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Brian Toohey

Competence missing, not coordination

Posted: 29/12/2008 | Three distinctive features of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's approach to government are likely to dominate in 2009. |

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Next step, don't give Telstra a reprieve

Posted: 22/12/2008 | Telstra and Woodside Petroleum have spent much of the past 12 months annoying Rudd government ministers with their aggressive lobbying behaviour, Brian Toohey writes. |

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Libs wither in Howard's shadow

Posted: 15/12/2008 | If disunity is death in politics, Malcolm Turnbull's best chance of staying alive is for Barnaby Joyce to lead the National Party out of the Coalition and for himself to move the Liberal Party out of John Howard's shadow. |

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Rising jobless is worst danger for Labor

Posted: 8/12/2008 | Kevin Rudd's Labor government has every reason to worry about unemployment going up, Brian Toohey writes. |

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Deficit's ok, but not Howard's left over fat

Posted: 1/12/2008 | A government budget going into deficit as an economy heads towards a recession should evoke no more than a yawn. |

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Crisis response mostly fine, rest patchy

Posted: 24/11/2008 | The Rudd Government has a lot going for it as it clocks up its first 12 months in office today. |

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Ken Henry gets it half right on tax

Posted: 17/11/2008 | It’s great that Ken Henry wants to cut complexity in the tax system. It’s not so great that he wants changes which will keep marginal tax rates higher than needed and increase the level of government interference in what people choose to do with their money. |

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It’s OK if Obama rarely speaks to Rudd

Posted: 10/11/2008 | The best thing Obama could do for Australia has nothing to do with building a warm relationship with Rudd. |

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Rudd leaves too much to carbon price

Posted: 3/11/2008 | Now is probably not the most opportune moment to tell the world that you’ve got this wonderful new financial product you want to trade in a specially created artificial market. |

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More secrecy no cure for the economy

Posted: 27/10/2008 | Last week, Ken Henry went in much too hard in telling the parliamentary committee that a report in The Australian was categorically "wrong". |

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It's OK, if Kevin Rudd is wrong about the US in 2050

Posted: 20/10/2008 | It should be clear by now that people who work in financial markets have trouble predicting the future, Brian Toohey writes. |

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The surplus is there to be used

Posted: 13/10/2008 | Helping the real economy to stay afloat should prove easier for the Rudd Government than boosting jittery financial markets, Brian Toohey writes. |

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The strange politics of climate change

Posted: 6/10/2008 | The politics of dealing with climate change would be a lot easier for the Rudd government if it had not been so eager to distance itself from Ross Garnaut. |

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Crazy tax cut for foreigners turns crazier

Posted: 29/09/2008 | One of the silliest ideas Labor took to the last election now looks a lot sillier following the meltdown of global markets. |

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Now it's a contest, but still Rudd's to lose

Posted: 22/09/2008 | Malcolm Turnbull is a good choice as Liberal leader. But he will only become prime minister if Kevin Rudd opens the door for him. |

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Rudd's military alarmism not justified

Posted: 15/09/2008 | While Australia remains open to trade and investment, no wealthy Asian country would have an obvious motive to embark on the immensely difficult task of invading and occupying Australia. |

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Turnbull needs a new tune

Posted: 8/09/2008 | The Liberal Party’s strong showing in the Western Australian State election puts the onus on the federal party to lift its game — and change its leader. |

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Gillard inspired by failed NY schools

Posted: 1/09/2008 | Most of the reforms announced by Kevin Rudd simply extend what John Howard and his education minister Julie Bishop wanted to do, writes Brian Toohey. |

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Ruddock pleads ignorance

Posted: 25/08/2008 | It’s hard to know why Philip Ruddock decided to speak out in recent days about his time as Attorney General in the Howard Government. |

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A topsy-turvy world for pensioners

Posted: 18/08/2008 | There is something seriously wrong with the nation's unions when a leading official wants a huge increase in the subsidies for well off retirees while single pensioners struggle to get by on $273.40 a week. |

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Changing the story from boom to bust

Posted: 11/08/2008 | Politicians are like novelists. They usually find it's best to stick to a simple narrative if they want to be popular, writes Brian Toohey. |

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Nelson making Labor's GST mistake

Posted: 4/08/2008 | Voters can be more forgiving than politicians often assume. Labor failed to learn this lesson with the GST. Now the Coalition parties risk making the same mistake. |

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Opposition is not Costello's style

Posted: 28/07/2008 | Working as a barrister is hard. However, it’s a breeze compared to the tension-packed work load confronting any opposition leader, wrtes Brian Toohey. |

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Will the banks follow the RBA?

Posted: 21/07/2008 | What happens if the trading banks don't cut their rates with the same enthusiasm they have shown for raising them over the past 12 months? |

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Most people will barely notice emissions trading

Posted: 14/07/2008 | Price increases will be so small that most people will barely notice them, even before they receive government compensation, writes Brian Toohey. |

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Menzies' "papists" take a step much too far

Posted: 7/07/2008 | Much has been made of the powers police have been granted to stop annoyances to World Youth Day participants, but what about the annoying costs inflicted on taxpayers or the disruption for local business? |

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Dr Nelson confronts the case for a small rise in the cost of cars

Posted: 30/06/2008 | There is often no costless way to cut emissions and either the price of petrol or cars - or maybe both - will rise as a result of implementing a carbon trading scheme. |

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Too slow where it matters, too frantic where in doesn't

Posted: 23/06/2008 | For a prime minister who is often accused to being in too much of a hurry, Kevin Rudd is dragging the chain on two of the biggest issues facing the nation — water and climate change. |

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Govern and let the news cycle look after itself

Posted: 16/06/2008 | Contrary to the impression he too often gives, Kevin Rudd is not simply another tawdry politician focused solely on the 24 hour news cycle. |

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