the mining industry has cooled off over the past 12 months , that's for sure.....the tax on the twiggy forest's and the clive palmers etc etc of this aren't of bother to most australians.....the real issue is whether any further interest and if foreign investment is effected.......however only time will tell........

the economy has definately taken a large dip south, and usually the figures supplied are lagging behind the actual position of where we are......

"That's for sure"

Well no, it's not for sure - although I'd love to see what evidence you are drawing that conclusion from. My jobs data indicates that the WA mining market is getting stronger all the time and Victoria is largely responsible for the economy slowdown.

Go and read The Age's (a Fairfax paper, whose shares are now majority owned by Gina Reinhardt remember) analysis on the mining tax. Come back with your actual evidence of your claims and then we can talk some more.

Reserve Bank of Australia is out of touch, says Solomon Lew

by: Jane Harper From: Herald Sun March 23, 2012 12:13PM

FORMER Reserve Bank of Australia board member Solomon Lew says Australian jobs are at risk unless the central bank slashes interest rates.

Mr Lew accused the central bank of being out of touch with the current marketplace, and called on the board to cut the cash rate by 50 to 75 basis points at its next meeting in April.

"I have a view they are not in touch with the market and there is a big danger in terms of job losses,” said Mr Lew, who sat on the RBA board from 1992 to 1997.

"A bit of inflation can’t hurt and at this point in time, market confidence needs to be rebuilt.”

Mr Lew said the RBA needed to provide further interest rate relief to stimulate confidence in the national economy.

"I really believe that the Reserve Bank has mishandled the mining boom to the great detriment of the non-mining sector, and in particular retail, which is one of the key drivers of economic activity," Mr Lew said today.

The chairman of Premier Investments was speaking to reporters during the retail group's first half results presentation.

The cash rate has stood at 4.25 per cent since December 7, 2011, when the central bank board delivered a 25-basis-point cut.

"We do need an interest rate cut immediately," Mr Lew said.

"I think the Australian economy is in trouble."

Mr Lew said he believed the current RBA board was not in touch with the market and did not understand the true state of the economy at the moment.

He said the central bank board had at least two retailers and one landlord during his time with the RBA.

"At least there was some anecdotal information and they could tell month-by-month what was happening in the marketplace," Mr Lew said.

"I'm not sure whether they have that market knowledge today."

Mr Lew said there was a huge danger of job losses, with no new jobs being created across Australia's eastern seaboard.

"It is completely frozen," Mr Lew said.

"The only jobs that are being created are over in the west, basically, and that's in the mining sector.

"I don't see any growth in any other sector at this point in time and I see rising costs.

"The unions have a responsibility to keep a lid on costs, otherwise they are going to lose a lot of jobs."

- with AAP

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/reserve-bank-of-australia-is-out-of-touch-says-solomon-lew/story-fn7j19iv-1226308135246

Definitely in recession mode in Victoria afaik
Lew is correct.If some inflation occurs in one sector so what, as the overwhelming majority of people are thousands of KM'S from the North West.
I have seen countless hard evidence of late that people(nearly everyone) are doing it tough, and it's remarkable that I'm flat out.

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"

Business owners are as out of touch with the reality of the economy as the RBA are. Look at Gerry Harvey spitting chips over online.

People that refuse to adapt get left behind. People that foster innovation and adaptation win.

Dick Smith sees red after supermarket giants can his Aussie beetroot

Alexandra Smith
March 24, 2012

IT WAS the last hope for the Australian beetroot industry but even the entrepreneur Dick Smith could not save it.

When one of the only remaining beetroot farms in the country faced having to plough its crop back in six months ago, Mr Smith bought it, with plans to have it canned and sold in supermarkets.

But Coles and Woolworths did not want the beetroot, and Smith is now left with 100,000 tins of the famous Australian vegetable that he cannot sell. So, in desperation, he will give it away to anyone.

