The Politics of Spin

Although lagging behind the excesses of current US and British spin doctors, Australia's spin industry is growing rapidly, raising questions about the impact of media management on effective scrutiny by journalists of political processes and issues. Political leaders can appear more visible but in fact be less accessible to detailed questioning by informed interviewers, and election campaigns are now dominated by sophisticated levels of media management by governments and oppositions. The rise of spin has had a negative impact on journalism, distorting news processes and encouraging more passive forms of journalism

Editorial Independence: An Outdated Concept?

The monograph examines editorial independence in newspapers in an age where the editorial and commercial sides of newspapers are increasingly converging. It examines the effects of such commercialisation on newspapers and the influence of managerialism on news decision-making

Promiscuously Partisan? Public Service Impartiality and Responsiveness in Westminster Systems

Public servants in Westminster countries are being drawn into the limelight bydemands from their political masters that they publicly defend policies. Critics suggestthese conditions undermine the capacity and willingness of senior public servants tomanage the enduring Westminster tension between serving elected governments andremaining nonpartisan. Interviews with senior officials from Australia, Canada, andthe United Kingdom challenge this pessimistic view, showing that officials consistentlystress the importance of not “crossing the line” when dealing with their elected masters.Two exploratory case studies are presented—one of an Australian ministerialdepartment (Treasury) and another of a Canadian quasi-autonomous agency (StatisticsCanada)—in which public servants faced pressure to defend controversial governmentpolicies. These cases show how contemporary public servants actively interpret,establish, and defend the line between appropriate responsiveness and inappropriatepartisanship in Westminster systems

The rocky road of election reporting. by Michelle Grattan

tag=1 data=The rocky road of election reporting. by Michelle Grattan tag=2 data=Grattan, Michelle tag=3 data=The Sydney Papers, tag=4 data=5 tag=5 data=4 tag=6 data=Spring 1993 tag=7 data=29-33. tag=8 data=ELECTIONS tag=10 data=Elections are formidable tests for the media. The journalists' judgmental and predictive skills are tested to the limit. tag=11 data=1994/6/1 tag=12 data=94/0088 tag=13 data=CABElections are formidable tests for the media. The journalists' judgmental and predictive skills are tested to the limit

Why Kerin stayed 'on the land'

PRS

Turnbull tells US legislators: look at ‘big picture’ benefits of Trans-Pacific Partnership

Malcolm Turnbull has directly lobbied US legislators to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, which he describes as “a very critical part of America’s continued presence in the Asia-Pacific”. Turnbull stressed the TPP’s importance in his talks with politicians on Capitol Hill, who included Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, as well as in an address to the US Chamber of Commerce. Emphasising the TPP was more than just a trade deal, Turnbull told his business audience: “It is a very important element in the maintenance of the United States as the credible, strong, consistent enduring guarantor of the rules-based international order. It sets a very high bar. It encourages countries to reform”

Federal budget 2013: big deficit to stay next year

Treasurer Wayne Swan has delivered a budget with a A$19.4 billion deficit this financial year, falling only to$18 billion in 2013-14. The government would aim to bring the budget back to “balance” – less than $1 billion in the black ­– in 2015-16, and have a modest$6.6 billion surplus in 2016-17. The government’s unconventional pre-election budget – which includes a rise in the Medicare levy and a fresh crack down on “middle class welfare” – contains $43 billion of savings through the forward estimates and funding for the key schools and disability programs. It foreshadows a growing economy but a small rise in unemployment, to 5.75 Swan said the government had chosen to support “jobs and growth in an uncertain world,” rather than cutting to the bone. He said the budget would “chart a pathway to surplus through responsible savings.” “To those who would take us down the European road of savage austerity, I say the social destruction that comes from cutting too much, too hard, too fast is not the Australian way,” he told parliament. The government will scrap the Baby Bonus from next year, while providing new support for the families of newborns through the Family Tax Benefit A. In another tightening, the existing “pause” of the indexation of the family payments system for upper income test limits will continue. These measures are in addition to the earlier announced cancellation of increases to the Family Tax Benefit that were due in July. The total changes to the family payments are worth nearly$5 billion over the budget period. In other cuts, a number of business tax loopholes will be closed and several areas of health spending will be tightened. The positive themes of the budget were putting in place the national disability scheme and the Gonski school funding plan, as well as heavily investing in nation-building infrastructure. “This budget will fully fund our share of DisabilityCare Australia, beyond the next decade,” Swan said. An increase in the Medicare levy from July 1 next year will part fund the scheme. Swan also said the budget fully funded the government’s schools program over the next decade, “meaning we can return the budget to surplus without leaving our children an education deficit.” On infrastructure, he said the government would continue its ambitious program “with a new $24 billion investment in the next wave of nation building. “It’s critical to invest in both urban road and rail infrastructure,” he said. The government was investing in “transformational public transport projects”, including Brisbane’s Cross River Rail and Melbourne Metro. “These projects will change the way these cities work and allow them to grow into the future.” The government also announced$12.9 million to connect more local councils to the NBN and provide training for business and not-for-profit organisations in 20 regional NBN rollout sites. Nearly $100 million will go to a new farm household allowance to support farmers in hardship, part of the national drought program reform, and there will be a new farm finance package to help farmers struggling with debt. The government has loaded the weight of the savings it has identified into the later years of the forward estimates. Swan said that challenging global conditions and the high dollar had put “huge pressure on the budget, leading to a reduction in expected tax receipts in more than$60 billion over the four years to 2015-16.” The budget forecasts growth for this financial year of 3%, falling to 2.75% in 2013-14 before rising to 3% in 2014-15. “Our nation’s outlook is bright and our economy is set to grow faster than most of the developed world,” Swan said, “By mid-2015 our economy will be 22% bigger than before the global financial crisis, outstripping every major advanced economy.” He said the economy was undergoing an important transition. “Our nation’s largest resource investment boom is shifting to a boom in production and exports… as the resources boom enters its new phase, the economy is also transitioning to broader sources of economic growth.” This brought opportunities, but the transition would not be seamless. He said despite the slight rise in unemployment, Australia would still have among the lowest unemployment rate in the developed world. The budget revised its earlier forecast of the carbon price dramatically down, to around $12 a tonne in 2015, when it moves to a floating system and is linked to the European price. The budget says the second round of the tax cuts, which had been due in 2015, would be deferred until the carbon price was estimated to be about$25.40. This is currently projected to occur in 2018-19 it says. This article was originally published at The Conversation. Read the original article. Photo: bankutitimi/ Flick

Solicitor-General resigns – with a parting broadside at Brandis

Solicitor-General Justin Gleeson has quit, declaring his relationship with Attorney-General, George Brandis, is “irretrievably broken” and taking a major swipe at his government critics. Gleeson’s resignation follows their bitter row over Brandis’s order that all requests for the Solicitor-General’s advice must come through his office. In a toughly-worded letter to Brandis, Gleeson says his decision does not represent “a withdrawal of any position I have taken in relation to matters of controversy between us”, including before the Senate inquiry into the affair. Read the full story on The Conversation

Australian prime ministers/ Edit. : Michelle Grattan

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