Latest Articles
We are encouraged to rely more and more on government officials to do for us what we could equally well do for ourselves—and, maybe more importantly, not to do what might help us solve our own problems.
Sep 08 2024
10 mins
If we imagine a metric called the Pinocchio Scale, which measures the number of lies told by a politician as a percentage of his or her overall public statements, our current prime minister (for want of a better description), Airbus Albo, has moved well into uncharted territory.
Sep 06 2024
5 mins
Dear Bill, please don’t drop your plan to screw me
Hon Bill Shorten MP
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Confiscation of Franking Credits
Dear Mr Shorten,
I am not in your constituency nor have I voted Labor since Gough Whitlam’s second election victory in 1974. Nevertheless, as an Australian, I would like to make a heartfelt request. Please do not reverse your ill-conceived and unconscionable plan to confiscate franking credits from self-funded retirees. At least don’t wait a minute longer if you do intend such a reversal, in whole or in part. I will explain my view if you will bear with me.
The pressure against the plan is mounting. Among others, Geoff Wilson, the chairman of Wilson Asset Management, has been prominent in opposing the plan. Reportedly, Solomon Lew expects you to back down once in office. It is all quite disconcerting for those of us faced with protecting our position in retirement.
First on the tax itself. Dividends paid to persons in Australia are taxed at the…
Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.
Aug 29 2024
6 mins
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
Aug 20 2024
23 mins
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
Aug 16 2024
2 mins