''I am quite angry and incredibly disappointed by this because the beetroot turned out to a be beautiful sweet crop and I was utterly convinced that Coles and Woolworths would want to sell it,'' Mr Smith said.

Mr Smith said he offered to sell the beetroot to the supermarkets for 90¢ a tin but they were not interested.

''When you have places like Aldi selling their beetroot for 75¢, it makes it very tough,'' Smith said.

''It is just impossible to support Australian farmers when prices are so low.''

The Australian-owned companies Dymocks Booksellers and Flight Centre were prepared to sell the beetroot for Smith, but he decided against the offer because it would have been expensive and difficult to distribute it, he said.

Instead, Mr Smith will give some of it away to food charities and will hand out the rest tomorrow morning in Manly.

''We have a whooping big truck which we will take to Manly Corso and we will just give it away,'' Mr Smith said.

''I was going to just take it to the dump and just write off the $100,000 I've spent but people may as well have it.''

Ed Fagan, who owns the Cowra farm where Smith bought the beetroot, said the horticulture industry in Australia had undergone ''the worst 10 months of pricing in living memory''.

Although Mr Smith bought some of his crop, Mr Fagan was forced to plough some of it back.

He has planted another crop which will be canned and sold under a supermarket private label brand, but he has no idea whether he will continue to grow the vegetable.

''The processing sector is under such pressure at the moment and it is only going to get worse as the supermarkets have more and more home brand products and fewer items on the shelves,'' Mr Fagan said.


Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/national/dick-smith-sees-red-after-supermarket-giants-can-his-aussie-beetroot-20120323-1vpal.html#ixzz1q0CiKY1s

Poll Call: Live coverage of the 2012 Queensland election

Edited by Georgia Waters
March 24, 2012 - 6:44PM

LNP set to have 'unlimited power'
Premier Anna Bligh warns of the LNP having "unlimited power" as election day polls suggest a Labor whitewash.

Welcome to Poll Call, our live coverage of the 2012 Queensland election. Send tips, questions or feedback to election@brisbanetimes.com.au and view past blog entries here.

Interactive election map
Full election coverage
6.43pm: A snapshot from the Labor HQ:

Advertisement: Story continues below

There's no-one to be seen, save for a few tired-looking journos...

6.41pm: Only 1% of the votes are counted but Peter Beattie is already musing on the possible loss of his former seat Brisbane Central to the LNP. The electorate is held by Grace Grace who has been touted as future leadership material according to Mr Beattie and if the party loses seats like this one than they are looking at a number of seats in the single digits in the parliament.

‘‘If seats like Brisbane Central are gone with as good members as Grace Grace than the anti-Labor swing is drowning them,’’ he said.

Bob Katter says he knows nurses who are bankrupt after the Queensland Health pay bungle and if Grace Grace loses it she ‘‘will get what she deserves’’.

Mr Katter then heaped praise on Mr Beattie saying if he ‘‘was in the saddle’’ Labor would not be in this position.

‘‘You’re being very loyal Peter but you’re not being adequate,’’ he said.

‘‘If Peter Beattie was in the saddle then Queensland nurses would have got paid.’’

6.38pm: ABC election analyst Antony Green is already calling 36 seats for the LNP, 12 for Labor and three for others (that's a total of 51 out of the state's 89, he says 38 are in doubt).

6.32pm: A note to our readers: We've switched on the function that automatically updates this page every 90 seconds, but you can turn it off if you prefer (see the on/off buttons at the top of the blog, on the right).

6.30pm: An interesting tweet from ABC Radio's Richard Fidler from the Tally Room:


Richard Fidler
@rfidler Retiring Speaker John Mickel is walking around the tally room saying harsh things about Anna Bligh to anyone who'll listen.

24 Mar 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite6.29pm: LNP parliamentary leader Jeff Seeney, who has effectively held the Opposition Leader position in Parliament while Mr Newman led the party outside the chamber, said on ABC TV's election panel he did not believe the LNP could have won this election with such a strong result without Mr Newman at the helm.

