Monthly Archives: March 2016

No-pain-no-gain: High-road-low-road

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Nicholas Gruen

This post began as a comment on Paul’s last comment on my “Mainstream Radical Centrists: Where are they?” column. Paul boiled down his response to this: If you want to have a serious debate about reforms, go to countries that are … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Economics and public policy, Education, Inequality, Innovation, Philosophy, Political theory | 6 Comments

Now is the time for complacency: Where are the mainstream radical centrists?

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Nicholas Gruen

Australia’s ‘economic miracle’ off the back of what might be called the ‘reform period’ which can be dated fairly neatly from late 1983 and the floating of the dollar to mid 2001 (which, IIRC was the date the ANTS tax reform package … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Economics and public policy, Innovation | 27 Comments

What I’m reading: Things about the Parthenon YOU WON’T BELIEVE!!

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Nicholas Gruen

What is the meaning of the relief sculpture above? I recall when I was last on the Athenian Acropolis just over a year ago marvelling at the Parthenon, not just its emphatic and sublime beauty but also its strangeness. It’s so big … Continue reading →

Posted in Art and Architecture, Cultural Critique, History, Philosophy, Political theory, Religion | 6 Comments

The death of newspapers: does it matter?

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Ken Parish

With Fairfax culling 120 journalists (in the wake of previous mass redundancies), Murdoch/News apparently contemplating more cuts, and newspapers in general losing money hand over fist, some pundits are suggesting that Fairfax at least is likely to stop publishing the … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Media, Politics - national | 9 Comments

More travesties of the proverbial: Law of the jungle edition

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Nicholas Gruen

Keen readers of this blog will know that occasionally, just occasionally I identify a saying or concept which has somehow come to signify something close to the opposite of what its progenitor had intended. Examples include the theory of the second … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on More travesties of the proverbial: Law of the jungle edition

Crowdsourcing credentials

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Nicholas Gruen

I was at a PC function yesterday on ‘disruptive technology’ and said, in a rather crabby way, that I’d been talking about the significance of informing consumers about the quality of products for a long, long time and now, it’s only … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy, Information, Innovation | Comments Off on Crowdsourcing credentials

Proroguing Parliament, double dissolution elections and other constitutional delights

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Ken Parish

It appears clear that the Governor-General (acting on the advice of the Prime Minister as per Westminster convention) can under Constitution section 5 prorogue the current Parliament and then appoint a new session to commence on 18 April. Presumably that … Continue reading →

Posted in Law, Politics - national | 16 Comments