Has the Howard Government really boosted working families’ incomes, asks John Morrissey. Howard Government boosts the working family’s income! This unlikely-sounding scenario is true for single-income families with children and earning low take-home wages. In fact, the $25,000 a year gross wages of a breadwinner with two children and a carer/spouse, is topped up to…
Kevin Rudd has accepted the right of state and territory Labor governments to veto his new uranium policy. The ALP national conference decision to lift the party’s current ban on the development of new uranium mines was widely praised as a change of direction, as Mr Rudd imposed his new agenda on the Labor Party.…
The Federal Government announces its new anti-drugs initiative, reports Peter Westmore. The announcement by the Prime Minister that his government will spend an additional $150 million to counter the emerging illegal drug epidemic of “ice”, crystal methamphetamine, highlights the continuing problem of illegal drug use in Australia, and the failures of “harm minimisation” as a…
Anzac Day has become the nation’s choice as its pre-eminent national day, writes Mark Lopez. Children at Anzac Day dawn service,Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne,April 25, 2007. (Photo by Mark Lopez). When the last post sounded in the pre-dawn darkness, I discreetly looked around me. I saw solemn faces, and heads respectfully bowed. Family groups huddled…
