Australia is still the richest nation . . . But don’t celebrate just yet
Since the turn of the century, household wealth in Australia has grown at an average annual rate of 11%. That may sound impressive, but hold the cigars writes Alan Austin.
Australia remains the richest country in the world according to the annual wealth report from Credit Suisse released this week. The ascendancy Australia gained during the global financial crisis (GFC) has been easily maintained, although fortunes have varied widely elsewhere.
The median wealth of Aussie adults increased from US$219,500 last year to $225,300. Belgium is second, well back on $173,000. Then follow Italy, France, the UK, Switzerland, Japan and Singapore.
Wealth per adult includes houses, farms, businesses, shares, other investments and cash in the bank minus debts. Median wealth is the preferred measure – as distinct from mean wealth which is also shown in the report – as it reduces the distortions of either extreme poverty or wealth. (Australia is second in the world on mean wealth, behind Switzerland.)
Most countries enjoyed greater household wealth this year with higher house values, recovering stock markets and businesses turning stronger profits. Nations which did best are the UK, South Korea, Denmark, Greece and Spain. Countries to have declined in wealth include Argentina, Indonesia, Turkey and, not surprisingly, Russia and the Ukraine.
Australia’s rate of increase in median wealth was less than 3.0%, which is below average for the developed world. And well below Australia’s average. This reflects the success of other countries, but it may also denote danger Downunder.
Australia has not always been the richest nation. It topped the table during the global financial crisis, thus bolstering the view of Joseph Stiglitz, Tim Harcourt and others that Australia handled the GFC particularly well.
Credit Suisse has provided data to this writer for the period before its first annual wealth report in 2010 which reveals Australia’s dramatic surge. In 2008, Australia ranked sixth in the world on median wealth behind Luxembourg, Iceland, Belgium, Italy and France. Through 2009, as the global financial crisis devastated most developed economies, Australia rose to second behind clear leader Luxembourg, with Belgium a close third. The others fell well back.
By 2010, Australia was within a fraction of a percentage point of Luxembourg, which it overtook to lead the world in 2011. Through 2012 Australia moved further ahead, leading Luxembourg, Japan, Italy, Belgium and the UK. By 2013 Australia’s median wealth had rocketed to US$219,500 per adult, leaving Luxembourg, France, Italy, the UK and Norway well behind.
Image from watoday.com.au
Over the 14 years since the turn of the century, Credit Suisse calculates household wealth in Australia grew at an average annual rate of 11%, despite the GFC.
That sounds impressive, but there are caveats to consider before popping the champagne. First, the report notes that ‘the composition of household wealth in Australia is heavily skewed towards real assets, which … form 60% of gross household assets. This average level of real assets is the second highest in the world after Norway. In part, it reflects a large endowment of land and natural resources relative to population, but it is also a result of high urban real estate prices.’ In other words, Australia’s impressive wealth is not entirely from enterprise, diligence and genius. The authors don’t say ‘property bubble’, but they are thinking it.
Second, a significant part of that growth – about a third, in fact – is due to exchange rate appreciation. And just in the last few weeks, since data for the report was collected, the Aussie dollar has fallen from above 94 US cents to below 87. Will that fall continue, or be reversed?
And finally, stock holdings are greater in Australia than most other countries which renders wealth per adult more vulnerable to share price fluctuations. In recent weeks, also since sourcing data for the report, the ASX all ordinaries have tumbled in value to the lowest point in seven months.
So, hey, yes, let’s open the bubbly. A win is a win. But perhaps save the cigars until next year.
Alan Austin is an Australian freelance journalist now living near Nîmes in the South of France. His special interests are the news media, religious affairs and economic and social issues which impact the disadvantaged.
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Return to home pageWoohoo! Number 1! Number 1!
Tory cr-p, unadulterated..a blatant unashamed, no holds barred attempt to soften the evil content of Abbott and Hockeys cruel budget . Will never work and thank God the majority including Abbotts base agree. Good to bring it to our attention, who hadn’t heard the radio i/v’s or read elsewhere.
The author should get out among the unemployed, the homeless, the pensioners and so many others…what a load of twaddle.
