related to this? The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency has backed a so-called “enviro tea salon” at the Auburn community markets in Western Sydney at the weekend. The event features: “quizzes, chalking, candle making and calligraphy”. Nothing more calming than a nice big cuppa. It’s Thursday. What have you got teed up today? feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-17-05-2012/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-17-05-2012/#item8520 Wed, 16 May 2012 19:00:41 +0000 They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/booyah-for-boobs-booze-brotherhood-and-bikies/ So the people who produced Underbelly have now unleashed Overbelly, a drama mostly about women removing their shirts and bras and bouncing their boobs about, with a trivial side plot focusing on bikies. Bikiewars: Brothers in Arms premiered on Channel Ten last night and it was fine television, if by fine television you mean yet another drama glamourising the absolute dregs of Australian society. It was also an excellent showcase for some talented Australian actors, if by talented Australian actors you mean women with a bra size in high alphabet letters who were willing to leave said garments at home on shooting days. ant@thepunch.com.au (Anthony Sharwood) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/booyah-for-boobs-booze-brotherhood-and-bikies/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/booyah-for-boobs-booze-brotherhood-and-bikies/#item8515 Wed, 16 May 2012 04:04:59 +0000 They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/labors-new-strategy-of-speaking-no-evil/ Did you know that ostriches do not actually bury their heads in the sand? They do scratch around a bit in the dirt and bury their eggs, but they don’t actually believe that if they can’t see trouble, trouble can’t see them. The Government, on the other hand – perhaps with some help from new spin-doctor-in-chief John McTernan – somehow thinks if they don’t name their Achilles heels, those weaknesses will magically disappear. In the new era of Things Which Shall Not Be Named they scrubbed any mention of the carbon tax, or a carbon price, from their advertisements for the compensation that starts to flow through today. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/labors-new-strategy-of-speaking-no-evil/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/labors-new-strategy-of-speaking-no-evil/#item8516 Wed, 16 May 2012 02:30:35 +0000 They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments