SA Labor Academy Viewpoints.

Puff, The Magic Dragon Uncategorized

Viewpoints #324 – Friday 18 July 2025


Viewpoints shares access to articles in the media curated weekly by Labor Academy SA.


For all previous editions, click https://laboracademysa.org/blog/archive/

China sees Australia as the Western partner worth resetting with and Anthony
Albanese made it happen By Bang Xiao in ABC Online https://tinyurl.com/2khmvfe8


Tax reform talk heats up after Treasury FOI error, and that might just suit Jim
Chalmers nicely By Michael Janda in ABC Online https://tinyurl.com/2ta3avjb


South Australia’s leap into the unknown with political finance changes
By Bill Browne in InDaily https://tinyurl.com/5da3kmf2


Segal’s antisemitism plan gives government controversy, not clarity
By Michelle Grattan in The Conversation https://tinyurl.com/4xmw99st


‘New thinking’: Australian Medical Association SA reveals ramping
recommendations By Claude Dichiera in InDaily https://tinyurl.com/y26wxvk8


Almost half of young workers expected to work unpaid overtime, while a quarter
aren’t paid … By John Howe and … in The Conversationhttps://tinyurl.com/4vrmp7sh


Sack the NACC [National Anti-Corruption Commission]
By John Hewson in The Saturday Paper https://tinyurl.com/23pr37ft


How to disappear a problem – The school system has spent 50 years not fixing one
of its central flaws By Dean Ashenden in Inside Story https://tinyurl.com/2kwhuc3p


Raise taxes to fix budget, Treasury advises Labor in accidentally published advice
By Daniel Ziffer and … in ABC Online https://tinyurl.com/28x7fdfk


Serious burns, fire damage: Alarming spike in powerbank recalls
By The New Daily https://tinyurl.com/475t8esk


How lobsters help us start to make sense of Donald Trump’s trade chaos
By Annabel Crabb in ABC Online https://tinyurl.com/5c27mffn

‐‐———————–
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Some articles may require reader registration. We try to avoid pay-walled articles. The Advertiser and The
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e: michael_cowling@mac.com w: https://laboracademysa.org


Copyright © 2019 – 2025 Michael Cowling on behalf of Labor Academy SA. All rights reserved.


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Video: PM Anthony Albanese
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I am sorry I have not been contributing lately but I was unwell and not up to writing.

These links are sent out by email and while the focus is on South Australia, national topics dominate.

I do however point out for your perusal, this obe, which may become the blueprint for the rest of Australia l in regard to political donations.

South Australia’s leap into the unknown with political finance changes
By Bill Browne in InDaily https://tinyurl.com/5da3kmf2

Quote: ‘

…

In South Australia, sitting MPs and registered political parties are now banned from receiving political donations. However, the laws include loopholes: Political parties can still charge their own MPs and staff levies (worth millions of dollars) and still take money from “nominated entities”, such as an established investment vehicle. 

Of course, the small political parties and independent candidates who compete with major parties do not have many or any MPs to extract levies from, and have no investment vehicles that could operate outside the donation ban. 

In exchange for limiting political donations, South Australians will pay about $18 million more in taxpayer funding of political parties and candidates every four-year cycle. Of this, the Australia Institute estimates about 75 per cent will go to the major parties and only 1-2 per cent to new entrants.

…”

Endquote

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216 thoughts on “SA Labor Academy Viewpoints.”

  3. The master of point-missing is at it again

     Ley spoke to 2GB this morning, saying:

    He’s out of his depth on this … because he has broken with longstanding bipartisan foreign policy. He’s not been straight on this issue. …

    This decision does not make the world a safer place. This decision does not expedite the end of the conflict. It does not deliver a two-state solution. It does not improve the flow of aid. It does not support the release of hostages. It certainly doesn’t put an end to the terrorist group Hamas.

    Ley went on to say she feels “a sense of sorrow with Australia’s Jewish community”.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/aug/12/australia-news-live-albanese-palestine-state-israel-war-gaza-rba-interest-rates-decision-ntwnfb#top-of-blog

  4. Recognising a Palestinian state before a peace process against Coalition ‘principles’, Ley says

    I’m thinking……….