The statistics are impressive to the naked eye, but home ownership in much of Europe and the US is lower thus giving us a head start. One thing is for sure….I don’t feel rich.
As an aside just read this and it is very broad in scope and understanding. Bit long but worth it for those interested. Not often get such a well reasoned broad canvas of world economic and political trends.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/14/-sp-western-model-broken-pankaj-mishra
Hey which planet are these guys living on. Ever heard of public debt. And here we are on the highway to inequality hell. Home ownership is going to be pretty well impossible for any but the upper middle class while the rest will be expatriated to the boondoggles. The gap between rich and poor is growing and these bastards want to make the middle class and poor poorer to enhance their profits. Ever heard of class warfare? Damn statistics and lies. Its all good!!!!!
The worlds supposedly most wealthy country is thus required to cut expenditure on the common good, rather than improve its social well being….according to the LNP.
Here’s another thing that the income tax reductions of the last decade or two have done – created a dead money housing bubble by increasing the amount of money available for house purchases, forcing the young and low income earners out of the property market and having a flow on affect in terms of private debt and interest that leaves the country.
They also inflate share prices, not because the stock is actually worth more due to increased revenue, but mainly because it results in a higher demand for shares.
Interesting stats. here …. and properly attributed. A good article Alan Austin …. to remind of us of how we CAN be, provided we get rid of the current bringer-downer-of-all-things-good …. in our country. That being the LNP, who wouldn’t know bee from a bull’s foot about running a country properly, especially fiscally.
————
ref: ………. ” the Aussie dollar has fallen from above 94 US cents to below 87. Will that fall continue, or be reversed? ”
Was always under the impression, that a less than parity with the U.S. dollar was preferable. For many reasons. Particularly for the export component and general business boosts. ……. but then, I might be wrong. !!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-20/dollar-dive-could-take-aussie-below-90-us/4701166
” However, Mr Evans says it will take some time at lower levels for the
positive impact of the Australian dollar’s fall to feed through to profitability
and competitiveness. ”
Admittedly, this part of this article goes back 18 months …. but the exchange rate is the pretty much the same today.
Whether this is good for us or not, remains to be seen. World investments and money marketing are somewhat shaky at present !!!
Much can happen on short term and overnight money markets, which rule more than we might realise – plus the confidence Aussies ( and other investors ) have in the mining sector …. which seems all over the place at present. …. Profit takers are to the fore. The bull / bear, push / pull markets will continue for a long long while I would think. Nothing too stable in the future ?
Will resources stocks / mining ….. sink or swim ? and if they sink, who will save them. ? I almost shudder to think.
Just a thought or three ……
Anne the carry trade is just open slather gambling so the fluctuations will continue. Spook the markets up or down and watch the fluctuations. They make their bread and butter from currency fluctuations and there are devious ways to drive market swings. They don’t want stability unless they are using your currency as a safe haven. This why the Aussie dollar was at parity for so long. Now the merry go round begins. As they return to the US dollar. The carry trade produces nothing but wealth for the wealthy. Tax it by taxing all transactions. Let’s see if the brave G20 does anything. Don’t hold your breath cause a quick death will ensue.
Australian household debt at the end of 2013 was about $1.84 trillion which works out to be approximately 180% of disposable household income… the highest level for 25 years.
So… are we rich yet?
Precisely mars..I stand by my earlier post, every word.
Stephen….. thank you. Good advice there.
I worked with a stock broker in Melbourne in the short term money market section – some 50 years back ( one helluva long time ago ) and have forgotten more than I want to admit – have forgotten most in fact. I agree with the fluctuations and the profit taking. It once was all relatively stable – ain’t any more. And won’t be for a long time to come.
The major ( and probably smaller ) banks are masters at this manipulation – which shows in their obscene profit margins per quarter / half yearly announcements. They continue to bleed as much from their ‘clients’ ( who they have avowed to protect !! – yeah … right ) ….. and using overnight movements ( buying at cheap interest, selling at dearer interest – the ‘carry’ trade ) ….. they control a great deal more than we might imagine. They have a myriad of explanations and excuses for this … but it’s the short term stuff that fuels their profits – largely.
