Media wrap - the voters are grumpy and governments are on the nose
POLITICS AND ECONOMICS
Economic matters
Swan resists IMF, Obama on bank tax - Wayne Swan has voiced the Rudd government's opposition to a proposed global tax on banks to pay for the costs of shutting down failed financial institutions - The Australian
No quick fixes in Henry tax review: Swan - The Henry review into the tax system was likely to help frame federal budgets over the course of a decade and would be offering no quick fix, according to the federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan - Sydney Morning Herald
Henry Review may make tax returns easier - The Henry Review into taxation might make it easier for people to file their tax returns, Treasurer Wayne Swan has hinted - Melbourne Age
Kevin Rudd's mean green sting - Pensioners who fix solar panels to their home and sell excess electricity back to the power company will have any credit or rebate counted as income and their pension payments cut - Melbourne Herald Sun
Pain in CPI surprise - Economists say while an interest rate rise next week is far from a done deal, the chances will increase if official Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, released on Wednesday, reveal underlying inflation rose 0.8 per cent or more in the March quarter. The market is expecting underlying inflation to post a 0.6 per cent quarterly gain, translating to 2.9 per cent through the year - Melbourne Herald Sun
Elections
Camera-shy rudd is exposed by Libs - Glenn Milne writes in The Australian that the Liberal machine has taken the irrevocable decision to make Kevin Rudd's character an issue. There will now be two lines of attack: competence and cowardice.
Blow to factions in Labor Canberra preselection - The preselection victory of economist Andrew Leigh and PR consultant Gai Brodtmann is being hailed as a blow to the factions. Barring a serious upset in Canberra, a Labor-loving city that has not elected a single Liberal in the House of Representatives in 15 years, the pair are odds-on to enter parliament - The Australian
Jobs not voters' main worry - Voters are grumpy as the Australian economy leads the world out of the global financial crisis, with concerns about bullying, street violence, the health system and rising cost-of-living pressures replacing previous fears about job security. Governments at all levels are on the nose as the public returns to the gripes it held in 2007 at the top of the last boom, according to the latest Mind and Mood survey conducted for the Ipsos Mackay Report - The Australian
Brumby's blueprint to battle for the bush - Premier John Brumby is set to unveil a multimillion-dollar plan that will give regional councils more power to cope with population growth and throw a lifeline to small rural towns, in an election-year bid to reassert Labor's credentials in the bush - Melbourne Age
CLP's NT housing plan 'to cost $1b' - The Country Liberals first home buyer policy is expected to cost the taxpayer more than $1 billion in the first term if it takes government - Northern Territory News
Dogs
Dogs now welcome to join cafe society - The NSW Government has introduced amendments to laws governing food safety and companion animals so that dog owners and cafe proprietors do not risk fines or being named and shamed by the Food Authority - Sydney Morning Herald
Symbolism
Hawke, Fraser tapped for 2015 centenary - A commission to be headed by former prime ministers Bob Hawke and Malcolm Fraser will decide the most appropriate way to commemorate the Anzac Day centenary in 2015, Kevin Rudd said yesterday - The Australian
Political life
Sniffer's affair with Greens MP puts career as Treasurer in doubt - West Australian Treasurer Troy Buswell remained silent yesterday as his future hung in the balance after Greens MP Adele Carles admitted to having an affair with the infamous Liberal minister - The Australian
Strange bedfellows: Greens MP reveals affair with chair-sniffing Lib - Sydney Morning Herald
Buswell affair casts doubt on Greens - WA Treasurer Troy Buswell was in hiding last night and his former lover, Greens MP Adele Carles, was forced to defend her voting record as the fallout from their affair rocked State politics - The West Australian
Consumer affairs
Tough rules for finance advisers - Financial advisers are to be banned from taking commissions on products they sell, as the Rudd government moves to protect consumers in the wake of a series of high-profile corporate collapses - The Australian
Financial advisers' super slice to get axe - Financial planners will have to earn their keep openly from their customers as part of sweeping changes that will outlaw kickbacks and commissions and revolutionise superannuation from 2012 - Melbourne Age
Opinions
A precious commodity called unity goes West - Phillip Coorey writes in the Sydney Morning Herald about the curious relationships between Liberals and Nationals.
