• Politics and Policy

    More than a gesture required


    Liam Gillespie |  February 10, 2025


    Higher penalties for violence and bans on Nazi gestures must be accompanied by broader action to deal with the underlying social, political and cultural conditions that have enabled groups like the NSN to emerge.


  • Business

    Are tax breaks broken?


    Kerrie Sadiq |  February 10, 2025


    Tax breaks for businesses are designed to encourage investment and economic growth, but – apart from filling the nation’s roads with aggressive Ute drivers – do they really work?


  • International

    We three kings


    Eric Storm |  February 10, 2025


    The United States should be a bulwark against the oppressive authoritarianism and aggressive imperialism of Russia and China but, with the election of Donald Trump, the attitude seems to be ‘if you can’t beat them, join them.’


Latest Story

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    Measuring Success

    Peter Fritz     |      May 16, 2008

    If someone takes the time to find your number and approach you with an idea or proposal, the very least you can to is return their call.

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    It’s who they are not what they are that makes great Australians really great

    Neil Batt     |      May 15, 2008

    It's the people that matter, not the role.

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    Let kids ‘skin their knees’ to beat Cyberbullying

    editor     |      May 15, 2008

    Jody MelbourneBy Jody Melbourne

    Give your kids freedom on the Internet rather than impose authority or try to limit them.

    The "command and control" approach to keeping children safe from online Cyberbullying is doomed to fail in this age of social networking. Parents need to adopt a high-vigilance, low-touch approach when supporting their children to survive the epidemic of Cyberbullying that is sweeping Australia and many other countries. Last year, South Australian police revealed they were receiving reports of Cyberbullying on an almost daily basis.

    "Cyberbullying" is a term coined to describe the age-old practice of schoolyard bullying extended online, using technology as a tool to harass an individual. Examples of Cyberbullying include spreading nasty rumours by email or online postings; publishing online or emailing embarrassing photos or videos; making abusive comments online; and even threatening or intimidating someone online.

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    The sorry state of our economy

    StephenWilson     |      May 14, 2008

    Who do you get from business — which captain of industry — to enlighten us about the budget?

    Here’s proof positive of the malaise that besets our once-clever country. In the lead-up to the budget last Monday, ABC radio’s “The World Today” interviewed just one senior business identity for their view on what the economy needed from the government. It was Gerry Harvey.

    In a progressive, innovative, competitive country – like Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Ireland or Finland perhaps – you’d expect to hear from CEOs in smart, export-oriented industries, such as biotech, energy, IT or communications. But in Australia, the most influential magnate we have is a consumer goods retailer. Isn't it really pathetic that a country's economy can be so dominated by the retail sector? No wonder the chief economic policy lever in Australia is the blunt instrument of interest rates.

    And to add insult to injury for those of us who wish we were cleverer, when interest rates are hiked to slow things down, the Gerry Harveys of the world proudly proclaim it's not making any difference to them. Nope, sales just keep on keep rising!

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    When interests collide…

    Douglascomms     |      May 14, 2008

    Who comes first, the customer or the shareholder?

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    Define a “Working Family”?

    alison gordon     |      May 14, 2008

    Is the introduction of means testing for welfare payments such as the baby bonus really going to bring us all closer together – or just reinforce a class divide and "us vs. them" mentality? 

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    Combating the skills shortage means rebuilding from within

    Megan Motto     |      May 14, 2008

    Megan Motto

    We need to shift our organisational paradigm to measure our peers and ourselves based on results, not hours spent in the office.

    We have to stop deluding ourselves. We have to let go of this baseless notion that the current skills shortage is somehow cyclical, and that someday soon we'll wake up to an economy where sourcing skilled staff is again a challenge but not an impossibility.

    The problem is now critical. For the third year running a survey of our membership at the Association of Consulting Engineers Australia indicated that up to two thirds of projects are having to be delayed or put off indefinitely due to insufficient personnel to do the job.

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    Phil Burgess and what’s wrong with our political culture

    editor     |      May 14, 2008

    Nicholas GruenBy Nicholas Gruen

    It's not just bad politics to turn up somewhere in a powerful position and tell the locals that they don't quite measure up to standards back home.