They are not the only organisations doing this ….. including even smaller investors who sit up all night, on line ( have a friend who does this ) watching and waiting for the U.S. ( in particular ) SE to move – or not, as the case may be.
Meanwhile I hang on to my very very small resources stocks – and hope for a ‘bull’ move upwards – which I doubt very much will happen. It comes, it goes – but mostly it is going at present !
It is indeed ALL a gamble. Any which way we look at it. …. ( Morbidly ) fascinating though. !! And the big boys have all the chips.
History will refer to 2014 as the year Australia peaked before the massive recession.
Anne don’t forget they now have complex algorithms for high frequency (millisecond) trading that intercept trades before they arrive and automatically undercut trades by trading before it’s completed. No human eye to witness. It is a bloody mine field. Just a small amount on millions of trades and whoopee a gold mine. No currency changes hands just code. Damn difficult to regulate.
Anne Byam re:
Yep! And in spades. Lost a ‘paper’ fortune in recent times, so soon after making same. And as I look at London tonight, a ‘rout’ seems inevitable.
The lesson is don’t gamble with what you can’t afford to lose.
Politically we did that with Abbott et al, and the consequences go way beyond the loss of ‘dollars’.
Matters Not:
As Robert Reich says “not if but when.”
Those nasty probabilities.
Tomorrow, a year, or more no matter it will happen probably sooner than later.
Where have all the toxic derivatives gone long time passing?
There quantitatively under the bed silly.
I agree fully with Kerri,we and the rest of free market world are in a downward spiral and no reason to see it get better
With Lib.Gov.attitude to science and renewable energy,effectively wiping many billions of dollars from our economy.what
does that tell you.
My advice would be is,get out of debt asap.
Stephen ……… Computer algorithms terrify me …. I have never attempted to learn about them.
I had to look up algorithm trading ( also apparently known as ‘black box’ trading ) ….. and I absolutely freaked out. …. I knew computer trading existed – but didn’t know how. This little note was offered on the same page :
It is over. The trading that existed
down the centuries has died.
We have an electronic market today.
It is the present. It is the future.
Robert Greifeld, NASDAQ CEO, April 2011
==========
Sorry to hear you lost a ‘paper’ fortune Matters Not ….. ALL overseas Stock Exchanges have slid into the mire overnight according to CommSec. I DREAD to know what today ( Friday ) will bring for our trading.
Your last sentence sure is correct, re Abbott .
=====
This is so much doom and gloom.
“Since the turn of the century, household wealth in Australia has grown at an average annual rate of 11%.”
NO it hasn’t……… the amount of money they may be worth might have, but in real terms it’s more than likely that they are poorer……
Anne…..
Just to put it on the record: my mate Dave (who is more often right than wrong…) predicts the crash will happen tomorrow (Friday in NY), possibly at close of business…..
Saudi stock market crashed 4.9%,
France bond risk rises 30%,
Italy cuts taxes and increase borrowings, (in defiance of EU rules)
Gold spiked $28 in 4 hours in NY
WTI dipped below $80 /b
DJI crashed 180 points on opening
WTF everywhere.
In the US 95% of income gains since 2009 have accrued to the top 1%. I would suggest the pattern is similar here. If the return on capital is higher than the economic growth rate, then wealth tends to become more concentrated. The rich get richer. Those who are unable to enter the housing or share market will fall increasingly behind as wages stagnate increasing at less than the CPI so in effect going backwards in real terms and as unemployment grows.
Anne no need for doom and gloom. We are being forced by evolution to change our ways or suffer the consequences. Are we smart enough? Evolution does not care however, if we don’t, many will suffer. We still have time to fix this however the last gasp anti-science magical mythical neoconservative, and economic rationalists may need to be kicked into changing or they will do substantial damage on the way. You would be surprised how many intellectuals are working outside of the mainstream the only real problem is they are confronting resistance by massive wealth and entrenched power. There will be consequences for this greed and ignorance however all is not lost.
Evolution is always a double edged sword of stasis and crisis producing either adaptation, extinction or stagnation. However there is just too much happening technologically with the power of exponential growth in technology for us to be too sanguine. Our choices internally subtly reshape our personal universes and though the dynamics of the complex whole is the prime mover the emergence of nominal choice means we can, as individuals, reshape our conformity and conditioning. There will be a critical number needed for social transformation meanwhile we can reshape our inner conception of existence. Everyone’s universe is ever so slightly out of sink temporally due to relativity and time dilation and in some mysterious, yet little understood way, everyone’s universe is unique. The technical details are complex however the philosophical implications are profound. Again it’s not what we know that is uplifting it is what we are willing to admit that we don’t know and the limits of scientific knowledge that can drive a sense of the profound possibilities resting on the fabric of existence,
The difficulty is to mesh your inner realm of love, beauty and compassion with the outer world of primitivism and evolutionary backwardness. That is why rather than engrossing oneself in the complexity of physics, mathematics and science the alternative is to explore the domain of art, beauty, aesthetic dynamism and creativity played out on the infinite texture of abstract generativity. We tend to see existence as a sort of mono-tone unified whole, or gestalt, whereas the dynamics are complex interrelationships of many interacting variables that allow for inner realms of creative generativity, mystery awe and wonder. Research demonstrates we all need hope and a sense of purpose however primitive religious magic and mythological irrationality is causing untold damage while atheism and nihilism undermine the evolutionary drive for meaning.
Why does research demonstrate we need subjective meaning and purpose. Now that is the fifty million dollar question. Partially I think it is to militate against the fear of death. Also it forces intelligence to recognize the emergence of theoretical and conceptual infinity. We do not invent infinity it is a product of evolutionary complexification and self-organization. This existence is bloody huge with inbuilt potentialities beyond our wildest imaginations. Two hundred more years of technical evolution and we are the future primitives. The point is how do we enter that space of dynamic creativity and hope? Through art, beauty and emotional fulfillment in positive loving kindness and a humble recognition of the complexities and limitations of science of course. Okham’s razor may lead to simple rules, laws and constants yet the evolving dynamic whole is inordinately complex. There is always a danger in taking on scientific absolutes as if they are the only game in town. This requires a questioning mobile and labile mind.
You cannot know everything however there is always vastly more to realize than we can derive from our current limited understanding. Point is are we really so afraid of death that we fear to love and forgive thus creating a more just and equitable world. We either work it out or evolution will have its way.
Kaye its just ridiculous when all that growth goes into offshore accounts, family trusts, super, and share buy backs, while trying to undermine wages and conditions and deconstruct the public and welfare sectors. We the plebes actually see nothing. GDP growth is a giant con job. These bastards have got such a firm grip on the cultural paradigm it is difficult to challenge their endless lies. How the hell do we wake up Australia?
Don’t worry folks… it’s now TOO BIG TO FAIL.
Can you believe the audacity of the politicians and commentators who STILL bang on about the “free market” as it is a pure and permanent force of nature? The truth is that the so-called “free market” is whatever the rich and powerful WANT it to be….
Another excellent article Alan Austen. And good news for all Australians to read and mull over. It is timely to consider how really well off many of us are, how comfortable our lifestyles are and how much money we spend and how we spend it.
So many of us have absolutely huge mortgages which hold the owner hostage. Is it wise to have a mortgage of over half a million and have to service that mortgage? What proportion of our wages are lost to discretionary spending which is wasteful? etc.
The reason that I ask these questions and suggest some self analysis is that Abbott has opened Australia now to the world of retail and our wealth will be hollowed out by barrage advertising and rising costs in all things gradually at first and then to a greater degree.
Each of us needs to take care not only of ourselves but also our fellow Australians who are less well off because the pension has been cut in real terms with the loss of the 1200 bonus per annum. if we are wealthy we should be donating to charities to assist not only in overseas emergencies but in local charities which have lost federal funding. Many families will starve without their food supplied by a charity. The school kids bonus has also been removed so huge number kids need financial help too to go to school.(17% of kids live in poverty in Australia) that is a terrible statistic and something to be ashamed of in this wealthy land.