  7. New York City mayoral race: Mamdani leads Cuomo by 19 points, poll shows

    Poll says 44% of voters for Mamdani and 25% for Cuomo as Elise Stefanik chips away at Hochul’s lead in governor race

    A nice LOL there. The Murdochracy and their ilk in the media have been totally rabid when it comes to this guy. They have been undertaken a full scale campaign to paint him as a crazed lefty………………………….. and the people have ignored it. The Rupertariat will be terrified that this might catch on elsewhere.

    NYC mayoral hopeful Mamdani triggers socialism fears …

    Fox Business

    2 days ago — Cuban and Lithuanian socialism descendants warn NYC voters about Democratic-socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s

    Mamdani’s ‘Radical Positions’ Alarm New Yorkers, Says …

    ox News

    6 days ago

    Fox News

    21 July 2025

    Mamdani explains his ‘radical’ upbringing and fondness for socialism

  8. Suss An is at it again:

    Ley told Sky News a short while ago:

    And now it’s quite clear that the prime minister is completely out of his depth. We have one of the co-founders of Hamas – a listed terrorist organisation praising our Prime Minister today, in fact, lauding his political courage.

    Now the endorsement of his decision by a listed terrorist organisation is exactly the reason the Coalition has opposed it and would revoke it in government.

    It’s up to the prime minister now to explain what he does next. Does he stick with this process? Does he recognise? But he needs to rethink it.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/aug/13/australia-news-live-penny-wong-anthony-albanese-gaza-palestine-humanitarian-crisis-reserve-bank-productivity-tax-jim-chalmers-ntwnfb#top-of-blog

    If I remember rightly, she opposed it before Hamas said anything.

  10. 11 cases of people who were wrongfully detained in immigration detention by the Department of Home Affairs between

    Home affairs wrongfully detained Australian citizen for four days because of paperwork bungle, ombudsman reveals

    Department denies a culture of ‘act first, check later’ after report shows the Australian citizen was moved to immigration detention – despite them providing their birth certificate

    The moment the Department of Home Affairs was informed of their error.

    • The Keystone Cops, a group of fictional, bumbling policemen from silent film comedies in the 1910s, became famous for their chaotic incompetence and slapstick misadventures. Their frantic chases and miscommunications made them iconic in early cinema. While initially confined to the annals of early Hollywood, their legacy as a symbol of disorder and ineptitude has found new life in the second term of President Donald Trump. From controversial appointments to legal battles, economic blunders, and international provocations, the administration has resembled a political remake of the Keystone Cops—only with real-world consequences that affect millions of Americans and the global order.

      Dear reader, read on

      https://tanjuyurukoglu.substack.com/p/the-keystone-cops-redux-trump-administration?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

  11. Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls tracked down on Brisbane streets after Premier David Crisafulli & Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie appeared to undermine his public health vaccination program. There's no guarantee as yet that the 2025 program will return in 2026.

    — David Marler (@qldaah.bsky.social) 2025-08-13T01:16:12.176Z

    Jacinta Allan’s Labor government has backed amendments proposed by the Greens to end the ‘dump day’ release of annual reports in Victoria http://www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... #springst #auslaw

    — Leroy (@leroylynch.bsky.social) 2025-08-13T00:45:32.739Z

    Lord Pocketsquare cares not if his subjects have the worst flu vaccination rate in Australia at 28%. The Queensland hospitalisation daily average is at 227 with half over the age of 65. Total this year is 4700 with 85% of those unvaccinated. #qldpol http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/que...

    — David Marler (@qldaah.bsky.social) 2025-08-12T02:39:27.462Z

    I wrote this 5 years ago. The cracks in Australia's centre-right parties are starting to show.

    — Leroy (@leroylynch.bsky.social) 2025-08-12T09:21:54.701Z

    ACT independent Senator David Pocock says he is concerned the issues facing the Australian National University are affecting its staff and students and calls for more transparency.

