http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/shane-evans/ Shane is a former political adviser to the Howard government.  Born in Adelaide, he moved to London in his twenties where he worked in the ostentatiously named Office of the Deputy Prime Minister resurrecting democracy and basic service provision in some of London’s most dysfunctional local governments.  He now lives in Sydney and works in financial services communications.  Shane has a keen ear for the annoying and counts the promotion of ‘many thanks’ where just ‘thanks’ would do as one of his greatest achievements.  en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +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/big-retailers-are-declaring-war-on-competition/ Rather than go in to bat for Australian consumers, local retailers are supporting a campaign to reduce competition and make us pay more. With that attitude, it’s little wonder so many of us are looking online when we go shopping.  Electronics retailer Gerry Harvey kicked off the war against consumers last November when he called on the government to remove the GST exemption for goods purchased online from overseas. He also revealed that lobbying of politicians to effect this outcome had been underway for some time.  feeback@thepunch.com.au (Shane Evans) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/big-retailers-are-declaring-war-on-competition/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/big-retailers-are-declaring-war-on-competition/#item4815 Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:06:29 +0000 Shane Evans | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-will-we-do-when-the-fastcash-euphoria-is-over/ Research indicates that many lottery winners revert to their previous levels of happiness within a year of winning. Sometimes it’s a case of water finding its level and individuals returning to their normal state of contentment. Other times, the money is blown on failed business ventures, opportunist gold digging relatives or the vulgar excesses that often accompany easy cash.  In such circumstances, it’s not uncommon for winners to end up worse off than before they won. Two years ago the Federal government had money in the bank. Howard and Costello had built up a massive buffer of savings to pay for an ageing population, retired the entire Commonwealth debt and budgeted for - if not already delivered - eight years of income tax cuts. feeback@thepunch.com.au (Shane Evans) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-will-we-do-when-the-fastcash-euphoria-is-over/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-will-we-do-when-the-fastcash-euphoria-is-over/#item1813 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:40:23 +0000 Shane Evans | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/in-politics-chutzpah-is-just-a-polite-word-for-hubris/ The fact that our Prime Minister is happy to talk about who he would turn gay for on Rove, but won’t answer a serious question about gay rights on Q and A should be a warning sign to us all.  Whilst Kevin Rudd works hard to cultivate the image of a lightweight talk show host, we should remember he is actually a player in the most ego driven business in town – the perfect storm of parliamentary democracy.  In fact, his title awards him status of biggest and best on field in a ruthless industry which demands people with large egos, plies them with attention to feed their distended self-esteems and treats them like royalty as they make laws and spend our money on our behalf. feeback@thepunch.com.au (Shane Evans) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/in-politics-chutzpah-is-just-a-polite-word-for-hubris/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/in-politics-chutzpah-is-just-a-polite-word-for-hubris/#item1218 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:20:19 +0000 Shane Evans | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/our-brains-have-been-shrunk-by-the-spin-cycle/ Remember public policy debates?  Where once were national conversations we now find a wall of sound comprised of debate deadening sound bites.  There is nothing to discuss about the merits or otherwise of pork barrelling in 2009 because we’re actually ‘building an education revolution’.  Similarly, opposition to debt is choosing to ‘do nothing’ in the face of a ‘rolling global financial crisis’.  Throwing other people’s taxes at the dead and incarcerated is actually ‘decisive action to stay ahead of the curve’.  Questioning the Emissions Trading Scheme is to be a ‘Neanderthal’, a ‘sceptic’ and ‘denialist’ – the modern day equivalent of refusing to accept that the earth is round. feeback@thepunch.com.au (Shane Evans) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/our-brains-have-been-shrunk-by-the-spin-cycle/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/our-brains-have-been-shrunk-by-the-spin-cycle/#item691 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:25:01 +0000 Shane Evans | Author bios | The Punch