THese are the things we have to remember while at the same time taking care with our assets to protect them from erosion as well.
We have at least another 2 years of this PERVERSE government and the consequences will be felt by all.
Expect our rankings to drop as a result of Abbott and his government of destruction and their willingness to divide society. Their ideologies will ensure the rich will become richer, but in doing so their wealth will continue to outstrip and mask the ongoing decline of those at the lower end of the wealth spectrum.
The problem is that EVEN now when we are so much more comfortable many of us with incomes over 80,000 PA there is still a dominating belief that we are not well off and this is confirmed daily by LMP propaganda about national debt etc all a FALLACY.
Why do we believe we are UP AGAINST IT when we earn such decent incomes and own homes and drive cars which cost 40,000 on average? What is wrong with people?
Why do Australia’s rich NOT DONATE TO CHARITY? Why not support charity? It is a tax deduction.
Why not?
$80,000 pa – in my dreams
http://tinyurl.com/ll52h9f
The opposite of what Abbott and this government is doing and why we are going backwards and nations like Bolivia are not.
Stephen T …….. I thoroughly enjoy reading your philosophical comments …. The Gestalt theory is a mind blower ! ….. not something I have studied … and probably wouldn’t. Although perhaps I ( we all ) should ?? I know of it – having been interested in psychology all my life – but only the tiniest bit about it. It is complex.
I find quite a bit of Zen in your commentaries actually. ” To know less, is to know more …..” There are many such written wisdoms, but the variaties in Zen, are so wide spread it is impossible to come to an ‘essential’. The search for inner light, is uppermost at least.
I have a brilliant book called “The Way of Chuang Tzu ” by Thomas Merton … who, although converted to Catholicism and an enclosed ( I think ) life as a Trappist Monk in 1948 , none-the-less was seen as an expert in Zen and Tao …. ( to the degree anybody could be ). …..
He wrote many books – and was / is, widely read – even today. He was seen as ‘peculiarly well qualified to explain Taoism & Zen “.
I have no doubt you know of his works.
Thank you for your thoughts, comments, philosophies and encouragements.
To Mikestasse ….. I am NOT looking forward with any glee to tonight’s financial reports. ……
My personal share holding is miniscule, but I am still interested.
The one thing I watch VERY closely is always the gold price.
When that soars – nasties might be about to break loose. …… has always been a good barometer, as to what is and isn’t in the world of money. ….
Yesterday, we dipped and then rallied.
The %’s you quoted were not pretty, from yesterday. Your final comment – is appropriate at this time. !!! …
We have been through all this before, and I trust we can come through it all again. 1987 was a shocker, and cost many people millions – billions in fact.
It is fascinating, the way people adjust their way of life to hard times … I mean in the every day sense. ……. not talking about mental health issues, although this kind of instabiility and insecurity, can lead to that – e.g. depression.
Ann if interested try Nagarjuna though can be a little challenging. Lots of misreadings as usual. Need a thorough perusal of original texts. He is the father of Chan and Zen Buddhism though most are freaked out by his appeal to give up all of the sutras (texts) to find Sunayata the Void. It can neither be called void nor non-void but to point it out I call it void. I do not belong to any religion but these are a couple of books worth the effort. “The Way of Zen” by Alan Watts is a great introduction to Nagarjuna. Clearly and precisely written. Question is what do you do when asked to give up all beliefs and dogmas? Even the respected Zen historian D. T. Suzuki doesn’t get it because he wants to keep the karma reincarnation nonsense. Nagarjuna says you have to give it all up. Called Non-dualism in the twentieth and twenty first century. Nisargadatta Maharaj is probably the best Advaita (non-dual) Vedantist advocate of non-dualism. Cutting wit and profound insights. Nagarjuna: “Studies in the Writing and Philosophy of Nagarjuna” Chr Lindter. For Nisargadatta: “Pointers From Nisargadatta Maharaj” by Ramesh S. Baleskar. If you do a Google search it will just lead to chaos and confusion. Brilliant insights that turn many ideas on their head however love, compassion, non-judgment and infinity are at the core of non-dualism. Fits very well with science and evolutionary theory. Westerners find the whole idea of emptiness of narrative and conceptual form a real struggle.
