The term "Gravy Train" as applied to our parliament and government-, may be interpreted as harsh and critical, but the writer is using this slang term with intent. Since the inception of our Federation and the establishment of our " Constitution", the early years were possibly effective and constructive. Unfortunately, the Colonial politicians who created our new Nation, although they may have been acting with good and sincere intent initially, soon started to realise that

This article in this week's "The Saturday Paper" by Mike Seccombe, titled as above, is very prescient and should be read in full. (Available online) He makes so many salient points. I'll just plug my own opinions on certain issues. Apart from the fact that we Australians have always had an affinity to gambling, extremes and excesses have also always resulted in financial difficulty and hardship. When, in about 1956, the NSW state government(Labor) licensed slot machines (lat

An article in "The Saturday Paper" W/ended July 10/26 by Nicolette Boele, the newly elected independent member for Bradfield,NSW, is excellent. She is so qualified-, to expound on this subject. The fact that consecutive governments (ie. Our so-called "two - party" system) are both so enmeshed in accepting largesse from the fossil fuel industry in our country, that the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions, for the benefit of "climate change" and the health of our Nation, is

Further to the previous blog, another article by Jason Koutsoukis in this week's "The Saturday Paper' provides us with even more concern about the antics of so many of our corporate identities. In recent months, we have been assailed with the wrongdoings of the accounting /auditing professions. Two of the four largest of these organisations have been outed by the press, and rightly so! The fact that we ordinary citizens have assumed that our political masters ie. the governme

The article in this week's "The Saturday Paper' by Jason Koutsoukis, titled "Exclusive: KPMG takes $1.3 m to teach public servants ethics" would be funny if it wasn't so serious, particularly as it is apparently targeted at top-level public servants. The people who definitely need training in ethics, integrity and decency are our government leaders. "According to the federal parliamentary library, KPMG currently holds 297 active contracts with the Commonwealth, worth a combi

The article in last week's " The Saturday Paper" by Michelle Milthorpe, titled as above, demonstrates very strongly that although our Electoral system is probably the best in the world, it also demonstrates, the failings of the preferential voting system. Although Michelle finished a clear second to the eventual winner on first preferences, her 28.1 % was substantially better than the combined 22.2% of the so -called coalition. The fact that the eventual winner was a party o

The above title emanates from an article in the June 12/2026 edition of "The Saturday Paper" by Mike Seccombe. The actual title was "An obsessive part of the vision" Inside Rinehart's media buy-up. While its subject matter is almost entirely about Gina Rinehart and her father's latent ambitions to buy control of our media and political mastery of our government, it should be recognised for the similarity of how the current TRUMP presidency of the USA was installed, by a coho

The article titled above in "The Saturday Paper" week ended June 12, is a long- overdue story by Professor Brendan Lyon. Six years ago, he blew the whistle on conflicts of interest and a potential multi- billion dollar hole in the NSW state budget. At the time, he worked at KPMG and is now a professor,- at the University of Wollongong. He deserves acclamation from all of us. The article by Ben Butler in this paper is extremely informative as he blows the whistle on KPMG, and

The article above by Bob Brown in this week's "The Saturday Paper" is prescient ,naturally. A man of his intelligence and experience in politics, plus integrity. He even has time to take a swipe at the 800 lobbyists who work in Canberra. An unnecessary activity that should be termed "parasites". The fact that the "Lobbying Code of Conduct" in its preamble, describes it as a "legitimate activity",is to say, at the least, questionable. It was obviously written by a concert of

The article in this week's "The Saturday Paper" by Mike Seccombe, titled "An obsessive part of the vision", is terrifying to contemplate. Her father, who stumbled on a mountain of iron ore in remote West Australia, was gifted a fortune by the politicians who happened to be in government at the time. Our party politicians, who have always been very good at mishandling our national resources, apparently gifted terms to him, that were extremely generous. A policy that has prevai

The article by Karen Barlow in this week's "The Saturday Paper" titled " The rules have changed": "Inside the push for a teal party" is, in its own way, being driven by the media. But, the institution by the Labor Government of new rules regarding donation reform, blatantly favouring the two- party system is no doubt the other reason. Here again is a typical example of the way, over many decades, the two- party situation has enabled them to push legislation that benefits the

To say that the USA Presidency at this time, is a debacle, appears to be valid from any normal viewpoint?. The fact that the nation has arrived at this delirious outcome, is without doubt, the result of nefarious activities by the small number of hugely wealthy individuals in control of a variety of industries. The prime examples being the extractive coal and gas businesses, as well as those from Silicon Valley(as they have become known) In America. The Nation has, at least

Five months after my previous blog titled "The ongoing Robodebt Saga'' I discover, an article in this weeks "The Saturday Paper" by Rick Morton, ( wk. of Feb 6) clearly demonstrating this issue is still unresolved. This whole saga started apparently, in Mid 2016 under the auspices of Prime Minister Tony Abbott and continued under the Scott Morrison regime. It was eventually recognised as not only disastrous but also unlawful. When the succeeding Labor Government, found it h

The article in The Saturday Paper, week ended Feb 6/26, titled above, is to say the least "prescient". Approx - fifty years ago, when "Robotics" started to appear in various industries, there was general concern that jobs would be at risk and unemployment would escalate. Fortunately, this did not happen, and in fact, giant leaps in productivity began to appear. Working condidtions in industries such as "manufacturing" improved significantly and littie or no jobs, were lost. T

News out today from The Guardian. Apparently another $548.5 million has now been paid out, adding to the initial $2.4 Billion already paid. Yet we still do not know,who if any, are to be penalised? The fact that the coalition was the government during this debacle, appears to be of no concern to the current government. ISN'T it about time, that we voters are kept fully informed on matters such as these. It appears fairly obvious that the two major parties sit on the fence, wh

The article in this week's "The Saturday Paper" titled, as above by Mike Seccombe is full of good information but to some extent, misses...

The article by Karen Barlow in The Saturday Paper of w/eAug. 8th. is prescient and, of course valid. However, as a long- time supporter...

A recent emailed newsletter from Guardian Australia, on the ongoing subject of lobbying and the failure of our governments to address...

At this date, August 5, 2025, as we watch the deterioration of the USA under the Trump presidency, it may be easy to laugh. But as the USA...

A report in the Guardian this week, that the government is seriously considering allowing PWC to be welcomed back, appears premature to...