The Burning Issue
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Why you should care about public schools
Whether you're a billionaire or a boilermaker, you should care about public education. It doesn't matter if your kids attend an independent or Catholic school or even if you don't have children. Everyone in WA will reap the benefits or suffer the...
Tue, March 27, 2012, 1:04 pm WST -
Miners should leave something for future
The debate over the mining tax has exposed the degree to which Canberra views WA as little more than a lucrative and ever expanding hole in the ground. As a WA Senator, I want to set one myth to rest at the outset: the idea that the support of the...
Tue, March 20, 2012, 10:55 am WST -
The disastrous legacy of child abuse and neglect
Before he was born, his mother drank heavily and it is likely he was exposed to substances as he developed in the womb.By the time he was six months old, he was suffering epileptic seizures connected to severe dehydration caused by gastroenteritis and a...
Wed, March 14, 2012, 12:24 pm WST -
Gun laws should be aimed at criminals
Last week, an alleged drug dealer was found to be in possession of 13 legally licensed firearms. There was no evidence that the 13 firearms had been used in criminal activity or drug dealing. They were not stockpiled for an illegal or sinister purpose...
Tue, March 13, 2012, 1:30 pm WST -
Rise in gun theft shows need for tighter control
In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre in April 1996 the Federal government and all Australasian police ministers signed up to the National Firearms Agreement. The intent of the agreement was to tighten gun control through the restriction of certain...
Mon, March 12, 2012, 12:14 pm WST -
Poorer world unless all women have rights
Men their rights and nothing more; women their rights and nothing less - this was the dream boldly declared by suffragette Susan B. Anthony on the cover of the American women's rights journal The Revolution in 1868.In Australia at that time, women were...
Thu, March 8, 2012, 12:09 pm WST -
It's time to get serious about vital cancer test
I have no experience in marketing or running a business, but even I can recognise the pretty simple argument here. If you had a product that you had been pressured into giving away for free and wanted to limit your financial exposure, how would you...
Wed, March 7, 2012, 11:13 am WST -
Domestic violence hurts us all
In just six months, from July to December 2010, WA Police dealt with 4686 domestic assault offence or incident reports. That is nearly 300 more than in the same period in 2009.As shocking as it is, the number of reports does not reveal the true extent...
Tue, March 6, 2012, 12:58 pm WST -
Urgent need for Carr to focus on Indonesia
As Bob Carr considers his priorities as the new foreign affairs minister, relations with countries to our north will need early attention.China and its irritation at our decision to allow US troops to be based in Darwin is an obvious matter that needs...
Mon, March 5, 2012, 12:36 pm WST -
Fire volunteers out in the cold
Federal Labor’s bloodletting pushed the Keelty report on the Margaret River bushfires to the middle of news bulletins last week, but a significant shift in the way fires are managed in the South West did not escape the attention of WA’s...
Thu, March 1, 2012, 12:39 pm WST -
ALP can win next election but fighting must stop
Labor can win at the next election and Federal caucus needs to convince itself of that. The two messages that need to be hammered home to every member of the ALP are that public opinion can change and the electorate is not stupid.The single message for...
Wed, February 29, 2012, 7:00 am WST -
Overcrowded prisons don't benefit anyone
Talking tough on crime and vowing to imprison more people are always popular policies that are bound to leave politicians with a warm glow.But what is tougher is finding the money to properly fund the prison officers who are left to deal with the...
Wed, February 22, 2012, 9:02 am WST -
Dancing to Porter's twisted reform tune
It's a pretty simple political game plan and Christian Porter has it down to a fine art.First, pick a few of the most despised and marginalised groups in the community to sink the boots into. Paedophiles, drug dealers and bikies will usually do the...
Thu, February 16, 2012, 12:39 pm WST -
Law lags in euthanasia debate
It is a heart-wrenching scenario. A loved one is either terminally ill or afflicted with a chronic disease so debilitating that they have little or no quality of life.In earlier times, when the person was lucid and in better health, a pact was made that...
Wed, February 15, 2012, 12:16 pm WST -
Noongars face crucial choice
Even since Captain Stirling arrived at the Swan River colony on the Parmelia in 1829, the relationship between the Noongar traditional owners and those who have since arrived has remained unresolved.Now, after years of discontent, the issue of native...
Sun, February 12, 2012, 11:17 am WST -
Surplus of coalition confusion
When Tony Abbott addressed the first joint party room meeting of the year on Tuesday, he told his colleagues the only thing that could save the Government was a disorganised Opposition.And this week senior members of his frontbench looked determined to...
Fri, February 10, 2012, 11:15 am WST -
Nuclear card a political bluff
Strategic thinking in the West is dominated by the narrow-minded assumption that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon, but for Tehran this perception is more powerful than ever actually succeeding.The first weeks of this year have been marked by a fresh...
Thu, February 9, 2012, 9:16 am WST -
Power play behind tennis rights
In coming weeks, Paul McNamee should learn if he will continue as director of the Hopman Cup tennis tournament, a uniquely Perth event that he helped create 24 years ago. His contract with International Tennis Federation ended last month, leaving him in...
Tue, February 7, 2012, 1:24 pm WST -
Delay on the waterfront will hold Perth back
The Perth waterfront development is set to transform our city. But some critics of this important development have been calling for the project to be halted. The calls for more reviews, more planning, more delays surely point to an agenda to halt this...
Thu, February 2, 2012, 10:38 am WST -
Ugly development needs the boot
The people of Perth may have enjoyed their last Australia Day on the Esplanade foreshore. By the time the next Skyworks comes around, it looks likely to be lost to what one Perth resident has called "an ugly, stupid idea".The Barnett...
Mon, January 30, 2012, 12:37 pm WST
Our choice
Opinion
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Gary Adshead
May 24, 11:57 amA question of trust and clarityConstruction company boss Gerry Hanssen was quick to shoot the messenger when a report appeared on the front page of The West Australian yesterday ab...
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Andrew Probyn
May 25, 12:31 pmThomson inquiry in contemptDown in the bowels of Parliament there are remnant reminders of how seriously it takes punishment. In the southern end of the basement there were onc...
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Ben O'Shea
May 24, 12:32 pmSpam filterFrom: William DouglasSent: Wednesday, 16 May 2012 7:35 PMTo: Ben O’SheaSubject: Attention: Ben O’Shea, Please contact meAttention: Ben O’Shea,I’m Mr ...
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