Australian Central Interest Rates Sky High

Not sure that John Howards Election interest rate strategy will work this election cycle. This is how he launched the 2004 Campaign.

“My friends, we all prize the financial security of our families. Let me say this, and it’s not just my view, but it’s a view frequently expressed to me as I move around this country talking to Australian families. Nothing threatens that security more directly than the prospect of rising interest rates. Rising interest rates dominates everything else when it comes to family security. Just a tiny upward movement in interest rates more than devours a few dollars of taxation relief or additional family benefits. There is no economic credential for office more crucial than a capacity to keep interest rates low.”

With the decision of the Reserve Bank of Australia to increase interest rates by 0.25 percent this week and another rise possible, Australia has some of the highest rates in the developed world.

Bank of Canada 4.5%
Bank of England 5.75%
Bank of Japan 0.5%
European Central Bank 4.0%
Swiss National Bank 2.5%
US Interest Rates 4.25%
Reserve Bank of Australia 6.5%

So much for John Howards promise of low interest rates that helped him to win the last election. This is the latest in a long line of interest rate rises since the lows of this government. Five interest rate hikes since the 2004 election; nine in total since the Reserve Bank of Australia began this particular tightening cycle in May 2002.

It may well be one too many for John Howard. Here are the some reasons why: This is the first time in the deregulation era that interest rates have been tweaked in an election year, let alone less than four months before polling day and with the threat of another around election time. The Prime Minister now has to move to Plan B when he talks economic management because he didn’t expect rates to go up now. At the start of the year, he was advised by his office that monetary policy would most likely remain on hold for all of 2007. To now seek to blame the states for making long term investments in infrastructure funded by debt as the source of interest rate rises is to say the least disingenuous

One of the first things that the Howard Government did when they were first elected was to make the Reserve Bank independent. They may be regretting this now.

Thanks Nicholson and Meganomics in the Australian

Carnival of Australia Number 6

Welcome to the July 18, 2007 edition of Carnival of Australia. This is the sixth carnival and we are continuing to grow. Carnival of Australia is the featured blog carnival this week, so welcome new visitors.

So why is a crazy Scotsman doing Carnival of Australia? Obviously I have way too much time on my hands. For those interested in my Haggis Leaning side, I have just completed the Scottish Blog Roundup, so if I lapse into celtic teuchterisms, incoherent ranting and gross sarcasm, you will know why. I will just take off my kilt put on my Aussie hat and dive into the surf Mates!

I found this interesting map of Australia on Strange Maps. It is a proposal for the administrative make up of Australia from 1838. I wonder if Australia would be different now if this had been implemented.

It is election season here in Australia, so we will start by wading right into non confrontational territory Check out these home made Aussie Election Ads.

Gavin R. Putland continues the political theme with Howard for Nobel Prize in Economics posted at /etc/cron.whenever/ saying, "Yes, it's a joke -- with a serious side." Phew glad about that.

Yesterday in the Australian, Nicholson had a brilliant animated cartoon about Howard Yesterday Man. I know I know, I shouldn't be wading into politics, not least because I can't vote. I am an Australian Permanent Resident (for the period that I don't lend my SIM card to anybody with malicious intent). When I was in America, I left two full mobile accounts for somebody to use. I may yet end up in Guantanamo. Where have all our rights gone Mr Ruddock?



I laughed at this cartoon of Brendan Nelson and his honest but apparently incorrect assessment of the Iraq Occupation. Well who would have thought that there was a hidden agenda.

Again in the non confrontational department, Roger presents his ringing endorsement of the Tasmanian Governments endorsement of the proposed pulp mill (sarcasm alert) in Tassie Pulp Mill Approval 2007 – NOT one for the CV. Wow! These guys are full on. I suspect it is one of those follow the money type stories. Interesting that this has not been picked up too much on the mainland. If this was suburban Sydney or Melbourne, it would be in the press every day. Roger's suggestions for tags (corruption, climate change, satire, dumbockracy..) give you some idea of where he is coming from.

Ever one to tread lightly on sensitive issues, Roger had originally planned to have this post on the Howard Governments plans for Aboriginal Communities as his post, but it was not complete at the time of submission. I hunted it down and included it anyway.

I included it as another perspective to this excellent post from Kirky, a Koori woman from New South Wales, who has strong opinions on the Howard Governments current plans for aboriginal communities. Here, she presents Pulling apart the spin... line by line, and lie by lie

I have also included this post, by Paul Canning, which she refers to and from which the image came from. An interesting perspective from overseas, although with the benefit of having lived in Australia for 15 years. The very resonant image seems to be how things are viewed from within much of the Aboriginal Community. These articles really speak for themselves and I shall stay out of it.

Public Service Announcement - That's It for Politics On to Some Interesting Stuff

For those of you financially inclined, Noric Dilanchian presents Revenues and stock values of Google and eBay in context

Information technology markets are globalising faster than most. Yet Australia is falling further behind. This is illustrated by focusing on the loss of internet advertising revenues to Google and others, the lack of major Australian global IT companies and the gap in venture capital between Australia and the United States.

This may seem a bit dry, but I think that it is important. Australia's internet infrastructure is medieval and it is no wonder that our internet companies struggle. Apparently we are up there with Kazakhstan in available broadband speeds. Some kind of very large investment in internet infrastructure will happen in Australia regardless of who is elected. Telstra and another consortium are vying for the rights to the lucrative portion of the market, serving the Cities. The rest of the country will have some patched up Fraudband Alternative.

