PAUL MURRAY: Now, today we learn via The [Daily] Telegraph, and this is a good one, that how’s this? they are spending… and I’ve been on this for a long time but they are going to spend about $24 million, this bloody Federal Government… they’re going to spend $24 million advertising the…
DetailsIAN HENSCHKE: Steve Harrison is the Director of Economic Development for the City of Prospect … and speaking from an operational point of view…on the policy of the Coalition in terms of the NBN [National Broadband Network]….is there a particular thing that you favour? STEVE HARRISON: Yeah, oh, look, for sure, we have…
DetailsTIM PALMER: Australia’s online retailers have noisily objected to overseas competition sparked by a high Australian dollar but now they’re about to get squeezed even more because their costs of delivery are going up. Australia Post’s confirmed significant price rises for its parcel delivery services. Local sellers are outraged, particularly because Australia Post subsidises…
DetailsAustralian taxpayers have footed a bill approaching $1 million to send an extravagant 52 person delegation to a single three-day conference in Brazil, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today. Details of the size and cost of Australia’s attendance at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, in Rio de…
DetailsSIMON BIRMINGHAM: The Labor Party, through their internal wrangling, seems to be doing their best to destroy the old political adage that your worst day in government is always better than your best day in opposition. This Government is managing to tear itself apart from the inside and demonstrating to the rest of the…
DetailsThe Gillard Government should remove land use restrictions locking up thousands of hectares of previously irrigated land, Coalition Murray-Darling Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today. A condition of grants to landowners surrendering water entitlements under the Small Block Irrigators Exit Grant Package was that the land owned by the applicant would not be…
DetailsFRAN KELLY: Well, the Prime Minister says her Government is open to, quote, ‘sensible suggestions’ from the media industry over its reform bills* but it won’t be, quote, ‘cross trading or horse trading’ with key crossbenchers who are withholding their support. Coalition frontbencher Simon Birmingham is a member of both of the Parliamentary committees…
DetailsSIMON BIRMINGHAM: Can I start by noting that today is the final day for potential disallowance of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan? That means that this Plan, this historic reform, will come into law, will take effect and will be an important mechanism to improve the management of the Murray-Darling after, frankly, 120 years of…
DetailsKIERAN GILBERT: The Labor Caucus meets this morning in the face of a possible, and some say likely, collapse of the Government’s proposed media changes as senior ministers are fending off reports that they’ve shifted allegiance from Prime Minister Gillard to Kevin Rudd. Foreign [Affairs] Minister Bob Carr was asked about this report on…
DetailsLYNDAL CURTIS: The Government’s still at least four votes shy of the number it needs to pass the bulk of its media reforms. Just one element the licence fee cut for commercial TV stations appears certain of victory, with the Coalition supporting it and it looks like the House of Representatives may…
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