By the way Anne though I did research Gestalt Therapy at Uni I used the term in the sense of the German as organizational whole: Nothing similar in English so a very useful word.
stephentardrew,
My favourite word in Deutsch is “backpfeifengesicht”.
So the rabid rabbit wanted to put 1000 Aussie troops in Ukraine, but sending help into areas of Ebola is too dangerous for Aussies, Abbott is playing pick the political cherry for maximum votes, and people in Africa with Ebola are the losers ….. what a tool Abbott is and a dangerous tool at that…and the fool who wrote this article has overdosed on his stupid pills…
“A related concern is that Abbott shows a tendency towards imprudence. The shirt fronting saga is a trivial example, but there is a more serious one. According to news reports, in the aftermath of the MH17 crash he wanted to put one thousand Australian troops onto the crash site in Eastern Ukraine. Such a deployment would have presented unacceptable risks to Australian personnel as well as unprecedented logistical problems for the Australian Defence Force. Why on earth would we put so many of our people between such bitter enemies? Luckily, cooler heads prevailed”.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/ambitious-foreign-policy-push-yet-to-coalesce-20141016-117105.html#ixzz3GOQouenA
Come on Corvus tell us what it means. Bitchslapface?
Pretty much that, stephentardrew.
I gather the literal translation is “cheek-whistle face” but the colloquial means ‘a face badly wanting/needing a slap/punch’.
Broadly applicable to many current politicians.
(( CORVUS )) …. ( lol … 🙂 ) – – – – “backpfeifengesicht”
Well of course I damn well looked it up ….. and my first ( and only findings ) was ” back whistling face” …. whatever the hell that means.
I prefer your definition ….. and there are certainly a few faces that badly need a good punch in the teeth ( or thereabouts ) in the LNP.
No matter – they all need a good dressing down ( but not beyond the budgie smugglers – puleeeze ). 😉
To Dan Dark ………. Abbott is certainly a very dangerous nutcase. Which is worse than just a dangerous bloke.
On a link I saw on another post on AIM …. Peter Dutton was interviewed by Michael Brissenden of the ABC – about the situation in West Africa and why we were not doing anything pro-active about it. Brissendens’ questions were soft and quiet – which was a good ploy to get Dutton to open up ….. however, Dutton went around in circles ( as most LNP bottom feeders do ) …. and repeated himself many times over – except for one grand blooper.
While he rejected the idea of manually assisting the West African countries, in any way we could – citing over and over again at the same time that we are at ‘low low risk’ of it spreading here ……. he did go on to say the following to Brissendens question :
………… MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: ” Okay, what if it comes to our region? I mean that, you would have to consider that a threat to national security, wouldn’t you? ”
……….. PETER DUTTON: ” Well, we’ve already planned for that and we would have the capacity to rapidly respond if a country within our region sought our assistance. And we believe very strongly that it would be the responsibility of Australia to respond in our region and we do have the assets and the personnel to be able to do that and those plans have been in place for some time.
And obviously there wouldn’t be health workers coming from Europe to our part of the world to provide that response. It would be Australia’s response and we are well prepared for it. “.
Umm …. excuse me ! We cannot provide any form of medical or otherwise, assistance in West Africa ( except for a bit of money ) … yet if it comes to ‘our region’ – .. … we have the capability of dealing with it ? AND …. we have ‘planned for that’ ? He specifies a country, or countries ‘within our region’ so let’s take Indonesia for example, or perhaps New Zealand ( God forbid to both ). We would be amply able to assist there, but not in the region of West Africa where the threat is at its highest ?
This is totally nonsensical …. as the risk IS what it is – a virus that is difficult to control and eradicate. Why would it be any different if it happens ‘within our region’ ….. than it is in West Africa. ??????? it’s a VIRUS for gosh sakes …..
ah – forgot – the extra flying miles that going to West Africa might incur. The fuel needed ? ( oh shudder )
But we can pour 500,000 litres of fuel into our Hornets ( according to Ch. 9 news, and fight not yet required, except for 2 hits – possibly at the behest of the U.S. and not Iraq ) …. while sitting on the fringes of what might be ??? “Abbott’s crowning war glory”. Jayzuzz !!!