Megan Bayliss who blogs at Imaginif presents I Had a Fight with Husband so I Hit my Kid.

Bloggers who confront difficult personal and potentially painful areas for many parents are to be admired. My mum was an expert with the flying hand and I have inherited some of that. I need to take a breath from time to time. This is especially true this week, being at home with my kids. I enjoy it, but they certainly know how to wind each other (and me) up.

Again Megan Bayliss, blogging this time at Home Schooling Aspergers presents Circus Goes Back to School.

This post reminds me about the challenges of home schooling. Next Monday I can just pack the kids into the car and drop them off at school. Not so easy for a home schooling family. My best friend in America and his wife are still homeschooling their fifth through eighth kid. That is a major life choice.

And the last post from the Bayliss family is from Sue Bayliss, a sufferer of Dystonia. Sue has an interesting blog called Spasmodic Dysphonia. In Dystonia, Home Sweet Home she updates readers on her current status and increases awareness about this medical condition.

Craig Harper runs a very High Energy Personal Improvement Blog. Here he presents a post that sounds like a Physics Lecture. It is not an area that I am familiar, but that is certainly no reason to avoid The Law of Attraction should be renamed The Law of Distraction

I personally think the LOA should be re-named the Law of Distraction (as the title of my article suggests) as it (in my opinion) actually distracts people from change principles which actually work."

Laurie Joyce blogging at Midlife - A Journey, presents an interesting post called Perceptions.

Study had a profound effect on my curiosity, I yearned to know more and I enjoyed the way my perception of things was changing. When I read this post I wondered when that curiosity became stifled, when the boy’s excitement became the man’s practicalities. Have I really gotten to the point where the wonder of the bush has left me, or has it just been cloaked in responsibility and shelved because the pressures of marriage and fatherhood intervened?

I think that we could all learn from Ruby of Advice and Rants, who presents Everything is Transitory.

This is so true. Ruby's message is basically, that things will change. If they are bad, they will likely get better. If they are good, enjoy it while they are. Be patient when things are tough and enjoy it when things are good. I generally have a hard time with overly upbeat motivational stuff, but this message is a good one.

And you thought that you could avoid that book, here, but no such luck. John Lampard from Disassociated.com presents What bloggers can learn from Harry Potter.

My one piece of advice is to resist the temptation to write about it. There will be major overload of the sensory system for about a week when the book comes out. Do your bit to reduce the intensity and just say no. I enjoyed the films with the kids and have probably seen them in their entirety in 1 minute and 10 minute sections in between doing chores.

My dad is an artist, so I was interested to read the next article by Susan Borgas. It is a step by step presentation of the development of a painting called Water's Path - Willochra Creek. My dad was intensely private about the creative process and it is refreshing an artist willing to share their craft in a practical way.

My work as a realist artist does promote the Flinders Ranges and hope that viewers of my work will consider visiting this region. There is nothing like sitting under a gum tree with a cool drink in one hand and a camera or drawing tool in another along with some flies for company. What more can anyone want!

Well let me tell you, you can keep the flies. I have only ever been to the Flinders Ranges once in a plane piloted by my brother in law. We landed on a bush strip after flying from Adelaide, saw some emus, kangaroos and some scrub and then flew home. Small plane flying is a unique experience after my many years of jetting around the world on flying buses.



Laurie Joyce, featured earlier, also maintains Sunrays and Saturdays -An Ordinary Life. Here he presents the deep and meaningful post of the week, Space is Big.

From Journal 1 – 02/03/1982

“….really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mindbogglingly big it it. I mean you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist, but that’s peanuts to space…”

Douglas Adams, The hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, p.62

Laurie wades into the why are we here debate? I am definitely in the no idea department, but Laurie certainly poses some interesting questions. Enough to keep us entertained until the next Carnival of Australia.

If that is not enough, may I recommend some practical homework in the area of astronomy provided by Professor Onyx Stone, our token Kiwi. Don't let it be said that I don't maintain a Broad Church.

That concludes this edition of Carnival of Australia. Submit your blog article to the next edition of

Carnival of Australia

Attack Ads bite Hard. If in doubt, Bite Back

Stephen Loosley in the Australian runs through the history of Attack Ads. Yes I know everyone hates them, but they are very effective.

The first was in the early 1960s, when President Johnson, successfully branded Barry Goldwater as a maniac, ready to nuke the world. My grandmother was convinced Reagan planned to do this when he was elected and she hadn't seen any Attack Ads to come to this opinion. Clearly the central message of the ad must resonate with the viewer, niggling away at a fear or doubt.

Nowadays, most of the themes are more subtle and more sophisticated and researched, but it is clear that it is essential to respond strongly to an effective Attack Ad or you will be finished.

The Australian Election is still in an early phase, but the unions campaign against the Governments Industrial Relations changes have been very effective. We can expect much more as we get into the slogging stage of the campaign. Good for the bottom line of commercial media.



This is the original advert that consigned Goldwater to a political grave.



And this is a not too subtle lame attempt in the current US campaign to turn it around. Democrats are too weak at the knee to blow anybody up, seems to be the message. Personally, I think that it is a good thing.

Elect, our guy! He will make sure all those Anti 'Mericans, such as Communists, Atheists, Muslims, Al Quada Sympathisers, Iranians, Talibans and other deviant sorts...... are nuked back to the Stone Age if they get out of line. That is exactly the sort of stuff that makes many people outside of America worry.

Dudes, The Cold War is Over.