Graham Matthews

  • Gov't backdown on super

    On May 29, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told radio 3AW that his government has “absolutely no plans to make any change” to the superannuation preservation age — the age at which workers may access the superannuation paid into a super fund by their employer.

  • The recession we (didn't quite) have to have?

    On June 3, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its estimates of the national accounts for Australia for the January-March quarter. Following on from a small overall drop in gross domestic product (GDP) of 0.6% for the December quarter, a fall in the March quarter would mean that Australia had entered a “technical” recession.

  • Is Rudd losing his shine?

    Opinion polls in both the Fairfax and Murdoch dailies on May 18-19 show voter support for PM Kevin Rudd has fallen. Rudd, who scored a 74% approval rating in the Fairfax Nielsen poll on March 30, dropped 10 points in the May 18 poll, down to 64%.

  • Labor's budget — work until you drop

    Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan delivered the Labor government’s second budget on May 12. Swan’s bleak message was clear: for those with a job, it’s a matter of work until you drop.

  • Workers to bear budget pain

    The federal budget will be presented to parliament by Treasurer Wayne Swan on May 12. While Swan has been officially tight-lipped about its contents, he has already released significant details about the cuts to programs and government jobs the budget will hand down.

  • New laws gut workplace safety

    On April 4, 2008, federal workplace minister Julia Gillard announced a review into occupational health and safety (OH&S) laws. The government said the review was aimed at harmonising OH&S laws across Australia.

  • Who pays for the recession?

    On April 21, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd finally conceded that “it’s inevitable that Australia … will be dragged into recession”.

  • Government savages job centres

    In the biggest shake-up of job centres since the Howard government’s replacement of the Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) with the privatised Job Network in 1998, the federal Labor government has created a new Job Services Australia (JSA) network. It halves the number of not-for-profit agencies involved and cuts thousands of jobs.

  • Safe as houses?

    The federal government is hoping those who receive their $900 “stimulus package” payment from April 6 spend and spend big.

  • Wage justice for low-paid workers

    The federal ALP government, in league with employer organisations and conservative economists, wants workers — in particular the lowest paid and most vulnerable — to pay for the economic downturn.

  • Not quite Brideshead

    Easy Virtue
    Directed by Stephan Eliot
    Written by Stephan Eliot and Sheridan Jobbins
    With Jessica Biel, Ben Barnes, Kristin Scott Thomas & Colin Firth
    In cinemas