Breakfast Media Wrap with Richard Farmer
Thursday 16th October 2008
The Pick of the Morning's Stories
What the papers say about politics and economics - the stories
Sydney Morning Herald:
- Greed is bad, says Rudd - Phillip Coorey on a Prime Minister declaring that "extreme capitalism" had failed comprehensively as he gave notice yesterday that his Government would seek to curb excessive executive salaries in the finance sector
- I thought of all the good ideas - Phillip Coorey on Malcolm Turnbull's "What about clever me?" speech
- Transport minister bungles Tcard dates - Linton Besser describes how new Minister for Transport, David Campbell, yesterday bungled his first appearance before a parliamentary hearing by pledging a new Tcard before the Government had even been scheduled to sign a contract for its delivery.
Melbourne Age:
Rudd war on bankers' salary deals - Michelle Grattan and Julia Medew on how under the Rudd plan, which he hopes would be adopted by other countries, the legal capital adequacy requirements for banks and other big financial institutions would be linked to how they pay their executives.
Police spying on activists revealed - Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie on how Victoria's Police's secret intelligence unit has infiltrated Melbourne's activist and community groups for two years to gather information on protests against the Iraq War, Japanese whaling and a weapons exhibition.
Accuser after money, says Theophanous - Paul Austin and David Rood report how veteran state cabinet minister Theo Theophanous has angrily denied he is a rapist, suggested his accuser is chasing money, and condemned police for treating him unfairly.
Independent senator to block Medicare bill - Leo Shanahan writes the private health insurance options of hundreds of thousands of Australians are once again unclear with independent senator Nick Xenophon now saying he will block changes to the Medicare levy surcharge.
Labor gives in on Iran court threat - Daniel Flitton says the Federal Government has backed down on a threat to haul Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad before an international court on charges of inciting genocide.
Sydney Daily Telegraph:
- Mystery woman is Nathan Rees' close confidante - Simon Benson is searching for a mystery woman from Sydney's northwest who has emerged as one of Nathan Rees' confidantes, with the Premier revealing yesterday he seeks her advice on how the state is fairing at least twice a week.
- Nurses forced to borrow bandages as hospital can't pay bills - Angela Saurine and Samantha Williams write nurses had to borrow bandages from a veterinary clinic and a doctor forked out $1000 from his own pocket for urgent medical supplies because companies have refused to supply Dubbo Base Hospital because of unpaid bills.
The West Australian:
CBA, ANZ accused of punishing low-income earners - Kate Tarala writes that consumer advocates have claimed the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and ANZ are gouging low-income earners through unfair penalty fees on their concession accounts.
The Australian:
PM to punish bank excess as G20 urged to limit executive pay - Matthew Franklin and Richard Gluyas claim Kevin Rudd stands accused of bank-bashing after vowing to penalise financial institutions that lavish executives with multi-million-dollar pay packages without requiring them to follow responsible investment practices.
'Rape allegation a try-on for payout' - Rick Wallace says veteran Labor MP Theo Theophanous has described as hurtful and devastating claims that he raped a woman, and said they were designed to establish a civil damages claim against him.
Migration not helping skills shortage - Guy Healy reports that the surge in vocational education and training and intensive English-language courses for overseas students was in areas "which appear to be outside those demanded", senior Immigration official Peter Speldewinde told a Brisbane conference.
Uproar over top cop strip-search claims - Paul Carter says a storm has erupted over claims Tasmania's top cop Jack Johnston was strip-searched and roughly handled while being held in custody following his arrest in Hobart yesterday.
Melbourne Herald Sun:
Adelaide Advertiser:
What the papers say about politics and economics - the opinions
Sydney Morning Herald:
- PM goes over the top in battle of bulging payslips Annabel Crabb found it faintly surprising to see Kevin Rudd arriving at the National Press Club by means of an ordinary Commonwealth car; given his current star turn as a wartime leader, one half expected to see him arrive on an elephant, like Hannibal.
- A successful intervention needs less emotion, more evidence - Larissa Behrendt writes the interventionists are already decrying the bias of the report by the Northern Territory Emergency Response Review Panel. Many of the intervention's harshest critics believe the report does not go far enough. Either way, it is the first opportunity to engage the Government in a sensible discussion about what aspects are worth saving and what should be abandoned.
Melbourne Age:
- Seeing red, but no pinko - Michelle Grattan writes how Rudd's hard line rhetoric is driven by his personal values, his political calculation and his international aspirations.
- In a crisis, old wisdoms come to the rescue - Kenneth Davidson reminds us of Keynes likening financial speculation to the card game where the loser ends up holding "the old maid" and tells us to forget the subprime loans. They amount to gambling with matchsticks compared to the "old maids" lurking somewhere in the $90 trillion (about 80 times Australian GDP) global credit default swaps market.
- The personal is political for Theophanous - Paul Austin concludes that politically, the harsh truth for Theophanous is that he is almost certainly finished. The only conceivable scenario in which he returns to cabinet is if the police determine the allegation has no merit and that Theophanous has no case to answer. But even then he will be soiled goods in public image terms. The political damage done to Theophanous is real, even if the allegation is false.
Sydney Daily Telegraph:
The Australian:
- Global crisis has profound Asia effect - Greg Sheridan tells us the global financial crisis will have profound effects in Asia, of that we can be sure. But just what those effects will be is as unclear as the future course of this crisis. How helpful is that!
- Rudd's buck stops with unemployed - Mike Steketee believes the candidates who should have been at the head of the queue for a government hand out missed out. They are the unemployed.
- Optional intervention gives choice - Marcia Langton writes that the report of the board reviewing the Northern Territory intervention consists of a compilation of contradictory policy settings and assumes that all of the initial, and even the continuing, intervention measures are racially discriminatory. Of course, she asserts, this is nonsense.
Melbourne Herald Sun:
- Mixed fortune of a bank guardian - Neil Mitchell sees Kevin Rudd's words about the pay of bankers carrying far more weight than they would have a few days ago. You see, in the daily frenzy of financial support packages, market fluctuations and partying pensioners nobody seems to have stopped to consider this: now, morally, Kevin Rudd owns the banks.
- Beyond the call of the crisis - Terry McCrann sees the change in the structure of America's $US700 billion bank bailout as both good and bad news for Australia.
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