http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/matt-thistlethwaite/ Matt Thistlethwaite came to politics through an involvement in community organisations Surf Life Saving and the Police & Community Youth Clubs. He carved a 14 year career as an advocate for the vulnerable and disadvantaged representing workers rights in industries such as agricultural, chemical and aeronautical. Matt, 39, entered the Senate as a Labor Party representative for NSW in July this year. He is married to Rachel and has two young daughters. Matt’s passion remains advancing the interests of hard working Australians. Senator Thistlethwaite holds a degree in economics from UNSW, and a Diploma of Law. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +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/we-dont-want-an-economy-thats-like-our-grandparents/ My grandparents never owned their own home. Like many of their generation they were worried about taking on a mortgage.  They paid for this later in life.  When they retired they had very few assets, relied on the pension for income, lived in public housing and very rarely enjoyed a holiday. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Matt Thistlethwaite) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-dont-want-an-economy-thats-like-our-grandparents/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-dont-want-an-economy-thats-like-our-grandparents/#item8215 Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:35:13 +0000 Matt Thistlethwaite | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/in-australia-work-is-fair-and-its-getting-better/ Australia is a great place to live. Our economy is strong, unemployment is low, companies are making good profits and real incomes are rising, as is our living standard. The Fair Work Act is an important building block of that strength. The facts show us that our workplace relations system is producing lower levels of industrial disputes, increasing profits and fostering agreement making while providing a workable safety net. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Matt Thistlethwaite) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/in-australia-work-is-fair-and-its-getting-better/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/in-australia-work-is-fair-and-its-getting-better/#item7895 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:50:29 +0000 Matt Thistlethwaite | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/just-the-facts-on-labors-workplace-reforms/ Let’s add some truth to the debate on the Fair Work Act: Here are the facts on labour market productivity, lost time from industrial disputes, real wage growth and profits from Australian corporations. This year will be a big year for the Government and for Australia. One of our challenges will be the review of our Fair Work Act. This will be an examination of whether the Act is operating as intended and whether the legislation could be improved in order to achieve its objective.  The Opposition will no doubt be using this opportunity to soften the ground for a return to WorkChoices. The Liberal backbench are falling over each other to force Tony Abbott to move closer to the policy of the Howard government. The sensible question that people should be asking in this debate is – what makes an effective modern workplace relations system? feedback@thepunch.com.au (Matt Thistlethwaite) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/just-the-facts-on-labors-workplace-reforms/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/just-the-facts-on-labors-workplace-reforms/#item7650 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:35:41 +0000 Matt Thistlethwaite | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-mining-pie-is-more-of-a-magic-pudding/ Update 6:45am: The Minerals Resource Rent Tax Bill 2011 passed the lower house in the early hours of this morning after a marathon sitting day. Voting on the bill and 10 associated pieces of legislation didn’t begin until almost 12.30am AEDT.The vote on the bills finished at 2.42am. Treasurer Wayne Swan said the historic reform meant all Australians would share in the benefits from the country’s non-renewable resources. It’s no secret, many Australians are doing it tough. With the constant demands of the mortgage, bills and school fees, it’s difficult for many to provide for their families. Meanwhile, at the other end of town, big mining has not only remained immune to the financial squeeze, they’re doing better than ever. Australian mining darling Fortescue Metals last week announced a $1 billion profit for the last financial year, a profit made without one cent of corporate tax. This comes on the back of a record $22.5 billion profit announced by BHP Billiton earlier this year and Rio Tinto’s 30 per cent increase in first half profits. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Matt Thistlethwaite) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-mining-pie-is-more-of-a-magic-pudding/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-mining-pie-is-more-of-a-magic-pudding/#item7210 Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:35:38 +0000 Matt Thistlethwaite | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Carbon-pricing-is-about-more-than-a-warm-fuzzy-feeling/ The Australian Senate is currently debating the Government’s Clean Energy Future package and will shortly vote on these historic reforms. Earlier this week, during debate on the legislation, I spoke about the unrivalled natural beauty of the Australian environment and landscape and of our profound relationship with the land on which we forge our lives. We are a unique nation, and our identity stems from our landscape. We have developed our character through our values. We believe in mateship, we believe in backing the underdog and, importantly, we believe in a fair go. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Matt Thistlethwaite) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Carbon-pricing-is-about-more-than-a-warm-fuzzy-feeling/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Carbon-pricing-is-about-more-than-a-warm-fuzzy-feeling/#item7089 Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:40:14 +0000 Matt Thistlethwaite | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-the-space-race-can-teach-us-about-productivity/ On May 25, 1961 United States President John F Kennedy proposed to the Congress that the nation set a goal of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely by the end of the decade. Kennedy’s comments not only fired the gun in the space race but they also began a productivity revolution. The US would invest heavily in mathematicians and scientists, research and development that would drive innovation and change the nature of business and lifestyles forever. In the last 50 years technology has been the game changer when it comes to productivity. The introduction of the personal computer and internet to business has revolutionised communications and interaction between businesses particularly in the global context.  feedback@thepunch.com.au (Matt Thistlethwaite) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-the-space-race-can-teach-us-about-productivity/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-the-space-race-can-teach-us-about-productivity/#item6950 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:55:03 +0000 Matt Thistlethwaite | Author bios | The Punch