http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/trade/ 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 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/to-be-fair-we-need-to-stop-people-dumping-on-australia/ President Barack Obama’s speech to the Australian Parliament, like those of his predecessors, was indeed an historic occasion. Amidst the hype and ceremony, I can’t help but wonder if a couple of Labor Ministers didn’t squirm a little in their seats as the President reminded us: “We seek trade that is free and fair. And we seek an open international economic system, where rules are clear and every nation plays by them.” In a reference to the G20 and the World Trade Organisation, which just days earlier had welcomed Russia to its ranks, the President stressed: “We need growth that is fair, where every nation plays by the rules – where workers’ rights are respected and our businesses can compete on a level playing field… so no nation has an unfair advantage.” penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/to-be-fair-we-need-to-stop-people-dumping-on-australia/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/to-be-fair-we-need-to-stop-people-dumping-on-australia/#item7202 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Reading the news yesterday that the United States bookstore chain Border has gone into bankruptcy, I began to ask myself how long it could possibly be before a big Australian chain met the same fate. Unfortunately the wait wasn’t long. A press release came out that afternoon announcing that REDGroup, who control Borders Australia, Angus and Robertson and Whitcoulls in New Zealand, were being placed into administration. This will affect 260 stores. Really, it is a wonder this didn’t happen earlier given that Australian booksellers have been defying the laws of market theory that would have sent other businesses bust long ago. There are a few reasons why this was pretty inevitable. One involves parallel import laws and the other the internet, but the two are closely linked. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/publishers-and-book-sellers-have-sealed-their-own-fate/ Reading the news yesterday that the United States bookstore chain Border has gone into bankruptcy, I began to ask myself how long it could possibly be before a big Australian chain met the same fate. Unfortunately the wait wasn’t long. A press release came out that afternoon announcing that REDGroup, who control Borders Australia, Angus and Robertson and Whitcoulls in New Zealand, were being placed into administration. This will affect 260 stores. Really, it is a wonder this didn’t happen earlier given that Australian booksellers have been defying the laws of market theory that would have sent other businesses bust long ago. There are a few reasons why this was pretty inevitable. One involves parallel import laws and the other the internet, but the two are closely linked. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/publishers-and-book-sellers-have-sealed-their-own-fate/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/publishers-and-book-sellers-have-sealed-their-own-fate/#item5169 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Reading the news yesterday that the United States bookstore chain Border has gone into bankruptcy, I began to ask myself how long it could possibly be before a big Australian chain met the same fate. Unfortunately the wait wasn’t long. A press release came out that afternoon announcing that REDGroup, who control Borders Australia, Angus and Robertson and Whitcoulls in New Zealand, were being placed into administration. This will affect 260 stores. Really, it is a wonder this didn’t happen earlier given that Australian booksellers have been defying the laws of market theory that would have sent other businesses bust long ago. There are a few reasons why this was pretty inevitable. One involves parallel import laws and the other the internet, but the two are closely linked. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/kevin-rudd-is-in-exactly-the-right-place/ Kevin Rudd might be egotistical, self-serving, mistake prone and a control freak but he is perfectly suited to the foreign ministry. Although Rudd demanded the foreign affairs portfolio at the barrel of a gun, it’s a win-win situation for him and Australia. Rudd gets to travel the world and prepare for a post-political career and the country gets can rest assured that its biggest political liability has one of the least influential portfolios in government. Rudd cannot do damage as Australia’s chief diplomat because diplomacy is the most overrated profession since travel agents. International relations is not about the high politics of the diplomatic elite; rather, it is about globalisation and interactions between individuals and firms operating within a global market. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/kevin-rudd-is-in-exactly-the-right-place/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/kevin-rudd-is-in-exactly-the-right-place/#item4848 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Reading the news yesterday that the United States bookstore chain Border has gone into bankruptcy, I began to ask myself how long it could possibly be before a big Australian chain met the same fate. Unfortunately the wait wasn’t long. A press release came out that afternoon announcing that REDGroup, who control Borders Australia, Angus and Robertson and Whitcoulls in New Zealand, were being placed into administration. This will affect 260 stores. Really, it is a wonder this didn’t happen earlier given that Australian booksellers have been defying the laws of market theory that would have sent other businesses bust long ago. There are a few reasons why this was pretty inevitable. One involves parallel import laws and the other the internet, but the two are closely linked. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/labors-big-grab-for-the-economic-right/ After the indignity of having its then leader declare himself an ideological social democrat in a culture magazine, it’s the idea that dare not speak its name. Lost in the wilderness for so many years, the Gillard government might finally be accepting its inheritance as the party of economic rationalism and reform. But it’s early days and Labor might just be teasing. Labor’s decision to fundamentally change its trade policy is its most promising economic policy in a generation. In a recent address to the Lowy Institute, Trade Minister Craig Emerson indicated that the government will unilaterally cut Australia’s remaining industry tariffs, separate trade policy from international politics and only pursue trade agreements that have an economic upside. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/labors-big-grab-for-the-economic-right/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/labors-big-grab-for-the-economic-right/#item4697 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Reading the news yesterday that the United States bookstore chain Border has gone into bankruptcy, I began to ask myself how long it could possibly be before a big Australian chain met the same fate. Unfortunately the wait wasn’t long. A press release came out that afternoon announcing that REDGroup, who control Borders Australia, Angus and Robertson and Whitcoulls in New Zealand, were being placed into administration. This will affect 260 stores. Really, it is a wonder this didn’t happen earlier given that Australian booksellers have been defying the laws of market theory that would have sent other businesses bust long ago. There are a few reasons why this was pretty inevitable. One involves parallel import laws and the other the internet, but the two are closely linked. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/png-a-forgotten-neighbour/ It has a population of 6.3 million. It is one of Australia’s two really large recipients of aid. We are its largest trading partner. It is our 19th. It’s about 400 times closer to us than New Zealand. Yet for some reason our media and public discourse doesn’t seem to rate the importance of Papua New Guinea. On this website a search on Papua New Guinea yields 23 hits compared to 35 for Spain, 76 for South Africa and 94 for Iran. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/png-a-forgotten-neighbour/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/png-a-forgotten-neighbour/#item4250 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Reading the news yesterday that the United States bookstore chain Border has gone into bankruptcy, I began to ask myself how long it could possibly be before a big Australian chain met the same fate. Unfortunately the wait wasn’t long. A press release came out that afternoon announcing that REDGroup, who control Borders Australia, Angus and Robertson and Whitcoulls in New Zealand, were being placed into administration. This will affect 260 stores. Really, it is a wonder this didn’t happen earlier given that Australian booksellers have been defying the laws of market theory that would have sent other businesses bust long ago. There are a few reasons why this was pretty inevitable. One involves parallel import laws and the other the internet, but the two are closely linked. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-exciting-world-of-measuring-stuff/ Doubtless, last Wednesday night you were struggling to get to sleep. Having marked May 20 on the calendar weeks in advance the sense of anticipation can be intense when there is just one sleep to go. For me, circadian rhythms stood no chance in the face of the sheer excitement of Thursday’s dawn: the dawn of World Metrology Day. For those who measure things this is a very important anniversary. World Metrology Day commemorates the signing of the Convention of the Metre in 1875 and the birth of the modern international system of measurement. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-exciting-world-of-measuring-stuff/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-exciting-world-of-measuring-stuff/#item3163 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Reading the news yesterday that the United States bookstore chain Border has gone into bankruptcy, I began to ask myself how long it could possibly be before a big Australian chain met the same fate. Unfortunately the wait wasn’t long. A press release came out that afternoon announcing that REDGroup, who control Borders Australia, Angus and Robertson and Whitcoulls in New Zealand, were being placed into administration. This will affect 260 stores. Really, it is a wonder this didn’t happen earlier given that Australian booksellers have been defying the laws of market theory that would have sent other businesses bust long ago. There are a few reasons why this was pretty inevitable. One involves parallel import laws and the other the internet, but the two are closely linked. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-threat-to-Aussie-steak/ Lost in the aftershocks of the home insulation scandal is a story with deadly implications for beef farming in Australia. A Senate inquiry is underway into a decision to lift the ban on importing beef from countries tainted by mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy. From next Monday, beef from countries like the US, Canada, Britain and other European nations will enter Australia, without being subject to the usual import risk assessments. