The politics of the day
BARRY DEALS
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell threw Julia Gillard a lifeline by signing up to her signature Gonski funding package. It came as something of a surprise in terms of timing, but O'Farrell has done a clever thing.
He knows, as do most state premiers, that the offer of increased education funding won't be extended by an incoming Coalition government (indeed, it may even be withdrawn). So he's jumped at it, probably benefiting from being the first mover, but also allowing the government ample time to convince the other states. The Labor states are expected to sign up eventually, and the reform will probably survive without the support of Western Australia, meaning the success of the funding overhaul now rests on Queensland and Victoria signing up.
If they want a lesson in how to play politics, the other premiers might look to O'Farrell's example. He explained to his constituents that the only way NSW could afford its share of the new funding was to cut much of it from TAFEs and the public sector, thus blaming the federal government even while pocketing the extra billions.
Nick Feik
Politicoz Editor
to your email address every weekday at lunch time.
NSW Leads The Way
“Julia Gillard is hopeful of rescuing her national funding agreement for school education after NSW became the first state to sign up for the multibillion-dollar offer.”
Also: Big Win For Gillard, But Not Without A Political Price – The Australian
Power Companies Warn Abbott On Carbon
“Power companies are demanding the federal opposition rethink its ‘direct action’ plan for reducing carbon emissions, warning that its company baseline approach could be more difficult to operate than Labor’s trading scheme.”
Sing Along To The Budget Blues
“Australia has a case of the budget blues. Actually, the country has been running deficits for years through the global financial crisis and its aftermath, but it's only been recently that we've realised things are worse than we think.”
Deficit Realities Finally Dawn On All
“For years the Libs have condemned Labor’s timid explanations as mere excuses and have been promising to return the budget to surplus as soon as they got back to office. But the reality of the budget's revenue weakness has finally dawned on them, too.”
Indonesia Raps Abbott Over Tow-Back Policy
“A senior member of the Indonesian government has suggested that Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s policy to turn back asylum seekers boats may harm Australia's relationship with Indonesia.”