Gillard's Inaction Causes Chinese to Issue Warnings

07-Dec-2009 Poor scheduling of legislation by the Rudd Labor Government is likely to blame for the Chinese Education Ministry issuing a warning to Chinese students, advising them against enrolling in private colleges in Australia.  “The Government failed to schedule the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Re-registration of Providers and Other ... more

Still no sports policy

17-Nov-2009 Today’s long awaited release of the government’s review into sport confirms that Australia’s sporting community will have to wait another six months – at least – to see a sports policy from this Sports Minister. After taking 14 ½ months to complete and release the review, the announcement that we won’t see a fully funded sports policy until at ... more

Rudd Government must provide answers on ATC funding

27-Oct-2009 The Rudd Government and local Labor Members must answer questions regarding the funding arrangements between the Tasmanian Catholic Education Office and the Australian Technical College in Tasmania, according to Shadow Minister for Training, Andrew Southcott, and Liberal Senator Guy Barnett."The former Coalition Government established the ... more

Sports Minister holding back Australian Olympic Team

27-Oct-2009 The release of the latest benchmark study by the Australian Olympic Committee shows that Australia has fallen to 7th on the gold and overall medal tally. The lack of leadership from the Federal Government over the last two years threatens the gains Australia has made at the Olympic Games over the last two decades. The disappointing benchmarks for ... more

Crawford Review needs to see the light of day

22-Oct-2009 The Opposition calls on the Sports Minister to release the long awaited “Crawford Review” without further delay.Sport has been in a holding pattern since the Sports Minister announced a review into sport, headed by David Crawford on 28 August last year – almost 14 months ago.  As the months have come and gone, sporting organisations and peak bodies ... more

“Go-away” money back in vogue in Rudd’s new IR world

20-Oct-2009 “Go-away” money is back, and a small business-led recovery is under threat from the Rudd Labor Government’s new workplace relations regime, say Shadow Small Business Minister Steven Ciobo and acting Shadow Workplace Relations Minister Andrew Southcott.Mr Ciobo and Mr Southcott were commenting on figures in today’s Financial Review showing unfair ... more

More Incentives Welcomed by the Opposition

16-Oct-2009 The Opposition welcomes today’s announcement that employers who hire an apprentice in an area of skills shortage over the summer period will receive additional incentives.  This is similar to Malcolm Turnbull’s proposal in his Budget Reply speech that the employer incentives should be targeted to the first two years of a traditional trade ... more

More Incentives Welcomed by the Opposition

16-Oct-2009 The Opposition welcomes today’s announcement that employers who hire an apprentice in an area of skills shortage over the summer period will receive additional incentives. This is similar to Malcolm Turnbull’s proposal in his Budget Reply speech that the employer incentives should be targeted to the first two years of a traditional trade ... more

Jobs figures highlight need to wind back reckless spending

08-Oct-2009 The Coalition welcomes today’s ABS Labour Force figures for September which show a decrease in the unemployment rate to 5.7%.  This result demonstrates the resilience of the Australian economy and shows that Australia has weathered the global economic downturn far better than many other countries.  When the global financial crisis hit twelve months ... more

Labor’s Award Modernisation Leaves Electrical Apprentices in the Dark

23-Sep-2009 Pay cuts to apprentice electricians under Labor’s award modernisation agenda are yet another sign of Labor’s bold promises that they are unable to deliver. The streamlining of state and federal awards will see pay cuts to first-year apprentices of between $34 and $74 a week.   Julia Gillard has been stubborn in her refusal to accept that Labor’s ... more

Gillard’s Roundtable Fails to Represent Students

10-Sep-2009 The Coalition welcomes the announcement of the Roundtable for International Students to discuss student concerns and experiences.  However, the announcement of the participants for the International Student Roundtable shows that Julia Gillard has her head buried in the sand- preferring to hear about student welfare and concerns from students ... more

4 million fewer hours worked

10-Sep-2009 The Government are likely to attribute today’s figures as a sign that their stimulus spending is the reason that unemployment has stayed steady.  Yet the maximal impact of stimulus expenditure on employment will not be felt for another 12 months.  Despite the unemployment rate remaining steady at 5.8%, there are still some areas of concern.The ABS ... more