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-threat-to-Aussie-steak/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-threat-to-Aussie-steak/#item2457 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Reading the news yesterday that the United States bookstore chain Border has gone into bankruptcy, I began to ask myself how long it could possibly be before a big Australian chain met the same fate. Unfortunately the wait wasn’t long. A press release came out that afternoon announcing that REDGroup, who control Borders Australia, Angus and Robertson and Whitcoulls in New Zealand, were being placed into administration. This will affect 260 stores. Really, it is a wonder this didn’t happen earlier given that Australian booksellers have been defying the laws of market theory that would have sent other businesses bust long ago. There are a few reasons why this was pretty inevitable. One involves parallel import laws and the other the internet, but the two are closely linked. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australian-apiarists-left-with-half-a-bee-industry/ Food security is one of the major challenges facing the world.  In the coming decade with the population expected to increase to around 10 billion, access to food particularly food that is safe and free from disease will increasingly challenge many nations. Australians are rightly proud of the high quality food that we produce.  But as the world grows flatter and we increasingly import food, the high standards that we expect in Australia come into question. An example of this is the Australian honeybee industry, which for all intensive purposes has its back against the wall. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australian-apiarists-left-with-half-a-bee-industry/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australian-apiarists-left-with-half-a-bee-industry/#item2429 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Reading the news yesterday that the United States bookstore chain Border has gone into bankruptcy, I began to ask myself how long it could possibly be before a big Australian chain met the same fate. Unfortunately the wait wasn’t long. A press release came out that afternoon announcing that REDGroup, who control Borders Australia, Angus and Robertson and Whitcoulls in New Zealand, were being placed into administration. This will affect 260 stores. Really, it is a wonder this didn’t happen earlier given that Australian booksellers have been defying the laws of market theory that would have sent other businesses bust long ago. There are a few reasons why this was pretty inevitable. One involves parallel import laws and the other the internet, but the two are closely linked. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/chooks-lull-us-into-false-sense-of-food-security/ As a farmer it is my duty to let backyard chook fanciers in on a secret. No chook ever died in credit. That’s why the only chooks that have ever been on our farm have been dead, plucked and ready to cook. Chooks as pets are the flavour of the month. They are small, they eat leftovers and the eggs they lay are delicious, making them ideal pets for inner-city backyards. But if you look at the economics, each egg will cost many times more than the amount you pay for a barn-laid dozen and food producers don’t provide homes for poultry or livestock that doesn’t earn its keep. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/chooks-lull-us-into-false-sense-of-food-security/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/chooks-lull-us-into-false-sense-of-food-security/#item697 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Reading the news yesterday that the United States bookstore chain Border has gone into bankruptcy, I began to ask myself how long it could possibly be before a big Australian chain met the same fate. Unfortunately the wait wasn’t long. A press release came out that afternoon announcing that REDGroup, who control Borders Australia, Angus and Robertson and Whitcoulls in New Zealand, were being placed into administration. This will affect 260 stores. Really, it is a wonder this didn’t happen earlier given that Australian booksellers have been defying the laws of market theory that would have sent other businesses bust long ago. There are a few reasons why this was pretty inevitable. One involves parallel import laws and the other the internet, but the two are closely linked. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-best-eunuch-in-the-chinese-court-colin-barnett/ If you ever find yourself in a foreign prison awaiting representation from Australia on your behalf just pray that West Australian Premier Colin Barnett does not come through the door. Not only is he unlikely to put up any kind of a fight for you, after a big Yum Cha lunch he may well agree to pull the hanging lever should your executioner be off sick. Like the prince of a Chinese tributary kingdom of the middle-ages Colin Barnett travelled to Shanghai to assure his leaders that he wasn’t angry at them over the arrest of Stern Hu – actually it was our fault as Australians for over-reacting. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-best-eunuch-in-the-chinese-court-colin-barnett/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-best-eunuch-in-the-chinese-court-colin-barnett/#item699 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Reading the news yesterday that the United States bookstore chain Border has gone into bankruptcy, I began to ask myself how long it could possibly be before a big Australian chain met the same fate. Unfortunately the wait wasn’t long. A press release came out that afternoon announcing that REDGroup, who control Borders Australia, Angus and Robertson and Whitcoulls in New Zealand, were being placed into administration. This will affect 260 stores. Really, it is a wonder this didn’t happen earlier given that Australian booksellers have been defying the laws of market theory that would have sent other businesses bust long ago. There are a few reasons why this was pretty inevitable. One involves parallel import laws and the other the internet, but the two are closely linked.