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About Blog Central
Blog Central is a space for RMIT academics and senior staff to blog about their areas of expertise and interests.
The views and opinions expressed by the authors on this blog do not necessarily reflect those of RMIT University.
All are welcome to contribute. If you're interested in blogging, please contact Zoë Kleeborn from University Communications.
Category Archives: Politics
Why Queensland didn’t need to sell the family farm
Back in July last year Queensland Premier Campbell Newman was in a very black mood. All was gloom and doom in the Sunshine State, as he warned Queensland was “on the way to being bankrupted” without tough action. Back then, his government was shaping up to do a Jeff Kennett, painting the grimmest of pictures [...]
Also posted in Business Tagged Australia, Australian government, budget, debt, Peter Costello, policy, politics, premier, privatisation, Queensland, RMIT, treasurer Leave a comment
Conferring to change the world
Recently I took part in the incredible experience that is Harvard WorldMUN. I came across the application while browsing the RMIT News feed and had no real idea of what it involved, but decided to jump in to try something new. WorldMUN is an annual event, bringing together more than 2,000 university students from more [...]
Also posted in Education, Law, Social Justice Tagged experience, harvard, Melbourne, model, RMIT, students, UN, United Nations, worldMUN, youth Leave a comment
Israel, Gaza and the tragic justifications for war
Gaza, ostracised, enclosed and pummelled, is being levelled – again. Israel’s case against Hamas, expressed both via air strikes and a social media war, is one of self-defence. Article 51 of the United Nations Charter affirms that right, one accepted in customary international law. But the comments of the Israeli minister Operation Pillar of Defence [...]
Also posted in Media & Communications, Social Justice, Social Media Tagged gaza, Israel, the west bank, war Comments closed
Who will hold the balance of power on electricity?
The Senate Select Committee on Electricity Pricing tabled its report in Parliament on November 1. The inquiry found substantial evidence of failures in the rules and operation of the electricity market, even though the electricity sector says it is taking adequate action to deal with a range of issues. The report commented (para 3.101) that [...]
Also posted in Economics & Finance, Sustainability, Technology Tagged Australia, electricity generation, Victoria Comments closed
One for Mum but not for Dad and definitely not for the Country
Yesterday the Treasurer announced that the baby bonus would be reduced by $2,000 for second and subsequent children with the view to save $461 million over four years. While much media and political discussion has focused on the distributional implications of this reduction, the important implications for fertility and population have largely been overlooked. Following [...]
Also posted in Economics & Finance, Research Tagged baby, baby bonus, children, family Comments closed
Porn, manga and the 21st century Japanese man
The generation of men who have come of age in Japan’s twenty-first century society have grown up enveloped in a world of pornography. They are the first generation to have grown up as teenagers with easy and individually-tailored access to hardcore and child pornography in the form of manga comic books and the first to [...]
Also posted in Law, Media & Communications Tagged Chakuero, child pornography, Japan, Japanese government, Japanese men, manga, porn, pornography Comments closed
Migrant and FIFO worker schemes: a failure in imagination
The decision to bring in temporary migrant workers for the huge mining projects in the north of Australia represents yet another major mistake by a seriously incompetent federal government. However much the decision is hedged by administrative caveats, it represents a public relations disaster from the perspective of Australian’s unemployed in a climate of employment [...]
Boom and bust: the parlous health of our state finances
We are most of the way through a very long budget season this year, beginning with Victorian Treasurer Kim Wells in May and is not due to end till Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls delivers his first budget on September 12. Late on Friday night, Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu released details of the deep public sector [...]
Also posted in Business, Economics & Finance Tagged budget, mining boom, mining tax, revenue, state government, treasurer Comments closed
Hollande and Merkel: breaking up is hard to do
Europe is in economic dire straits and the two most powerful economies on the continent are, at least on paper, led by individuals with considerable differences. The previous French President Nicolas Sarkozy was not merely regarded as a man of austerity, but a man who Chancellor Angela Merkel could do business with. The Sarkozy-Merkel imprint [...]
Also posted in Economics & Finance Tagged Angela Markel, Europe, France, Francois Hollande, Germany, Greek economy, Nicolas Sarkozy Comments closed
Prevention not prison: justice reinvestment makes dollars and sense