Mr Seeney said without Mr Newman, the LNP might have garnered a slim majority or could have governed only with the support of independents.

He said the party needed a strong leader from the southeast corner of the state to appeal to people in that region.

6.27pm: Reporter Amy Remeikis is at Kate Jones' post-election 'party' in Ashgrove. The music's just started and Amy reports the first song to be played was Gungor's Call Me Out, which includes the lyrics:

I keep on falling
I keep on falling short
This world keeps bringing me down

This world is dying
This old world’s dying now
But a new one’s dawning
And you keep calling us out

Way to set the mood...

6.26pm: Campbell Newman, during his ABC TV interview tonight, admitted there were “a few times” during the lead up to the election when he became worried about his prospects of winning Ashgrove, but said he always believed the state-wide result would be reflected in the key inner-west Brisbane seat.

He acknowledged Ashgrove voters had had to put up with an intense election battle since last year.

“Thank you for your forbearance and patience, you have had a lot of people in your face, a lot of material stuffed in your letterbox,” he said.

Mr Newman said the ALP’s attacks on his and his family’s integrity had been hurtful.

“I think it was hurting for a time but thankfully we got through that part,” he said, adding that the attacks ultimately damaged the Labor party.

Mr Newman repeated his view that there should be a debate about the way in which all parties conduct election campaigns. “I don’t think this sort of thing should happen in the future,” he said.

Mr Newman, who led the LNP to the election without holding a seat in Parliament, was asked whether he had been busy reading up on the Legislative Assembly procedural handbook.

“There’s plenty of time for that,” he said.

6.13pm: Campbell Newman, interviewed on the ABC’s election broadcast just after polls closed at 6pm, said it appeared the LNP would secure a large majority.

“It does seem like the people of Queensland have voted for change, fairly significantly. The extent of that obviously will become apparent in the next hour and a half to two hours,” he said.

Mr Newman said he hoped the first term of an LNP government would be marked by its efforts to get the economy going, move towards a six-year unemployment target of 4 per cent, implement measures to address the rising cost of living, and undertake a major restructure of government departments.

6.08pm: The ABC's election panel, headed by Kerry O'Brien, includes Jeff Seeney and Paul Lucas.

Mr O'Brien introduced them as ''LNP's soon-to-be Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney'' and ''Labor's former Deputy Premier Paul Lucas'', which Mr Lucas didn't look too pleased with.

6.05pm: Reporter Tony Moore at Labor's South Brisbane HQ reports that there's few people there yet except media.

Anna Bligh is expected to make her concession speech quite early - estimates are around 7pm. She was originally going to do so at the tally room but for a later change today. Perhaps she wanted to be around friends on a night like this?

6.03pm: The ABC has started their election coverage with an interview with Campbell Newman. Kerry O'Brien asked him whether he was ready to claim victory yet:

''Thanks Kerry but I want to see what happens when they open those ballot boxes...sometimes electors serve up a few surprises,'' a calm, relaxed-seeming Newman said.

6.01pm: Labor was handing out how-to-vote cards that looked like they came from The Greens in certain crucial seats today, and they copped a lot of criticism for doing so from voters on Twitter.

Here's one that was being handed out at a polling booth in New Farm (Brisbane Central):



5.59pm: Former premier Peter Beattie has accepted some of the responsibility for Labor’s loss today but has put most of the blame at Anna Bligh’s feet and her decision to privatise some of the state’s assets, Bridie Jabour writes.

‘‘The reality is of course I accept some responsibility and I should but this year is five years since I retired and I think we all know what the turning point was,’’ he said on Channel 9's election panel.

‘‘...After what happened, the privatisation in 2009, no-one could have won this election.’’

Also on the panel, Bob Katter admitted the exit polls were disappointing for Katter’s Australian Party. Channel 9’s exit poll shows the party polling at 11%.

‘‘It’s not what we would like of course,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s very much a stepping stone, we’ve created an army.

