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The Australian Government, the Labor Party, has recently decided to change Australian legislation to approve the sale of Australian mined Uranium to India for use in Nuclear power plants. That decision was based on the fact that India needs to lower its emissions of CO2. However, the more important decision, whether or not to use that same Uranium for Nuclear power plants here in Australia was not even discussed. The same reason, lowering emissions of CO2 should also apply here in Australia, if we have to lower our emissions by moving away from coal fired power generation. This analysis compares...

After 17 long days, Australia finally has a new Government. Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been gifted Government after losing a comfortable majority. The Greens, and three Independents have lined up to support her, and Labor retains power. Three of those Independents made their final decision today giving Gillard the 76 seats she required to govern. However, there is only one seat in it, and this tenuous hold on power might change on July 1st next year when the Senators take their seats, as The Greens now effectively control that House. Gillard now leads a 'Rainbow Coalition' where not all...

It's now been a full week since the Australian Federal election, and there is still no result. The way votes are tallied and how they are actually distributed among candidates may seem archaic to some, but, oddly, it is a system that works quite well. This post explains why some electorates are still in the balance even now. It also shows how a candidate might actually finish third after the Number one votes are tallied, and yet still become the member who gets elected.

While this post may specifically concern Australia, the intent can be carried across to any Country where radical Greens Party politics gains a foothold. Those Greens Party politicians have just gained effective control of the Australian Senate, and at every turn they will seek to impose their agenda on all legislation and attempt to introduce their own legislation on their favourite agendas, a Tax on CO2 emissions foremost among them, a tax that is huge and will ultimately be passed directly on to consumers of electrical power, all of us.

With a general election being called at the Federal level in Australia, it might be interesting to understand just how the process works here in Australia. Although some things are totally different to what they are in the U.S. what is surprising is some of the similarities, as well as similarities between the two main Parties both in Australia, and in the U.S. In the big scheme of things with respect to the U.S. political scene, Australia may seem to be of little consequence, but what does bear some watching is the indicator of the feeling of the people towards...

Julia Gillard has become the first woman to hold the Office of Prime Minister of Australia. She takes over as leader of the Federal Labor Party. This was a serious thing for the Party to do, so close as it is to a Federal Election, due within months. In dumping their former leader Kevin Rudd, the Party has done something never before done in Australia's history, to dump a First term Prime Minister. In the end, Julia Gillard was elected unopposed.

Right now in Australia, there are political machinations at the highest level, The Prime Minster, Kevin Rudd has lurched from one problem to the next, failing to get his point across. When elected, he was immensely popular and is not so popular now. Tonight, his deputy had discussions with him, and there will be a vote for Party Leader 9 hours from now. If Rudd loses this internal Party vote, Australia will have its first female prime Minister, Julia Gillard.

In ABC-land, there are certified adulterers (think: Labor’s David Campbell) and uncertified adulterers (think: Silvio Berlusconi). Recently, the ABC’s Timothy McDonald reported that, “The media outlet that revealed New South Wales Labor MP David Campbell's hidden sexuality is defending its decision to air the story.” After putting commercial media on trial, McDonald continued: “Mr Campbell quit in dramatic circumstances on Thursday night, just minutes before he was shown on Channel Seven walking out of a gay sex club in Sydney's east.” However, I’d submit that the issues have more to do with trust and time-honoured vows, than Campbell’s orientation. If...

Australian Legislation for an Emissions Trading Scheme is trying to gain passage through the Senate, and the Government does not have the numbers there. Debate has been intense and after amendments, it looked likely to pass. However, the leadership on the non Government Conservative side of politics has now changed and the new leader has said he will not vote passage of this Bill, and will defer it until after Copenhagen. The hope is that it will be killed off altogether.

On Tuesday, John Howard will become Australia's second longest serving prime minister, defying many critics. The editor of the Sunday Herald Sun warns that some readers may be offended by the language quoted in this column. "How on Earth could we have put this scheming, mendacious little man and his miserable claque back in office for another three years?... John Howard, master illusionist and toad of a human being."Sydney Morning Herald columnist Alan Ramsey So, sue me. I do like John Howard and am glad that on Tuesday he will beat Bob Hawke to become our second longest-serving prime minister....