Cleanfeed

Finally, the list of URLs included in the blacklist has been published. If you want to check it out, be warned, there is a lot of hard core and not so hard core pornography on it. I doubt much of it is illegal, but by merely being included in the list, it has been declared 'objectionable', by whichever secret persons the minister has tasked this with.

If you need to proxy around the firewall to see the list, and you are using the Firefox browser, simply click on the 'Tools' menu item and in the drop-down box click 'Add-ons'. A box will then open. In the search area of this box, type either 'Foxyproxy' or 'Torbutton'. Click to install and restart your browser when prompted. You have now rendered the multi-million dollar government firewall obsolete. It's so easy a twelve year old could do it.

Now I don't like the content listed in the list, but why is up to the government to blindfold the Australian people? I would rather see the world as it is, rather than some kind of 'government approved edit'. The government does not exist to distort our perception of the world, it exists to implement policy as decided by the electorate. We the electorate must have access to the truth in order to make good decisions about which policies to vote for.

On the subject of policy, did the ALP not promise paid maternity leave before the election? I wonder how they can afford a multi-million dollar firewall yet can't afford to keep their election promise to new mothers. Australian families won't even be able to feed their children now, let alone afford give their kids access to computers and the Net.

Stimulating the Australian economy

Urgent message to the Australian government: The banks are curtailing their lending to struggling businesses because of the stimulus bill! Why? Because of the $42b of risk free commonwealth debt soon to come onto the market.

They are doing this because
1) The risk/return ratio on Australian government debt is far more attractive than what it is for commercial paper right now.
2) Purchasing a fixed A$ income stream now, by way of corporate bonds, would almost certainly make a loss when the Australian Dollar is expected to take a hit from massive discretionary spending on imported goods as a result of the $950 per household handout.

This is similar to the situation the US banks find themselves in. Obama's stimulus plan is considered a low dollar policy, making US corporate bonds less attractive now, compared to what they will be in the future. All the major banks are reducing credit lines to customers in response to this situation. Let's not follow their lead.

Brumby fiddles while Victoria burns

For politicians, the problem with bushfires is that it becomes necessary to throw money at the victims, but when people are hurting and looking for someone to blame, sometimes less is more. The guiltiest looking politician can be the one who shovels too much cash, sheds the most insincere crocodile tears, and engages in the most ridiculous displays of faked public sympathy (see Victorian Premier John Brumby's display on the Sunday night news).

When the politicians are finished handing out lollies and the reality of the situation sinks in, the victims will be looking for the reasons why so many structures, many of which had stood for over a century, were able to be swept away with such ease, and why so many people found it impossible to find places to shelter from the inferno.

It is only a matter of time before people begin to realise that the real reason for the loss of so many lives and structures was that state and local government environmental regulations, introduced in the 1980s and 1990s, prevent residents from felling large trees on their properties, irrespective of whether they pose a fire danger to structures. Now I'm not in favour of people felling forestland willy nilly, but there is definitely a case to be made for replacement of large eucalypts with less flamable varieties, especially where their canopies pose a danger to structures.

The lessons for state governments are.
Native trees = native scrub
Native scrub = bushfires
Bushfires = loss of life.
Therefore, alter environmental regulations to allow clearing of native bush around structures.

But am I missing the point? As Roman emperor Nero knew full well:
fires = a great distraction for the general public
great distractions = less public opposition
less public opposition = less incentive for government to prevent fires.

Are we likely to see change? Not unless it is made clear that the government is responsible for the fires and they are punished in the opinion polls.

Australia's stimulus package goes against treasurer's previous forecasts

The Australian treasurer has unveiled his four fiscal stimulus bills, which were rushed through the lower house in an emergency overnight sitting last week. In recent days, the government has chastised the opposition for holding an enquiry into the details of the bill in the senate, and blocking its immediate adoption as legislation.

The federal opposition, and other critics of the bill, note that the size of the borrowing that must take place in order for it to proceed would place Australia in the position of debtor for decades to come. The government has forecast the total cost to be in the order of $42 billion dollars.