‘‘...I’ve stated a very grim determination and I won’t be giving up tonight.’’

Mining magnate Clive Palmer is also on the panel and has predicted Labor will end up with just five seats in the parliament.

‘‘It’s a happy day for all Queenslanders,’’ he said.

5.54pm: How many seats do you think Labor is likely to be left with?

We've had 4,500 votes in our poll on the topic with 32% voting for between 11-15, while 40% think 10 or less.

Vote in the poll here.

5.47pm: Labor probably doesn't feel much like laughing tonight, but that hasn't stopped others doing so already at their expense:


Wil Anderson
@Wil_Anderson What's the difference between the QLD ALP and a Tarago? On Sunday a Tarago will still have eight seats... #QldVotes

24 Mar 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite5.33pm: Former Queensland premier Peter Beattie has said the results of tonight's election would be devastating for Labor.

‘‘It will mean the Labor party will spend years in the wilderness, it will probably take about 15 years to rebuild,’’ he said on Channel 9's election panel.

The network's political editor Laurie Oakes agrees, saying he hadn't seen anything like this in his 47 years (!) covering politics.

Meanwhile LNP MP Lawrence Springborg took partial credit for the opposition's success, as he was one of the chief architects of the merging of the Liberal and National parties.

‘‘I think we owe this tonight to the leadership of Campbell Newman, the creation of the LNP, the quality of our candidates, the competence of our campaign, the incompetence of the Labor Party and the confidence people have put into the LNP in the last four years since its creation,’’ he said.

5.30pm: The Sky News exit poll, meanwhile, has found a two-party split of 63.7 per cent LNP to 36.3 per cent ALP in the five most marginal seats.

That would produce a swing of 15.3 per cent in those seats and if replicated with a uniform swing state-wide would see Labor lost up to 44 of the 51 seats it currently holds.

However, it must be pointed out the swing is never uniform – it differs from seat to seat, so results will vary. What is not in doubt, of course, is that an LNP landslide is coming.

Meanwhile, over on Nine, former Premier Peter Beattie has called on people to understand the “personal cost” of today’s election result on Anna Bligh.

He said the decision of the voters was clear, but called on people to display a level of sympathy and understanding.

“The reality is she’s going through hell and we need to have some understand of that as well,” he said, adding that Ms Bligh, like he, had made mistakes while serving in the top job.

5.26pm: After polls officially close at 6pm and counting begins, we'll be updating our interactive election map.

In order to get an idea of how many seats each party currently holds, take a look at it here before we start to update it at 6pm.

5.25pm: A Nine Network exit poll suggests a state-wide two-party preferred split of 63% to the LNP and 37% to Labor.

If the exit poll is accurate, such a result would indicate a swing of 13% to the LNP and if replicated uniformly across the state would deliver Labor just 10 seats in the 89-seat Parliament, Nine reported.

5.24pm: Tonight, Poll Call will be following the ABC's election analyst Antony Green for the official declaration of seats won.


5.16pm: Good evening everyone and welcome to our election day edition of Poll Call. Tonight we'll be bringing you everything you need to know about the state election in the one place.



Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/state-election-2012/poll-call-live-coverage-of-the-2012-queensland-election-20120323-1vp15.html#ixzz1q1Rn1ekZ

The fuckheads that voted for Gillard a few weeks back---------take a bow:oops: :oops: :oops:

So well put and so true.

Devastated Labor: worst result in 62 years

Misha Schubert and Cosima Marriner
March 25, 2012 - 3:00AM

LABOR in Queensland fears it could spend up to 15 years in opposition after yesterday's electoral rout, and dreads a similar drubbing for Julia Gillard at the next federal poll.

Bracing for its worst result in 62 years, Labor was swept from power on an electoral tidal wave last night. If a predicted swing of 12 per cent were replicated federally, Labor would be left without a single seat in Queensland.

A triumphant LNP leader Campbell Newman last night said Labor's smear campaign against him had backfired, as he made history in being elected premier from outside Parliament.

