37 research outputs found
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Editorial Independence: An Outdated Concept?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 âcrossing the lineâ when dealing with their elected masters.Two exploratory case studies are presentedâone of an Australian ministerialdepartment (Treasury) and another of a Canadian quasi-autonomous agency (StatisticsCanada)âin 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
Turnbull tells US legislators: look at âbig pictureâ benefits of Trans-Pacific Partnership
Malcolm Turnbull has directly lobbied US legislators to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, which he describes as âa very critical part of Americaâs continued presence in the Asia-Pacificâ.
Turnbull stressed the TPPâs 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: âIt 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 reformâ
Federal budget 2013: big deficit to stay next year
Treasurer Wayne Swan has delivered a budget with a A18 billion in 2013-14.
The government would aim to bring the budget back to âbalanceâ â less than 6.6 billion surplus in 2016-17.
The governmentâs unconventional pre-election budget â which includes a rise in the Medicare levy and a fresh crack down on âmiddle class welfareâ â contains 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.
âThis budget will fully fund our share of DisabilityCare Australia, beyond the next decade,â 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 governmentâs schools program over the next decade, âmeaning we can return the budget to surplus without leaving our children an education deficit.â
On infrastructure, he said the government would continue its ambitious program âwith a new 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 60 billion over the four years to 2015-16.â
The budget forecasts growth for this financial year of 3%, falling to 2.75% in 2013-14 before rising to 3% in 2014-15.
âOur nationâs outlook is bright and our economy is set to grow faster than most of the developed world,â Swan said, âBy mid-2015 our economy will be 22% bigger than before the global financial crisis, outstripping every major advanced economy.â
He said the economy was undergoing an important transition. âOur nationâs 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.â
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 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 â with a parting broadside at Brandis
Solicitor-General Justin Gleeson has quit, declaring his relationship with Attorney-General, George Brandis, is âirretrievably brokenâ and taking a major swipe at his government critics.
Gleesonâs resignation follows their bitter row over Brandisâs order that all requests for the Solicitor-Generalâs advice must come through his office.
In a toughly-worded letter to Brandis, Gleeson says his decision does not represent âa withdrawal of any position I have taken in relation to matters of controversy between usâ, including before the Senate inquiry into the affair.
Read the full story on The Conversation
Australian prime ministers/ Edit. : Michelle Grattan
512 hal.: ill.; 23 cm