——-
Far more important to pour money into some form of skewed ( as it is now ) war scheme, than to tackle a humanitarian crisis.
So much for Australia ( which I love ) and its reputation – all because of one idiot at the helm. !! @%&^*#*
Anne I saw Mutton ooops Dutton on lateline last night, talking the same sort of double speak/lies
back in May and June the “experts” and they were on the ABC and W.H.O on foreign news saying constantly back then ebola is a risk to national security above anything else going on in the world even ISIS…
but nooo Super Tones and Mutton has ignored that call for humanitarian help, tooooo go bomb Iraq in response to a humanitarian crisis is Iraq,,, The authorites predicted this spread in Africa and then into other countries,, whammy its happened…because Obama and other country leaders ignored, yes ignored the “experts” those pesky experts are right again…
I rang Duttons office tis morning and said,Dutton should of stuck at being a corrupt copper, because he is failing miserably as a minister for health and a man, he is a disgrace and talks double talk, the bloke is a joke” end of call 🙂
Rockefeller family divesting fossil fuels.
There is no future in coal so they are reinvesting in renewables.
Had phone call from Tony Abbott and because of his brave action on ANU decided to rescind decision.
Tones is playing with the big boys now.
Oops news flash Rockefeller says just joking Tony.
DanDark,
The author of that quisling piece(your 7:40 link) is a fellow from the Lowy Institute, another right-wing group-wank think-tank containing creatures like Judith Sloane and Ian McFarlane.
The generally grovelling tone on Tones, and the light-hearted dismissal of the potentially disastrous repercussions of the touted idea of a military deployment in the Ukraine(one mishap away from a war against a major power with thermonuclear capability) is unsurprising given that this comes from a LNP sucker-fish group.
It it patently ridiculous that, despite devoting huge areas of print space to such blatantly partisan mouthpieces(and the likes of Peter Reith and Amanda Vanstone), Fairfax media is still accused of ‘leftist bias’ by Murdoch presstitutes.
Anthony Loewenstein pretty much says it all cuttingly and succinctly. The scary thing is that the corporate ultra-neoconservatives have so effectively brought Tea Party politics to Australia without the circus that goes with it in the US. The way to do it to just straight out lie before the elections then introduce the IPA bag of extreme legislative goals which very much resemble the activities of ALEC in the USA. Brought to you by lies and deception and complicity of the complacent and biased media. Many Australians were asleep as politicians left and right became guardians of the oligarchic elite.
“We are no longer citizens, we no longer have leaders”, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden told The New Yorker last week: “We’re subjects, and we have rulers.”
Now thats as clear as it gets. Point is what to do now?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/16/australia-is-on-the-road-to-a-tea-party-revolution
Anne i have been digging around trying to get some info on why Dud left/was pushed from the police. many rumours nothing concrete…will keep on.
David, keep digging, you will find something, he was/ is as corrupt as they come ol’ Duds the dud…
Corvus, these presstitutes need mandatory drug and alcohol tests before they are allowed to put pen to paper, of finger to keyboard, and vomit all that fantasy onto the masses, Fullilove is Fullishit….
On the back of Hockey saying they will need to do a better job of selling IR, i.e. WorkChoices, next time Abbott comes out with this.
http://pbs.twimg.com/media/B0MgMChCEAAR9oM.png
It’s never been proven lower wages creates more jobs, but they certainly tank the economy as spending goes out the door.
But DD, hacks getting sozzled is the bedrock of the press.
eg. Tim Blair examines Islam in the suburbs(EXCLUSIVE);
Catches cab to Lakemba pub. Whinges with barmaid how moslems don’t drink enough. Leers blearily in window of shop selling shawls and qurans while waiting for cab home. Pours stiff drink then scribbles article.
It’s called investigative journalism.