    I haven't paid much attention to Telstra's participation in the public policy debate. It usually manages to get itself seen in a fairly poor light at least if one is not paying much attention as I haven't been. Even so, I've just read this speech by Phil Burgess, and I'm impressed. I'm impressed with it because its argument is interesting, and quite persuasive – except for one thing. He outlines some differences between Australian and American political culture. He does so in a very informed and perceptive way (at least for someone who's only been here a while – and I presume he had some decent research assistance, and indeed wonder whether, as such leaders often do he's passing off research assistance as his own wide reading. But I may be being ungenerous.)

    In any event, Phil thinks that Australian debate is not vigorous enough. That people defer too much to what the government and senior government figures think…

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    Paranoid about customer satisfaction? So you should be

    editor     |      May 13, 2008

    By Neil Stollznow

    Responding to customer complaints and attempting to win them back generates a surprising level of customer loyality and enables you to create a significant point of difference in an otherwise indifferent market place.

    Here's a scary thought: some of your customers don't like you, and no I don't just mean they are a little bit annoyed.

    Why do they stay with you?  Some are so jaded that they don't believe they'll get anything better from anyone else, others find the transfer costs (i.e. their time) too onerous and the rest are locked into a contract – a little like consumer gaol.

    Now, none of this is a problem so long as you're not working under the misconception that they're with you because they like your product or service, and that they're going to stay after their "contract" expires.

    Here's an even scarier thought: some of your ex-customers don't like you, left without telling you, and are actively undoing all the good work your marketing department have been doing for so long.

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    IBM Global CEO Study: CEOs Battle to Keep Up With the Pace of Change

    matt english     |      May 11, 2008

    The globally integrated economy requires fresh thinking and innovative approaches to managing change.

    In today's globally integrated economy, CEOs are bombarded by change — can they handle it? According to IBM's 2008 Global CEO Study of 1,130 CEOs, which was conducted face-to-face in 40 countries, CEOs are battling to keep up with the pace of change.

    CEOs reported a surprising level of optimism about change as an opportunity to build new competitive advantage. In fact, 83 percent of surveyed CEOs expect substantial change in the future, an increase of 28 percent in just two years.

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    Dealing with the big shift

    editor     |      May 9, 2008

    Rebekka TuquriBy Rebekka Tuqiri

    It's easy to forget those first few weeks of parenthood.

    It's easy to forget the total sense of powerlessness and loss of control the arrival of a tiny, helpless, demanding little creature precipitates in the formerly ordered, neat, punctual lives of new parents.

    And it's funny, because part of the reason this first few weeks is so challenging is that it's soon forgotten, and rarely experienced by those who aren't actually physically going through it.

    Until we have our own tiny infants thrust upon us it's rare for most women, and almost unheard of for most men to have even held a new-born.  Yet, suddenly, sleep-deprived, dripping with breast milk, dishevelled and confused, we're expected to understand the needs of a screaming infant.

    And then we catch a glimpse of ourselves in the mirror, and the total disconnect between the societal images of the successful, attractive, well groomed parents, and the reality of the bloodshot eyes and birds nest hair is just too overwhelming.

    A big part of the problem is the expectations we set up for ourselves. If we lived in communities where we had more of an opportunity to come into contact with little ones and the parents of little ones it might be a bit different.

    Not that I'm suggesting you go to live in a hut with your pregnant relatives and extended family. There are better and far more practical ways to solve the challenge.

    It's more about balance. It's about being forewarned so that people can understand what to expect and not to expect in the first six weeks, from themselves, and the baby, and their relationship, and just about everyone else.

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    Realising the Adaptable Workforce

    editor     |      May 8, 2008

    Justyn SturrockBy Justyn Sturrock

    The latest report from IBM highlights how ‘cracking the code for Talent' can help companies take their workforce performance to the next level.

    Today, more than ever, organisations worldwide are focusing their time and attention on maximising the value of their workforces.

    As organisations become more globally integrated, and as traditional geographic and competitive boundaries disappear, the need to identify, develop and connect talent has never been more critical.

    Every two years IBM conducts a global CEO Study where we go out and talk to over 1,000 CEOs, and each time we do this, the people agenda is always top of mind.

    In 2004, when we asked CEOs what their greatest concern was for their organisation, three primary themes emerged: growth, responsiveness and agility.

    And CEOs were almost unanimous in their belief that the greatest hurdle to addressing these themes was the capability within their organisations.