LETTER FROM CANBERRA Saving you time. Three yearsLETTER on. After Letter from Melbourne, established FROM 1994. CANBERRA Saving you time. Three years on. After Letter from Melbourne, established 1994. A monthly newsletter distilling public policy and government A monthly decisions newsletter which distilling affect businesspublic policy opportunities and government in Australia decisions and beyond. which affect business opportunities in Australia and beyond. EDITORIAL INTERESTING POLITICALEDITORIAL CHALLENGES INTERESTING POLITICAL CHALLENGES The New South Wales election result shows that the AustralianThe New Labor South Party Wales needs election to renovate result itselfshows that the Australian Labor Party needs to renovate itself after such a significant defeat, a very big challenge. Whichafter challenge such a significant spreads well defeat, beyond a very NSW. big challenge. Which challenge spreads well beyond NSW. There are several areas of focus. First, Labor’s very origins,There values, are several objectives, areas and of focus. policies First, have Labor’s very origins, values, objectives, and policies have been replaced at a federal level, and in some recent statebeen campaigns, replaced at by, a federalsecondly, level, having and inan some recent state campaigns, by, secondly, having an emphasis on focus groups and the media, usually linkedemphasis in with battles on focus for groups marginal and seats. the media, This usually linked in with battles for marginal seats. This has all left Labor voters with little reason to vote the wayhas they all traditionallyleft Labor voters have. with little reason to vote the way they traditionally have. The ALP has had significant changes from its original manifesto,The ALP has including had significant the renovation changes of itsfrom its original manifesto, including the renovation of its socialisation platform. But it had been maintaining its coresocialisation values until platform. more recent But it years.had been maintaining its core values until more recent years. Next. In NSW, in particular, there have been the party apparatchiksNext. In NSW, who in particular, have controlled there havethings, been the party apparatchiks who have controlled things, including the national ALP secretary and immediate pastincluding NSW state the nationalsecretary ALP who secretary resigned and on immediate past NSW state secretary who resigned on the eve of the NSW election. the eve of the NSW... CONTINUED election. ON PAGE 2 ... CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Autumn Edition Autumn1 March Edition to 4 April 2011 1 March to 4 April 2011Issue 32 Issue 32 Inside plus... pages 11 - 14 LatestInside Roy Morgan findings: Latest ‘Real’ Unemployment,plus... Roy Morgan Holiday Research Intentions results, and pp11-14 more plus... Roy Morgan Research results, pp11-14 • Climate change break-through. Household focus • • AbbottClimate (re) change defining break-through. liberal welfare Household focus focus • • BigAbbott business (re) definingpushing liberalskills welfare focus • Big business pushing skills • New South Wales result might flow on • • RegionalNew South refugee Wales centre result most might unlikely flow on • • SupermarketsRegional refugee and centreACCC most unlikely • Supermarkets and ACCC • Tax flood continues • • PMTax goes flood to continues Washington • • PokiesPM goes get tonational Washington focus • Pokies get national focus • Julia redefines Labor/Green relationship • • GSTJulia redistribution, redefines Labor/Green states challenge relationship • • ToughGST redistribution,Federal budget states due challenge • Tough Federal budget due • Julia and Rudd not getting friendlier • • BroadbandJulia and Ruddstill in not the getting news! friendlier • • $AUDBroadband 1.04 still in the news! • $AUD 1.04 1 MARCH to 4 APRIL 2011 14 Collins Street ABOUT THE EDITOR ALISTAIR URQUHART Melbourne, 3000 Alistair Urquhart graduated from the Australian National University in Canberra, in Law, History Victoria, Australia and Politics, was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria, and P 03 9654 1300 remains a (non-practicing) member of the Law Institute of Victoria. Before that, he graduated F 03 9654 1165 from high school in Bethesda, Maryland, and had many opportunities to become aware of the [email protected] workings of Washington DC. For 30 years, he listened every Sunday evening to the late Alistair www.letterromcanberra.com.au Cooke and his Letter From America. Editor Alistair Urquhart His early career was mostly in the coal industry, where he became involved with energy, Associate Editor Gabriel Phipps environmental and water issues, and later in the SME finance sector. His public affairs firm Nick Johns-Wickberg works with many engineering