I shall DD its a mission of mercy, for all those beneficiaries who are suffering under Duds cruel policies…the truth is out there.
Corvus, “investigative journalism” lol too funny,
investigate means to delve, these presstitutes run on shallowness and are basically bigots and cowards of the highest order….
To David ….. ( October 17, 2014 at 10:10 pm – your comment )
Just a suggestion ……. you could follow your phone call up with a well worded letter – without any form of confrontation or outright criticism. …… They turf out the hefty criticisim pretty quickly.
I have found letter writing to pollies, ( just a few over time ) gets results – provided I am somewhat respectful – but at the same time most definitely challenging to the recipient. …….. Be it Abbott,, Napthine ( Victoria ), Pyne and a couple of others here and there. I have received replies, and while that is sort of satisfying in a way, they have not always answered my queries … [ of course ] . …. And I DO form my letters in the way of questions or queries. ( I suspect … LOL …. that it appeals to their egos, to be ‘asked questions’ ).
However, a bell, once rung – cannot be unrung …… and every chance we get to challenge and query these elected ( ??? ) pollies, should be taken. Because I believe it CAN make a difference —– even if in a very tiny way.
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Agree with Dan Dark … keep digging. Mutton chops has a reputation …. and where there’s smoke there’s fire. It’s a long haul however, to find out what we want to know – these days. Good luck with your perseverance.
Anne sorry for confusion, presume you were referring to Dans comment not mine cheers 🙂
To Stephen T ….. ( October 17, 2014 at 6:23 pm – your comment ) ……. am late in responding – only just come back on line after a day of respite and relief ( from technology which goes awry – gives me the horrors at times ).
Had a look at a link about Nagarjuna ….. and what a mind blower THAT was. ……… Would take several life times to get thru all that. Much mystery surrounds his origins and pursuits, if followed as far as I imagine it could go.
So ….. at my age, I rather think I might not go there – but …. one never knows ! ,,,,,, Being a total glutton for study of the unusual, philosophic and indeed legendary … I might just get to it again. ……. and follow ( if I can ). … There was much in your post that I could ( and have to a very tiny degree now ) researched. …….it is all very tempting.
Thank you for your responses.
Yes David … you are right. ………. It was Dan who made the phone call and Dan I should have referred my suggestions to.
I am in my ‘Golden Years’ !!!! ….. and sometimes they are damned awful. Many senior moments, at times. ……
However, thankfully……. a bit of savvy remains. !! 😉
Anne..your Golden years as you so beautifully put, are an example that they should hold no fears for those of us not there yet…..as my beloved rogue Irish grandad says “there is life in the old dog yet, so dont presume to kick me without a bite in retaliation”
Have never known you to bite perhaps when warranted the odd bark :-)..enjoy your contributions as I am sure all of us do.
Cheers.
Earth calling Anne, Earth calling Anne, how many light years are you away from here???……
oh you said “I am in my Golden Years”
excuse me while I adjust my specs because the older I get the blinder I am… lol
But I look at it this way….Gold is the most precious of metals so there is an upside to the “Golden years” 🙂
Thank you david and DanD for your kind remarks and comments.
I do enjoy contributing – as we all do, enjoy the repartee, and reading the good suggestions that so many have, on how to get ourselves out of the mire we are in at present. I do indeed bite hard when I am pushed far enough, but that is not often …. cannot claim to have not been in a few verbal punch-ups on line. !! 😉 I will always stand up for myself, so there’s still a bit of clout in the ‘older’ duck.
I refuse to call myself old – I always say I am ‘older’. ! lol
Gold ? …. you are right Dan …. there is actually a lot to be said for the Golden Years, although many people seem to think they ‘suck’.
I just have a few ‘senior moments’ here and there, that I wish didn’t happen – many people do ( have them, and wish I hadn’t ) !!
My eyesight is quite ok – but my hearing ain’t too crash hot 🙂 ……
the richest for 5% of the population maybe, the reality is 95% of australians die without a cent to their name regardless or not if they think they are moral or whatever they think they have upstanding social staus the truth the cold hard truth is that 95% of australians die with nothing sometimes even more than nothing