Casting her vote yesterday, Premier Anna Bligh had conceded her chances did not look great. ''I have said from the very outset of this campaign that Labor would be fighting an uphill battle. We were fighting an overwhelming mood for change.''

Early counting predicted the swing could be as big as 15.3 per cent, which if it had been uniform could have stripped Labor of 44 of its 51 seats.

Former Labor premier Peter Beattie said the result was ''an absolute shocker'' for the party that could leave it with just 10 seats. ''It will mean the Labor Party will spend years in the wilderness, it will probably take about 15 years to rebuild,'' he said.

He paid tribute to Ms Bligh, saying it took ''real guts'' to get up every day and campaign knowing you were going to get thrashed.

Former Nationals premier Rob Borbidge said Labor had lost entire regions of the state in a ''massacre''. ''When the swing's on, the tide picks up everyone … and [even] good MPs will be caught in the swell,'' he said. ''Brand Labor is toxic … and anyone associated with the Labor Party is going to cop it.''

Lawrence Springborg, an architect of the Liberal and National Party merger, said the move to consolidate the parties was a critical factor in the result. ''I think we owe this tonight to the leadership of Campbell Newman, the creation of the LNP, the quality of our candidates, the competence of our campaign, the incompetence of the Labor Party and the confidence people have put into the LNP in the last four years since its creation,'' he said.

Channel Nine's political editor, Laurie Oakes, said the result for Labor was nothing short of cataclysmic.

''This is devastation. I've not seen anything like this in 47 years of covering politics and it's certainly carnage for the Labor party,'' he said.

Federal MP Bob Katter said his fledgling party's showing, put at 11 per cent by exit polls, was not what he had hoped for, but it was a start. ''Obviously we're the smallest and youngest dog in the fight, but I hope we're not the smallest fight in the dog however.''

His son Robbie Katter was poised to become the third generation of his family to hold elected office, picking up in the seat of Mount Isa.

Labor factional heavyweight Bill Ludwig blamed the men of Queensland for Anna Bligh's loss and warned Julia Gillard would similarly struggle to find support in his state. ''The blokes here just don't like women, especially women in charge,'' Mr Ludwig said. ''The federal election is a long way off, it's different circumstances, but I don't think the blokes like Julia either. The men of Queensland are just very negative towards women.''

Senior Queensland conservative figures said the result was a warning to Julia Gillard. ''They stopped listening to Bligh long ago, they've stopped listening to Gillard. It's a lesson for Gillard, when they stop listening to you you've got a problem,'' a senior LNP source said.

Queensland senator Barnaby Joyce also said that voters were no longer listening to Labor in his state. ''Anna Bligh and Julia Gillard are both suffering from the same ailment, and they will both politically die of the same disease unless Labor starts to go back to their core principles.''

Former Liberal lord mayor of Brisbane Sallyanne Atkinson said Labor's decision to attack Campbell Newman had turned voter perceptions of Anna Bligh from a ''nice smiling person'' to a ''vicious shrew''.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the state election was a referendum on the federal government's carbon tax.

Taking out a prospective future Labor leader, Deputy Premier Andrew Fraser was swept away in Mount Coot-tha last night.

With

STEPHANIE PEATLING and AAP


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/devastated-labor-worst-result-in-62-years-20120324-1vre2.html#ixzz1q1qrry00

What annoys me is that people only ever think of the LNP and ALP, they dont think of the other options.

Anna Bligh quits Qld Parliament after election rout

by: AAP From: AAP March 25, 2012 1:02PM

UPDATE: ANNA Bligh has announced she'll resign from the Queensland Parliament after Labor's annihilation at the ballot box.

..Her resignation will allow Labor to try to parachute a new leader in to her South Brisbane electorate.

Ms Bligh just held onto her seat, but she was one of only seven Labor MPs left after Queensland overwhelmingly voted for Campbell Newman's Liberal National Party.