Rudd fluffed a chance at real health reform - Integrating hospitals with primary care would be truly revolutionary acording to Ken Davidson in the Melbourne Age
Let's chase the truth - Alan Howe writes in the Melbourne Herald Sun that the reason he wants a corruption inquiry is because for years, as Opposition Leader, John Brumby kept insisting on one. It was a compelling argument, it convinced him and he supported the case.
For more control, stop thinking it's possible - Life is partly skill and partly luck. Chance plays a substantial and irreducible role in our fate. Thus the first step towards wisdom is to disabuse ourselves of the illusion of control, to accept that much of our fate is beyond our control. The second step is to assess our chances of success or failure in a realistic way - Ross Gittins in the Sydney Morning Herald
ENVIRONMENT
Eden feels the heat over wood-fired power plant - Eden, on the state's south coast, is set to be the first Australian town to be powered by a wood-fired electricity plant, despite concerns that burning trees could generate more greenhouse gas emissions than burning coal - Sydney Morning Herald
MEDIA
ABC radio bid to emulate the Beeb - The ABC is exploring the possibility of rebranding and altering its radio programming around the country, even making Triple J more commercial, to mimic the success of BBC pop cultural powerhouse Radio 1 - The Australian
Crikey's comment on Williams' murder indefensible - Mark Day in The Australian gives Crikey a serve for its coverage of a Melbourne Herald Sun story about Carl Williams.
Rudd's bid to bury interview `delusional' - Politicians have always tried to rewrite history. Now Kevin Rudd and his ministers are trying to stop it being recorded at all. On Wednesday morning the Prime Minister spoke about his health plans with Neil Mitchell on Melbourne's 3AW. No transcript appeared on the PM's website. None was even issued to the press gallery - The Australian
LIFE
Real estate
Anzac Day weekend auctions best since 2007 - Auction numbers dipped during the Anzac Day weekend but attendance and bidding were still very strong, as the market heats up for May - Melbourne Age
Economic matters
Swan resists IMF, Obama on bank tax - Wayne Swan has voiced the Rudd government's opposition to a proposed global tax on banks to pay for the costs of shutting down failed financial institutions - The Australian
No quick fixes in Henry tax review: Swan - The Henry review into the tax system was likely to help frame federal budgets over the course of a decade and would be offering no quick fix, according to the federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan - Sydney Morning Herald
Henry Review may make tax returns easier - The Henry Review into taxation might make it easier for people to file their tax returns, Treasurer Wayne Swan has hinted - Melbourne Age
Kevin Rudd's mean green sting - Pensioners who fix solar panels to their home and sell excess electricity back to the power company will have any credit or rebate counted as income and their pension payments cut - Melbourne Herald Sun
Pain in CPI surprise - Economists say while an interest rate rise next week is far from a done deal, the chances will increase if official Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, released on Wednesday, reveal underlying inflation rose 0.8 per cent or more in the March quarter. The market is expecting underlying inflation to post a 0.6 per cent quarterly gain, translating to 2.9 per cent through the year - Melbourne Herald Sun
Elections
Camera-shy rudd is exposed by Libs - Glenn Milne writes in The Australian that the Liberal machine has taken the irrevocable decision to make Kevin Rudd's character an issue. There will now be two lines of attack: competence and cowardice.
