http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/tim-vollmer/ For 13 years school teachers complained that Tim talked too much and didn’t respect authority. Thankfully he didn’t listen and now makes a living out of both, predominantly by helping unions and non-profit organisations improve their media profile through his day job at Mountain Media (http://www.mountainmedia.com.au). In former lives he has been a full-time union official and a Daily Telegraph journalist, but now he keeps busy bushwalking, attempting to be a role model to his three sons, avoiding odd jobs around the three bedroom brick veneer, walking the dogs and generally complaining about politicians and their countless failings, especially where western Sydney is concerned. 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/The-great-stink-over-cut-price-toilet-paper/ A big stink over loo paper not only threatens to flush thousands of Aussie jobs down the can, but leave Kevin Rudd holding a steaming pile of, well, you get the picture. In a precedent-setting decision that’s as “silly as a bum full of smarties”, to steal a line from Kenny, the government has allowed 20,000 tonnes of Chinese and Indonesian dunny paper to be dumped on the Australian market at prices up to 45 per cent cheaper than in their home countries; much of it under the Woolworths Select label. But before you shout “you bloody bewdy” and pop out to Woolies for some bargain bog rolls, pause for a minute and contemplate just why any company would sell a mountain of goods at a loss. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tim Vollmer) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-great-stink-over-cut-price-toilet-paper/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-great-stink-over-cut-price-toilet-paper/#item2553 Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:35:08 +0000 Tim Vollmer | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/nsw-labors-only-hope-of-survival-is-to-start-digging/ In a state that dumps transport blueprints faster than premiers, it’s little surprise the NSW Government’s announcement of a multi-billion dollar infrastructure bonanza has been met with all the fanfare of Al Gore at a climate skeptics conference. In what has become almost an annual spectacle for a government that has turned axing infrastructure projects into an art form, the last grand plan, a five billion dollar metro, has been unceremoniously tossed on the scrap-heap, with a new proposal cobbled together with little more than some blue-tac and sticky tape. Back on the agenda after more comebacks than John Farnham are the north-west and south-west rail links, only now with increased price tags. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tim Vollmer) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/nsw-labors-only-hope-of-survival-is-to-start-digging/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/nsw-labors-only-hope-of-survival-is-to-start-digging/#item2461 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:30:12 +0000 Tim Vollmer | Author bios | The Punch