    — ABC News Bot (unofficial) (@abcnewsbot.bsky.social) 2025-08-13T04:28:25.362Z

    The SA government says it has received a complaint about emails sent by former Liberal leader David Speirs promoting a fundraiser for a charity hike, but Mr Speirs has denied that he has misused private information. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08... #saparli

    — Leroy (@leroylynch.bsky.social) 2025-08-13T10:17:34.506Z

  12. A good read from The Monthly……….

    The reporter who uncovered the truth about Kim Philby, the 20th century’s most infamous spy, and his warnings for democratic society

    The Australian journalist’s slightly professorial air belied a hard-scrabble journey to the top of his profession that had included stints as a copra trader in Fiji and a vacuum-cleaner salesman in Sydney, his home town. His entree to Fleet Street came via the London branch of a Sydney paper, but it was not quite the triumphant arrival he’d dreamt about as a copyboy for Frank Packer. Puce-faced publicans sneered at the colonial, and a BBC game show appearance alongside his compatriot Murray Sayle ended in the discovery that they’d been excluded from the green room.

    https://www.themonthly.com.au/december-2021-january-2022/essays/her-majestys-secret-disservice?share=djF8NDgyYmIyYjB8RkdbRllCUUlUXztEXkpQRFtEWUNcXVNBWEJdWUVZJ0RDU1FTVl9EQ0E=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Monthly%20Daily%20-%20August%2013%202025&utm_content=The%20Monthly%20Daily%20-%20August%2013%202025+CID_02d7b6e335447d4b49421831f9db6ae1&utm_source=EDM&utm_term=Read%20the%20full%20article&cid=02d7b6e335447d4b49421831f9db6ae1

  14. Pacific Ocean changes may ‘lock in’ US megadrought for decades

    A major cycle of Pacific Ocean temperatures is shifting due to climate change,………..

    https://www.newscientist.com/article/2492423-pacific-ocean-changes-may-lock-in-us-megadrought-for-decades/

    Normally I’d take that as being terrible news . However, as it is happening to the nation who lead and funded much of the charge to prevent action on climate change, I’ll take it as poetic justice.

  16. Has Suss An ever been to a meeting before?

    The ABC published details of the pre-written list of ideas that could come from the roundtable, including a freeze on the National Construction Code and measures to speed up housing approvals. A spokesperson for the treasurer said the list’s preparation was standard procedure, and the government was not “pre-empting ideas” but “preparing for them as you would expect”.

    Ley, however, claimed the leaks demonstrated the productivity roundtable was just an exercise that is “being choreographed”. She told Channel 9’s Today this morning:

    It’s all been lined up. Statements are ready to go out. People are going there in good faith, and they want to see outcomes. They want to see us growing the economic pie, and they want to see Australians pay less tax and be rewarded for their effort. And I fear that none of those things are actually on the agenda at this productivity roundtable.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/aug/14/news-live-australia-cybercrime-ev-electric-vehicle-road-tax-anthony-albanese-jim-chalmers-productivity-summit-ntwnfb

  17. Israel’s deputy foreign minister may be representing a war criminal PM but I did get a 🙂 from her retort in response to the NZ PM saying Netanyahu ‘has lost the plot’ .

    She scored a bonus point for being not too far off the mark re the #$%%#!! Australian Brushtail Possum.

    Israel’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, Sharren Haskel, hit back at Luxon’s comments

    ‘Your deadliest enemy is a possum’: NZ has no idea,…

  19. Twenty-five killed seeking aid in Gaza as Netanyahu floats voluntary relocation plan

    https://www.smh.com.au/topic/israel-azy

    There is no justice in the world if that pos isn’t hit by a meteorite. The “Twenty-five killed seeking aid in Gaza ” bit needed to have “For the hundredth time” at the start. It is totally SOP by the filth. Nice euphemism “voluntary relocation plan” . A nice way of saying “Ethnically cleanse yourself” or die by starvation,disease ,bullet or bomb.

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