Senior Liberals warn Parer off amalgamation - posted by Graham

There's consternation in the Queensland Liberal Party that President Warwick Parer is even having informal talks with the National Party about amalgamating the parties, and very senior office-bearers want him to back-off now. Local Brisbane media have been carrying the... More

Clem Jones - the modern Labor template - posted by Graham

I was too young to be paying much attention when Clem Jones was Lord Mayor of Brisbane, but I do remember some things. Some of the members of my mother's deeply conservative North Queensland family voted for him, much to... More

Cancer clusters, another panic - posted by Graham

A number of firefighters in Atherton have developed cancer, so it is reported (it would appear from Google most prominently by the ABC) that we have a "cancer cluster". The ABC is likely to be sensitive to this because of... More

Icy trips, snowy slips… and venomous centipedes - posted by Graham

Sometimes press releases bizzarely turn-up in my inbox from the most interesting quarters, including this one from The Information Centre, an "independent NHS Special Health Authority that collects, analyses and distributes national statistics on health and social care". I thought... More

Liberal problems are deep-rooted, not structural - posted by Graham

The Liberal Party always talks about restructure when it loses an election. This generally has little to do with actual reform, but rather tipping the field so that your enemies are at a disadvantage. When John Moore took control of... More

Beattie's disgraceful Fabian speech - posted by Graham

Peter Beattie, who once hounded a governor-general from office because he didn't show enough empathy with victims of paedophilia, can't even say sorry for the disgraceful treatment of a young Aurukun girl which occurred while he was Premier. In a... More

There's no convention Warwick - posted by Graham

Warwick Parer, and others, have been referring to a supposed convention that a spill motion must be accepted as carried by the chair of a parliamentary party meeting when the vote is in fact even. While this seems unlikely, it... More

Queensland Liberals purport to expel Graham Young - posted by Graham

This is the text of a media statement made this afternoon: This afternoon I am informed that the Queensland Liberal Party State Council purported to expel me from the party of which I have been a member for over 30... More

Another minimum? What about an optimum? - posted by Graham

Ray of hope: Can the sun save us from global warming? is the title of a piece in the Independent by the Sun's biographer, David Witehouse. It relates the fact that sunspot activity is currently at a low, and shows... More

Anna Bligh produces a signature - posted by Graham

The decision to flouridate Queensland's water supply gives Premier Anna Bligh a signature achievement that should easily define her premiership for generations to come. Former Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Clem Jones, is most remembered for sewering Brisbane. Former Premier Joh... More

Deputy sheriff to mandarinette? - posted by Graham

The Age characterises it as "the heat" being put on Kevin Rudd. The Courier Mail sees it as just part of the transformation of Queensland into the "leadership heartland". In fact, the enthusiasm of the new Rudd government for Kyoto... More

10 years of static global temperature? - posted by Graham

I love the way climate scientists like to make predictions rather than measurements. Halfway through this year I read a report in the Adelaide Advertiser that 2007 was going to be the hottest year ever. Now Phil Jones of the... More

Caltabiano's no mug - posted by Graham

It's fascinating how lies infect one organ in the media, and then get transmitted on. Here's one that first invaded The Courier Mail and then spread around both the mainstream and alternate media. If you believe The Courier Mail, the... More

Kyoto - there goes Australian independence - posted by Graham

We ratified the Kyoto protocol and received a standing ovation. If you're into instant gratification it was a moment to savour for a couple of seconds. If you're not, you should ask yourself what was actually achieved. The Kyoto protocol... More

Parer loses at State Council - posted by Graham

One of the most striking things about the Queensland Liberal Party Parliamentary stand-off is the way that the organisational chieftain, Warwick Parer, has tried to assert superiority over the parliamentary leadership. He even wanted a casting vote in the parliamentary... More