Issue 89 6 April to 15 May 2017 Letter from CanberrSaving you time for nine years. a Cold Autumn Edition • 18 C (free speech and similar). • Keating and others on Housing • A not-strong energy system, grid and all • Gas and cattle • Sally McManus In This Issue • More on free speech • Housing. Housing • Hawke Beer Letter From Canberra // Issue 90 Letter from Saving you time for nine years. CanberrA monthly digest of news from around Australia. a Saving you time; now in its ninth year. About Us CONTENTS Media .....................................................10 Affairs of State 43 Richmond Terrace Editorial ....................................................3 IT ............................................................10 Richmond, Melbourne, 3000 Victoria, Australia Governance ..............................................3 Immigration ...........................................10 P +61 408 033 110 [email protected] The Budget ................................................3 Justice .....................................................10 www.affairs.com.au Party Happenings .................................. 4 Housing ..................................................10 Letter From Canberra is a monthly public affairs bulletin, a simple précis, distilling and Industrial Relations and Employment . 5 Welfare ................................................... 11 interpreting public policy and government decisions, which affect business oppor- Business, Economy, Manufacturing and Transport ................................................ 11 tunities in Victoria and Australia. Finance .................................................... 5 Written for the regular traveller, or people Foreign Affairs ....................................... 11 with meeting-filled days, it’s more about Trade .........................................................7 business opportunities than politics. Letter From America ..............................12 Tax .......................................................... 8 Letter from Canberra is independent. It’s not Education ...............................................12 party political or any other political. It does not Climate Change, Environment and have the imprimatur of government at any level. Health and Housing ...............................13 Energy ..................................................... 8 The only communication tool of its type, Sports .....................................................13 Letter from Canberra keeps subscribers Agriculture, Cattle and Water ................ 9 abreast of recent developments in the policy Arts .........................................................13 arena on a local, state and federal level. Mining ....................................................10 Published by A.B Urquhart & Company Society ....................................................14 Pty Ltd trading as Affairs of State. ABOUT THE EDITOR— ALISTAIR URQUHART, BA LLB Disclaimer: Material in this publication is general comment and not intended as advice Alistair Urquhart graduated from the Australian National University in Canberra, in Law, on any particular matter. Professional advice History and Politics. He may even hold the record for miles rowed on Lake Burley Griffin. should to be sought before action is taken. He was admitted as a barrister and solicitor to the Supreme Court of Victoria, and remains a (non-prac- Material is complied from various sources ticing) member of the Law Institute of Victoria. Previously, he graduated from high school in Bethesda, including newspaper articles, press releases, gov- Maryland, and had many opportunities to become aware of the workings of Washington D.C. ernment publications, Hansard, trade journals, etc. For 30 years, he listened every Sunday evening to the late Alistair Cooke and his Letter from America. Alistair’s Copyright: This newsletter is copyright. No part early career was mostly in the coal industry, where he became involved with energy, environmental and water may be reproduced, stored in or introduced issues, and later in the SME finance sector. into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any He found time to be involved in a range of community activities where he came to understand form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, some of the practical aspects of dealing with government and meeting people across the political photocopying, recording or otherwise), without spectrum. He now chairs a large disability employment service, including its British operations. the prior written permission from the publisher. Affairs of State respects your privacy. While we do believe that the information contained in Letter from Canberra will be useful to you, please advise us if you do not wish to receive any further communications from us. Edited words in this edition: 20,380 Staff Editor Alistair Urquhart [email protected] Sub-editor Will Pasznyk [email protected] Design Andrew Morley [email protected] Subscriptions & Advertising Alistair Urquhart, as above. Hopefully Melbourne gets one of these soon. 2 6 April to 15 May 2017 Cover. Map of the Coral Sea that shows the country in a distrustful mood. An Australian specialist in defence and foreign Unsatisfied with democracy, politicians being affairs recently critiqued some commentaries out of touch, who the government is run for, on the Battle of the Coral Sea, that it was not a disinterest in the election, voting volatility, naval battle which stopped the Japanese navy, feelings towards political parties, effect on the and some troopships attached, from landing in economy, immigration and refugees, The Age. Australia. Whatever the case, the Jap navy had Coalition Cautious Over Wage Rise been heading for Port Moresby, to support setting The Turnbull government has urged the Fair up a methodology for the bombing of Australia. Work Commission to take a cautious approach The Brisbane Line, just north of Brisbane, was to raising the minimum wage, warning an to be the focus for a scorched earth policy by ‘excessive’ pay rise could imperil job creation Australia if the Japanese did land in Northern in a changing economy. In a submission that Australia. The map is just to be sure that all readers will incense low-paid workers still angry over ad ther Family know where the Coral Sea is. the commission’s cut to some Sunday penalty Budget details in the next Edition, which rates – a decision Prime Minister Turnbull has is hurrying along behind this Edition. backed – the Coalition said low-paid workers ‘are often found in high-income households’, The Age. EDITORIAL Pleasant reading. It has been a busy month for your Editor as he Items herein has read most the daily papers and also spent ʇ 18 C (free speech and similar). some time polishing up his intelligence as a ʇ Keating and others on Housing tutor at the Engineering School up in Carlton, ʇ A not strongly-based energy system, grid and all hopefully giving as much as he was learning. ʇ Gas and cattle Interesting to see the way that officialdom ʇ (Suggest you google ‘Fracking’, or or bureaucracy easily becomes often but not read Letter From Melbourne. always a necessity for the Education System. ʇ Sally McManus One can reflect how the system is in every ʇ More on free speech corridor of every level of learning, though ʇ Housing. Housing some practical leaders can avoid some of it. ʇ Hawke Beer NEXT EDITION Changing the subject slightly, we are seeing at ʇ Adani coal mine in Queensland hits Green wall close hand, in Victoria, and other states, how ʇ The BUDGET details the union movement or system, and now also THE BUDGET some more modern social groups, have such Good thoughts for the Debate an effect on the Whole System, obviously Ideas gaining currency include removing the including the quality of the end product. disincentive for retirees to stay in their homes by Perhaps the trick is to learn how to dodge parts quarantining some of their financial assets. At of the system, honestly and professionally. present the family home is excluded from the pension eligibility test but cash is not. Treasurer The federal Budget was laid out in advance of the Morrison also is understood to be considering Treasurer’s Speech, which perhaps disappointed changing superannuation rules so first home-buy- some of the media. Education was right up there. ers’ super savings may be used to help people on As was Infrastructure. Though no signals that to the housing ladder earlier in life, The Age. many Canberra parliamentarians can really spell the word Energy, as in Australia’s Future. Many of PNG Visit Slammed us who have been around a few years do miss the Turnbull has travelled to Papua New Guinea, but longer term discussions by several groups that he has copped an extraordinary spray for the have discussed before sitting in parliament, what ‘insensitive’ and ‘dangerous’ timing of the trip ahead the best plan is and what the best deals are. No GOVERNANCE of local elections. PNG’s former prime minister Sir doubt all will agree on a four year term. The sooner Mekere Morauta accused Turnbull of interfering Hmmm. Let’s start to fix it the better. The Brits sort of have a five year term. in domestic politics of Australia’s neighbour two Australians’ satisfaction with democracy weeks before the country’s caretaker period has collapsed to its lowest level since the begins. Turnbull has not travelled to PNG since Whitlam dismissal, according to a major study Advertise with Us — Get your voice to the people that matter. Want to get your firm