Holding Pattern

Harari- Globalism v Nationalism- the new political divide? Israeli Historian Yuval Harari says people make sense of the world, including politics, through stories. He says that for the last 20-40 years the most prevalent story in the West has been that economic globalisation and political liberalisation would lead to Nirvana. From at least around 2016, […]

It is normal to have a gut reaction to ‘7.30’s’ revelations of cruelty to horses at Meramist abattoir in Queensland and Burns Pet Foods at Riverstone, New South Wales. But some of the suggested policy responses seem not to have moved far beyond that same gut reaction. A preliminary issue is whether an ex-racehorse has superior claims […]

Once again we watch the spectacle of our politicians lining up to “condemn” the failure of the four major banks to pass on Reserve Bank interest rates cuts in full. Yet both major parties supported the measure which facilitated the impotence of government to confront the monopoly power of the four large banks. The privatisation […]

How dare you? asks Greta Thunberg- How dare you steal my childhood? How dare you come to us young people looking for hope? If you know the science and deliberately choose to ignore it, then you are evil. I don’t believe that- at least not yet. But how dare you? Well, it seems it was […]

Until 1844 commercial banks in Britain could print their own banknotes. In 1844 the Conservative Government of Robert Peel passed the Bank Charter Act 1844. This gave exclusive powers to the Bank of England to issue paper money and coins. Likewise, the Reserve Bank of Australia “designs, produces and issues Australia’s banknotes, with the objective […]