Blow to factions in Labor Canberra preselection - The preselection victory of economist Andrew Leigh and PR consultant Gai Brodtmann is being hailed as a blow to the factions. Barring a serious upset in Canberra, a Labor-loving city that has not elected a single Liberal in the House of Representatives in 15 years, the pair are odds-on to enter parliament - The Australian
Jobs not voters' main worry - Voters are grumpy as the Australian economy leads the world out of the global financial crisis, with concerns about bullying, street violence, the health system and rising cost-of-living pressures replacing previous fears about job security. Governments at all levels are on the nose as the public returns to the gripes it held in 2007 at the top of the last boom, according to the latest Mind and Mood survey conducted for the Ipsos Mackay Report - The Australian
Brumby's blueprint to battle for the bush - Premier John Brumby is set to unveil a multimillion-dollar plan that will give regional councils more power to cope with population growth and throw a lifeline to small rural towns, in an election-year bid to reassert Labor's credentials in the bush - Melbourne Age
CLP's NT housing plan 'to cost $1b' - The Country Liberals first home buyer policy is expected to cost the taxpayer more than $1 billion in the first term if it takes government - Northern Territory News
Dogs
Dogs now welcome to join cafe society - The NSW Government has introduced amendments to laws governing food safety and companion animals so that dog owners and cafe proprietors do not risk fines or being named and shamed by the Food Authority - Sydney Morning Herald
Symbolism
Hawke, Fraser tapped for 2015 centenary - A commission to be headed by former prime ministers Bob Hawke and Malcolm Fraser will decide the most appropriate way to commemorate the Anzac Day centenary in 2015, Kevin Rudd said yesterday - The Australian
Political life
Sniffer's affair with Greens MP puts career as Treasurer in doubt - West Australian Treasurer Troy Buswell remained silent yesterday as his future hung in the balance after Greens MP Adele Carles admitted to having an affair with the infamous Liberal minister - The Australian
Strange bedfellows: Greens MP reveals affair with chair-sniffing Lib - Sydney Morning Herald
Buswell affair casts doubt on Greens - WA Treasurer Troy Buswell was in hiding last night and his former lover, Greens MP Adele Carles, was forced to defend her voting record as the fallout from their affair rocked State politics - The West Australian
Consumer affairs
Tough rules for finance advisers - Financial advisers are to be banned from taking commissions on products they sell, as the Rudd government moves to protect consumers in the wake of a series of high-profile corporate collapses - The Australian
Financial advisers' super slice to get axe - Financial planners will have to earn their keep openly from their customers as part of sweeping changes that will outlaw kickbacks and commissions and revolutionise superannuation from 2012 - Melbourne Age
Opinions
A precious commodity called unity goes West - Phillip Coorey writes in the Sydney Morning Herald about the curious relationships between Liberals and Nationals.
Rudd fluffed a chance at real health reform - Integrating hospitals with primary care would be truly revolutionary acording to Ken Davidson in the Melbourne Age
Let's chase the truth - Alan Howe writes in the Melbourne Herald Sun that the reason he wants a corruption inquiry is because for years, as Opposition Leader, John Brumby kept insisting on one. It was a compelling argument, it convinced him and he supported the case.
For more control, stop thinking it's possible - Life is partly skill and partly luck. Chance plays a substantial and irreducible role in our fate. Thus the first step towards wisdom is to disabuse ourselves of the illusion of control, to accept that much of our fate is beyond our control. The second step is to assess our chances of success or failure in a realistic way - Ross Gittins in the Sydney Morning Herald
ENVIRONMENT
Eden feels the heat over wood-fired power plant - Eden, on the state's south coast, is set to be the first Australian town to be powered by a wood-fired electricity plant, despite concerns that burning trees could generate more greenhouse gas emissions than burning coal - Sydney Morning Herald
MEDIA
ABC radio bid to emulate the Beeb - The ABC is exploring the possibility of rebranding and altering its radio programming around the country, even making Triple J more commercial, to mimic the success of BBC pop cultural powerhouse Radio 1 - The Australian
Crikey's comment on Williams' murder indefensible - Mark Day in The Australian gives Crikey a serve for its coverage of a Melbourne Herald Sun story about Carl Williams.
Rudd's bid to bury interview `delusional' - Politicians have always tried to rewrite history. Now Kevin Rudd and his ministers are trying to stop it being recorded at all. On Wednesday morning the Prime Minister spoke about his health plans with Neil Mitchell on Melbourne's 3AW. No transcript appeared on the PM's website. None was even issued to the press gallery - The Australian
LIFE
Real estate
Anzac Day weekend auctions best since 2007 - Auction numbers dipped during the Anzac Day weekend but attendance and bidding were still very strong, as the market heats up for May - Melbourne Age
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