Ms Bligh said the staggering nature of Labor's loss meant she could not remain as Labor leader or as the member for South Brisbane.

"The size of the loss and the loudness and clarity of the message sent by the people of Queensland is unmistakable,'' she told reporters.

"And in fairness to Queenslanders I don't believe I should ignore it.''

She said she believed she had to resign to allow Queensland Labor rebuild.

"This is not a task that can be achieved with me at the head of the team or indeed as part of team,'' she said.

"Queensland yesterday voted for a new government but it also voted to close the book on end my era in Queensland politics.''

She said the result was "absolutely shattering'' for the ALP.

"It is much more than a loss, it is without doubt a devastating defeat.''

She said Labor must not succumb the the heartbreak and must look ahead to the rebuilding task.

"The task for us is to do everything in our power to recover, to rebuild and to renew and to be everything this party has been for more than a century,'' she said.

"This is going to be clearly an enormous task.''

Ms Bligh refused to speculate if her deposed deputy Andrew Fraser, or dumped Education Minister Cameron Dick, would be put up by Labor in South Brisbane.

She said she had no idea what she would do next, but today closed the book on her time in Queensland politics.

"Today I announce I will be standing aside as leader of the parliamentary Labor party and further I will be resigning as the member for South Brisbane,'' she said.

Ms Bligh said she had given her all in the job of premier, and hoped Queenslanders could see that.

"Every single minute I gave Queensland the best that I could give,'' she said.

She accepted full responsibility for Labor's loss, and apologised if her decision inconvenienced voters in the electorate she's served since 1995.

As Ms Bligh stepped down, Mr Newman was fine-tuning his new ministry after the Liberal National Party's staggering victory that reduced Labor to a paltry seven seats in the Queensland Parliament.

A euphoric Mr Newman claimed victory last night, with his party more than doubling the number of seats it holds.

It could end up with as many as 78 seats in the 89-seat parliament, with Labor expected to hold just seven, the ABC's election calculator shows.

For Labor, who held 51 seats going into the election, the bitter recriminations have begun.

Ms Bligh will go down in history as presiding over the worst defeat Labor has ever seen in the state. Ten, and possibly 11, of her ministers have lost their seats.

Retiring Water Minister Stephen Robertson has sheeted the blame home to Labor's personal attack campaign against Mr Newman and his family.

He described it as "terrible" and blamed Labor's inner sanctum, including Ms Bligh, her ousted deputy Andrew Fraser, attorney-general Paul Lucas and their advisers.

Mr Robertson also took aim at Kevin Rudd over his decision to challenge for the federal Labor leadership so close to the Queensland poll.

"The self-indulgence of what Rudd did, knowing that there was an election campaign going on in his home state, in my mind, is unforgivable," he told ABC Radio.

Retiring parliamentary speaker John Mickel called on Ms Bligh to take responsibility for the scale of the loss.

He also blamed Labor's negative campaign.

"They (voters) like a positive campaign, but they take a really dim view when you go after someone's relatives," he told the ABC.

Mr Newman could announce his new ministry as early as this week.

A few spots have already been determined. Jeff Seeney will be appointed deputy premier and the treasurer's role will go to Tim Nicholls.

Lawrence Springborg, Vaughan Johnson and Howard Hobbs are frontrunners for cabinet posts, having being ministers in the Borbidge government.

Mr Newman said his first act as premier-elect would be to advise all government agencies of the LNP's four per cent unemployment target.

He will direct Treasury to start making the legislative changes necessary to lower the cost of living and instruct the department of premier and cabinet and the director-general to make changes to restore departmental and ministerial accountability.

In his first week, he'll also seek briefings from Queensland Health and the police commissioner, and there'll be a full audit as soon as possible of the state's finances.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/bligh-quits-parliament-after-rout/story-fn7x8me2-1226309480423

Anna Bligh has to be kidding.......

wins her seat back at the state election, then announces that she will retire from politics and forces a bi election.......


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