The government claims that the most recent economic projections demand stimulus of this magnitude, yet only months ago, the treasurer's projections were for "slower growth, but solid growth" of 2% for the 2008-2009 financial year. Now, new economic data have shown that GDP is shrinking.

The reliance on borrowing, which will have to be repaid, is a big call, given the inaccuracy of previous predictions from the treasurer. Indeed, as the treasurer pointed out himself, "Given the new circumstances, ah, we are going to have to cut our cloth to suit those circumstances, and we're not going to be able to do, ah, the wish list that many people have for us to do. It's that simple". A $42 billion deficit spending spree is a big change of tune indeed.

Japan to give US$17bn in aid to Asia

Japanese prime minister Taro Aso has stated at the WEF in Davos, Switzerland, that his country would lend a minimum of $17bn to developing Asian countries.

This is not as generous a move as it may sound. Japan has a huge current account surplus as a result of it's successful manufacturing export sector. It's companies normally reinvest the money that they earn from countries like the United States and Australia back into these economies by way of loans to our governments. With the advent of the financial meltdown, risk free government bond prices have shot through the roof, providing very little yield for foreign investors, along with greater risk of declines in US dollar linked currencies eroding the marketable value of these assets for foreigners.

Japan is left with no option but to invest its US dollar earnings elsewhere, and the most likely recipients are developing countries in Asia, who would most likely invest the money in infrastructure or manufacturing plant and equipment... most of which is made in Japan.

This is good news for Australian commodity exporters though, as increased spending on heavy infrastructure in Asia will almost certainly increase demand for steel, base metals, lumber, coal and food.

More than 2 children "irresponsible"

The UK government's green advisor, Jonathon Porritt, says couples who have more than two children are irresponsible. He recommends more abortions and contraception as a means to save the environment.

I wonder what he thinks about Australia's baby bonus. ;-) My advice to the UK government is don't abort them. Send them to Australia. Our government will pay good money for them.

Rudd Calls for More Regulation

News.com.au reports that Kevin Rudd has had enough time over the past few months to write a 7000 word essay on the end of the free market in Australia. In the new work, it is claimed, he declares "a new era of re-regulation". "The time has come, off the back of the current crisis, to proclaim that the great neo-liberal experiment of the past 30 years has failed, that the emperor has no clothes", he is quoted as saying, "Ironically, it falls to social democracy to prevent liberal capitalism from cannibalising itself."

Now, it is all well and good to produce a document reaffirming what has been labor party policy since day one, but I wonder if he could have better timed the release of this statement. It comes as businesses all over Australia are trying to refinance loans. I wonder how foreign investors will feel about lending money to Australian companies when our prime minister has just announced a new era of regulation, without specifying details.

Making an unqualified statement that you will soon increase regulation merely introduces a new cost; regulatory risk; which will have to be priced into the financial markets and loans made by foreign investors to Australian companies. It is beginning to look like very poorly thought out communications strategy from the PM's office.

Australia Day 2009 "riots"

For most Australians, the national holiday is a well earned chance to relax. Many choose to head to the beaches, and in the larger population centres, the 'many' turns into a crowd.

Now, a lot of Australians like to enjoy an alcoholic beverage or two on their national holiday, and, as a result, the occasional fight breaks out. News reports from as far away as the UK report "100's" of youths clashing at Manly, in Sydney, and Burleigh Heads, near Brisbane.

Yet a look at the number of arrests tells a different story. Apparently there were only 4 people arrested at Burleigh. Two 16yo boys, a 15yo boy, and a 15yo girl, after a minor scuffle, something that happens in schoolyards on a daily basis. This is hardly a riot, so why is the MSM attempting to make it look like one? You be the judge.

Welcome to Strategy Australia

This blog is intended as an open comment forum for discussion of a broad range of topics related to Australia. First I would like to introduce myself. My name is Benjamin Melville and I am a 27 year old economics student based in the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

My objective is to bring Australia's most important news to forefront, invite comment and keep it on the agenda long after the mainstream media has moved on. I will try to keep the blog posts as politically neutral as possible, but I will most certainly allow politically biased posts in the comments section, no matter what end of the spectrum you root for. I hope to maintain real-time comments, so please don't abuse my generousity :-).