Category Archives: Business

Bangladesh disaster shows why we must urgently clean up global sweat shops

By Sharif As-Saber | Published: 08/05/2013
The disastrous building collapse in Bangladesh’s capital of Dhaka which has killed hundreds of ill-fated garment workers and wounded thousands, has finally shone some well-needed light into the murky business of global sweatshops. Greed, profiteering, empire-building and a lack of transparency and morality underpin the rise of this industry. Following the collapse of Rana Plaza [...]
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Why Queensland didn’t need to sell the family farm

By David Hayward | Published: 01/05/2013
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 [...]
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Online GST push places an unfair burden on pop culture lovers

By John Lenarcic | Published: 28/09/2012
Will the long tail of the internet be docked by the fastidious imposition of GST to online purchases? Australian retailers have been lobbying the federal government to up the ante on online GST by lowering the tax-free limit so that it would apply to transactions under $1000 AUD. Some have argued that the so-called low [...]
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Boom and bust: the parlous health of our state finances

By David Hayward | Published: 25/06/2012
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 [...]
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Fairfax is broke and dying before our eyes – it needs Gina

By Sinclair Davidson | Published: 19/06/2012
Every business needs paying customers. Who those paying customers are varies from business to business. The single largest paying customer for Australian universities, for example, is the federal government. Similarly the ABC’s only paying customer is the federal government. The point being that the single largest customer might also own the organisation. Fairfax used to [...]
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Measuring hidden unemployment: Part 2

By Ashton de Silva | Published: 29/05/2012
This post is a follow up to another article by Dr De Silva. Read the previous post here. Recently the ABS released the latest unemployment statistics. These figures were remarkably good given the mediocre global economic environment. Notably, the release received little media attention and the attention it did receive was fairly critical. The main [...]
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Interest rates: A case for no change

By Ashton de Silva | Published: 30/03/2012
Recently, the RBA has been called on to reduce the official cash rate at their next board meeting. These calls are being made by representatives of industries that are integral to Australia’s economic wellbeing; see for example the comments made by Solomon Lew and the Housing Industry Association. While I understand and appreciate the concerns [...]
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ASEAN Economic Community: the implications for Australia

By Nattavud Pimpa | Published: 20/02/2012
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has a long history of the promotion of active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative aspects in the region. The ten members of ASEAN are diverse in political, economic and racial backgrounds but are common [...]
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Broadband: Investing in future prosperity

By Vincent ODonnell | Published: 06/02/2012
The news came not from the shadow minister for communication, Malcolm Turnbull, but shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey earlier this month. In an exclusive interview with the [Sydney Morning] Herald, Mr Hockey identified the government’s $36 billion national broadband network as the Coalition’s big political target this year. The broadband network was by far the biggest [...]
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Are Australian international roaming charges the greatest rip-off in history?

By Mark Gregory | Published: 02/12/2011
What’s the greatest rip-off going? Maybe so many come to mind that you’re reaching for a pen. Your list might look something like this: bottled water sports drinks petrol price rises just before a long weekend or public holiday credit card interest rates and surcharges.
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