and information technology firms, other professional association Subscription Manager Camilla Orr-Thomson and industry groups, on a wide range of issues, in Victoria, Canberra and overseas. Urquhart Advertising Manager Eddie Mior visits Canberra regularly. He may hold the record for miles rowed on Lake Burley Griffin. Editorial Consultant Rick Brown Assistant Editor/Design Richard Hamilton Editorial continued... Letter from Canberra is focused on the interface Elsewhere as well as in NSW, there exists a narrow stratum of people who are more interested in of business and government, with enough politics power than in anything else, with their own little factions, with an amazing (literally) propensity for and bureaucracy to understand the, or any, intermarrying among federal and state MPs, and with lay party folk who seek more immediate benefits relevant business opportunities. rather than an appreciation of the traditional focus of the A LP. We have been publishing Letter from Canberra’s sister publication Letter From Melbourne, a Beyond an appreciation of history, this editor reckons that this NSW election has highlighted the fact public policy digest, for 16 years. Commencing that the political scene is moving on. As school students in politics classes, we learned that each of with the Kennett era corporatisation and the major parties, Labor and Liberal, had approximately 45 percent of the vote, with about 10 percent privatisation of energy and other utilities and swinging at each election. Now, of course, Labor is down well below that. A new group, the Greens, the other fresh broom approach of a new with an inner-city focus by residency but with demands on issues well beyond the electorates and jobs government, where we focused on business where its leaders are based, has morphed out of, or alongside, the A LP. This month, the Prime Minister opportunities. Increasingly, we included matters is saying that Green values are not Labor values. A big breakthrough. in the other states and adopted a more federal focus. The second main issue this month is climate change, with one climate change leader, Ross Garnaut, at The recent change in federal government opens last breaking the code and actually telling voters what each household might pay under climate change up new business opportunities, particularly the arrangements, rather than the Government and the Opposition which have both been talking in dollars government’s new emphasis on climate change, per tonne per generator! carbon trading, water, industrial relations, Quotes from history... education, information technology and the Our cover recognises an iconic Australian painting: Shearing traditional sectors. the Rams, painted by Tom Roberts in 1890. The union I don’t make jokes. I just watch For many years, our other publications have movement grew out of the shearing sheds and the ports, government and report the facts. included the well-known federal government and then out of the manufacturing industry. This movement - Will Rogers Departmental Wall Chart. (NOW AVAILABLE at 03 was the very basis for the Australian Labor Party, which 96541300 or affairs.com.au)) We conduct seminars won, briefly, its first national election just three years after Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean and informal luncheons and meetings in Melbourne, federation, in 1904. The painting is in the Ian Potter Gallery at Canberra and Sydney. politics won’t take an interest in you. Federation Square in Melbourne. - Pericles (430BC) Most people have their clipping services and a range of email products/newsletters/etc. At the Our free offer to subscribers this month is to meet you, by Democracy must be something end of the month, Letter From Canberra gives a arrangement, at the Gallery for coffee and Rams, followed by a more than two wolves and a sheep broad overview of what has been going on, not Spring Street tour of vital historical buildings and monuments voting on what to have for dinner. just in one industry but across all industries and of Victorian and Australian history. We can do this at the - James Bovard, civil libertarian the world of business and government generally. weekend so you can bring the family. Please consider my (1994) Objective. Independent. Read it on the plane. Or at history tour offer, Melburnians or ‘out of towners’. a coffee shop in New York. And then give it to a friend who is interested in Australia. Cover: Shearing the Rams by Tom Roberts. INDEX IN APPROXIMATE ORDER OF INTEREST Modifications made to work in the public domain. Copies available upon request. GOVERNANCE. NATIONAL. ELSEWHERE 3 BANKS 19 CLIMATE CHANGE. ENVIRONMENT. ENERGY 5 RESOURCES 19 CARBON TAX 6 DEFENCE 19 Published by A.B Urquhart & Company Pty Ltd trading as Affairs