http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/stimulus-package/ 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 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +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/when-a-budget-is-not-really-a-budget/ We might as well abandon the budget process as we have known it.  Traditionally the budget sets out what can be relied upon to occur in the financial year following its announcement. But no longer – what we get is a good old socialist planned economy.  Where as the forward estimates used to be an indicator of what would flow from the announced budget if nothing is changed in succeeding budgets. So Mr Swan’s statement that nothing will change to deliver a $1 billion surplus in 2013 is telling us nothing will change before then.  So why bother with the Budget façade? feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/when-a-budget-is-not-really-a-budget/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/when-a-budget-is-not-really-a-budget/#item3109 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 Kevin Rudd’s fall from grace has been sudden and spectacular. His meltdown on The 7.30 Report on Wednesday night can be seen most charitably as a sign that the bloke has got some ticker. I suspect most people would have seen it as a sign that pressure is getting to him. When Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner hit the airwaves today to defend his boss as some kind of zen master who is at his calmest and most serene when the pressure is on, he could have chosen his language better. Tanner’s observation that his three-year-old daughter threw bigger tantrums than the PM did with Kerry O’Brien stands as dictionary-definition faint praise. The next few weeks will be crucial as he tries to use the Federal Budget to restore Labor’s standing in the eyes of voters. In trying to analyse what has gone wrong for the Prime Minister, and whether he can again make things right, there is a consensus across politics as to where the problem lies. The problem lies with the Prime Minister himself. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/from-fiscal-conservative-to-krazy-kev-and-back-again/ Kevin Rudd’s fall from grace has been sudden and spectacular. His meltdown on The 7.30 Report on Wednesday night can be seen most charitably as a sign that the bloke has got some ticker. I suspect most people would have seen it as a sign that pressure is getting to him. When Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner hit the airwaves today to defend his boss as some kind of zen master who is at his calmest and most serene when the pressure is on, he could have chosen his language better. Tanner’s observation that his three-year-old daughter threw bigger tantrums than the PM did with Kerry O’Brien stands as dictionary-definition faint praise. The next few weeks will be crucial as he tries to use the Federal Budget to restore Labor’s standing in the eyes of voters. In trying to analyse what has gone wrong for the Prime Minister, and whether he can again make things right, there is a consensus across politics as to where the problem lies. The problem lies with the Prime Minister himself. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/from-fiscal-conservative-to-krazy-kev-and-back-again/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/from-fiscal-conservative-to-krazy-kev-and-back-again/#item3071 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 Kevin Rudd’s fall from grace has been sudden and spectacular. His meltdown on The 7.30 Report on Wednesday night can be seen most charitably as a sign that the bloke has got some ticker. I suspect most people would have seen it as a sign that pressure is getting to him. When Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner hit the airwaves today to defend his boss as some kind of zen master who is at his calmest and most serene when the pressure is on, he could have chosen his language better. Tanner’s observation that his three-year-old daughter threw bigger tantrums than the PM did with Kerry O’Brien stands as dictionary-definition faint praise. The next few weeks will be crucial as he tries to use the Federal Budget to restore Labor’s standing in the eyes of voters. In trying to analyse what has gone wrong for the Prime Minister, and whether he can again make things right, there is a consensus across politics as to where the problem lies. The problem lies with the Prime Minister himself. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-a-difference-an-election-year-makes/ Only a few days after doing an Olympic standard quadruple backflip on its asylum seeker policy, the Rudd Government now has announced that it will establish a taskforce to investigate gouging and waste on the $16.2 billion school stimulus package. A po-faced deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Julia Gillard made the announcement in Canberra this afternoon despite previously claiming that problems with the scheme were largely a confected fantasy of the Opposition and an overly zealous Australian Newspaper (although was careful not to criticise the paper on the record).  Well now it seems there is a problem worth investigating, worth hiring former chief executive and chairman of UBS Investment Bank Brad Orgill and worth spending $14 million on setting up a taskforce to do it. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-a-difference-an-election-year-makes/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-a-difference-an-election-year-makes/#item2817 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 Kevin Rudd’s fall from grace has been sudden and spectacular. His meltdown on The 7.30 Report on Wednesday night can be seen most charitably as a sign that the bloke has got some ticker. I suspect most people would have seen it as a sign that pressure is getting to him. When Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner hit the airwaves today to defend his boss as some kind of zen master who is at his calmest and most serene when the pressure is on, he could have chosen his language better. Tanner’s observation that his three-year-old daughter threw bigger tantrums than the PM did with Kerry O’Brien stands as dictionary-definition faint praise. The next few weeks will be crucial as he tries to use the Federal Budget to restore Labor’s standing in the eyes of voters. In trying to analyse what has gone wrong for the Prime Minister, and whether he can again make things right, there is a consensus across politics as to where the problem lies. The problem lies with the Prime Minister himself. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rudd-better-start-cutting-spending-as-well-as-ribbons/ The first term of the Rudd Government is entering its end game and events in our nation’s playgrounds will have a huge bearing on whether it climaxes with high distinctions for the PM or a serious schoolyard brawl The Prime Minister is right to claim swift action in avoiding the Global Financial Crisis was a major achievement in his first term, but now the focus is shifting to the way the government spent our way out of trouble. In just about every school there are signs proudly declaring ‘Building an Education Revolution’ initiatives and as these projects are completed voters will be able to conduct their own cost-benefit analysis. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rudd-better-start-cutting-spending-as-well-as-ribbons/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rudd-better-start-cutting-spending-as-well-as-ribbons/#item2728 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 Kevin Rudd’s fall from grace has been sudden and spectacular. His meltdown on The 7.30 Report on Wednesday night can be seen most charitably as a sign that the bloke has got some ticker. I suspect most people would have seen it as a sign that pressure is getting to him. When Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner hit the airwaves today to defend his boss as some kind of zen master who is at his calmest and most serene when the pressure is on, he could have chosen his language better. Tanner’s observation that his three-year-old daughter threw bigger tantrums than the PM did with Kerry O’Brien stands as dictionary-definition faint praise. The next few weeks will be crucial as he tries to use the Federal Budget to restore Labor’s standing in the eyes of voters. In trying to analyse what has gone wrong for the Prime Minister, and whether he can again make things right, there is a consensus across politics as to where the problem lies. The problem lies with the Prime Minister himself. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-sweet-deal-for-small-business/ My first offering to The Punch for 2010 – and it’s a puff piece!  Gena Karpf makes great, sweet puffy marshmallows. Fruity flavoured marshmallows, chocolate flavoured marshmallows, pretty much any sort of marshmallow you could imagine really. Anyone who sees the swooning effect that Meryl Streep’s goodies have on Steve Martin in this summer’s hit movie It’s Complicated will get my drift. Gena’s shop SWEETNESS: The Patisserie is two doors down from my new Electorate Office in Epping. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-sweet-deal-for-small-business/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-sweet-deal-for-small-business/#item2240 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 Kevin Rudd’s fall from grace has been sudden and spectacular. His meltdown on The 7.30 Report on Wednesday night can be seen most charitably as a sign that the bloke has got some ticker. I suspect most people would have seen it as a sign that pressure is getting to him. When Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner hit the airwaves today to defend his boss as some kind of zen master who is at his calmest and most serene when the pressure is on, he could have chosen his language better. Tanner’s observation that his three-year-old daughter threw bigger tantrums than the PM did with Kerry O’Brien stands as dictionary-definition faint praise. The next few weeks will be crucial as he tries to use the Federal Budget to restore Labor’s standing in the eyes of voters. In trying to analyse what has gone wrong for the Prime Minister, and whether he can again make things right, there is a consensus across politics as to where the problem lies. The problem lies with the Prime Minister himself. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bennelong-where-jobs-prove-the-stimulus-is-working/ What a huge news week it was last week. Sabi the dog came home. Tiger Woods fever gripped the country, and like Ol’ Man River our Australian economy keeps just keep rolling along. With apologies to Tiger I know we’re not out of the woods yet and nobody’s taking the hands off the wheel, but it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on our achievement as a nation. Last week’s jobs figures came in at 5.8%. 670,000 unemployed Australians is too many and we expect that unemployment will continue to rise in the coming months. But the community resilience in the face of this threat has been fantastic. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bennelong-where-jobs-prove-the-stimulus-is-working/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bennelong-where-jobs-prove-the-stimulus-is-working/#item1740 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 Kevin Rudd’s fall from grace has been sudden and spectacular. His meltdown on The 7.30 Report on Wednesday night can be seen most charitably as a sign that the bloke has got some ticker. I suspect most people would have seen it as a sign that pressure is getting to him. When Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner hit the airwaves today to defend his boss as some kind of zen master who is at his calmest and most serene when the pressure is on, he could have chosen his language better. Tanner’s observation that his three-year-old daughter threw bigger tantrums than the PM did with Kerry O’Brien stands as dictionary-definition faint praise. The next few weeks will be crucial as he tries to use the Federal Budget to restore Labor’s standing in the eyes of voters. In trying to analyse what has gone wrong for the Prime Minister, and whether he can again make things right, there is a consensus across politics as to where the problem lies. The problem lies with the Prime Minister himself. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-one-pupil-school-isnt-getting-any-money-after-all/ Drifiting off during Question Time yesterday it was tempting to wonder what Evesham State School looked like and what its one student might do with a $250,000 library all to herself. What if the one student at this school is some kind of genius who needs to read 35 books each afternoon Good Will Hunting style? Well, after contacting Evesham State School in remote central Queensland it turns out it hasn’t received a cent of the fabled $250,000 and, according to its principal and teacher, it won’t receive any of it. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-one-pupil-school-isnt-getting-any-money-after-all/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-one-pupil-school-isnt-getting-any-money-after-all/#item1158 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 Kevin Rudd’s fall from grace has been sudden and spectacular. His meltdown on The 7.30 Report on Wednesday night can be seen most charitably as a sign that the bloke has got some ticker. I suspect most people would have seen it as a sign that pressure is getting to him. When Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner hit the airwaves today to defend his boss as some kind of zen master who is at his calmest and most serene when the pressure is on, he could have chosen his language better. Tanner’s observation that his three-year-old daughter threw bigger tantrums than the PM did with Kerry O’Brien stands as dictionary-definition faint praise. The next few weeks will be crucial as he tries to use the Federal Budget to restore Labor’s standing in the eyes of voters. In trying to analyse what has gone wrong for the Prime Minister, and whether he can again make things right, there is a consensus across politics as to where the problem lies. The problem lies with the Prime Minister himself. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/is-gillard-starting-to-buckle-under-the-pressure/ Yesterday saw a pretty poor parliamentary performance from the person widely regarded as the best performer in the Government. Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard was tickled up by the opposition on a range of Government pressure points - importantly the question of misdirected stimulus spending, whether the signage at schools benefiting from the plan amounts to advertising and its promise that nobody would be worse off under new IR awards. Of course the star performer isn’t just deputy Prime Minister, she’s Education Minister, Minister for Employment Workplace Relations minister and Social Inclusion Minister. And this is the point: Education and IR and the two portfolios that are right at the pointy end of policy and politics and the moment and it’s fair to ask whether the pressure of this super-portfolio is starting to get to Gillard. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/is-gillard-starting-to-buckle-under-the-pressure/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/is-gillard-starting-to-buckle-under-the-pressure/#item1141 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 Kevin Rudd’s fall from grace has been sudden and spectacular. His meltdown on The 7.30 Report on Wednesday night can be seen most charitably as a sign that the bloke has got some ticker. I suspect most people would have seen it as a sign that pressure is getting to him. When Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner hit the airwaves today to defend his boss as some kind of zen master who is at his calmest and most serene when the pressure is on, he could have chosen his language better. Tanner’s observation that his three-year-old daughter threw bigger tantrums than the PM did with Kerry O’Brien stands as dictionary-definition faint praise. The next few weeks will be crucial as he tries to use the Federal Budget to restore Labor’s standing in the eyes of voters. In trying to analyse what has gone wrong for the Prime Minister, and whether he can again make things right, there is a consensus across politics as to where the problem lies. The problem lies with the Prime Minister himself. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rudds-secret-spending-freeze-no-soup-for-you/ While the Government is keen to demonstrate it must carry out its planned path of stimulus spending, there’s a lot of grumbling about an apparent spending freeze the Prime Minister has put on the public service. In an effort to cut down on spending post-stimulus the Rudd Government has practically put a complete stop to any new funding for programs not already budgeted for. The Punch has learnt that any Minister or their department wishing to get extra funding now needs to go through the Prime Minister’s Office - and the answer there is going to be no. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rudds-secret-spending-freeze-no-soup-for-you/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rudds-secret-spending-freeze-no-soup-for-you/#item1076 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 Kevin Rudd’s fall from grace has been sudden and spectacular. His meltdown on The 7.30 Report on Wednesday night can be seen most charitably as a sign that the bloke has got some ticker. I suspect most people would have seen it as a sign that pressure is getting to him. When Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner hit the airwaves today to defend his boss as some kind of zen master who is at his calmest and most serene when the pressure is on, he could have chosen his language better. Tanner’s observation that his three-year-old daughter threw bigger tantrums than the PM did with Kerry O’Brien stands as dictionary-definition faint praise. The next few weeks will be crucial as he tries to use the Federal Budget to restore Labor’s standing in the eyes of voters. In trying to analyse what has gone wrong for the Prime Minister, and whether he can again make things right, there is a consensus across politics as to where the problem lies. The problem lies with the Prime Minister himself. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-tv-take-two/ Here’s the second instalment of Punch TV, where our panel - Dave Penberthy, Tory Maguire and Luke McIlveen - caught up with Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese. They quizzed Albo on whether the stimulus spending has gone too far, the attacks on Malcolm Turnbull’s judgment, nuclear power, gay marriage and the embattled leadership of NSW Premier Nathan Rees. The second part of the show is in the body of this post. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-tv-take-two/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-tv-take-two/#item990 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 Kevin Rudd’s fall from grace has been sudden and spectacular. His meltdown on The 7.30 Report on Wednesday night can be seen most charitably as a sign that the bloke has got some ticker. I suspect most people would have seen it as a sign that pressure is getting to him. When Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner hit the airwaves today to defend his boss as some kind of zen master who is at his calmest and most serene when the pressure is on, he could have chosen his language better. Tanner’s observation that his three-year-old daughter threw bigger tantrums than the PM did with Kerry O’Brien stands as dictionary-definition faint praise. The next few weeks will be crucial as he tries to use the Federal Budget to restore Labor’s standing in the eyes of voters. In trying to analyse what has gone wrong for the Prime Minister, and whether he can again make things right, there is a consensus across politics as to where the problem lies. The problem lies with the Prime Minister himself.