To save Labor, activists must overthrow the political operators

In the dying days of a hard-fought campaign in Balmain I had a very revealing exchange with a voter. I was speaking to a middle-aged woman who had been agonising over whether to vote against Labor for the first time in her life. She told me several "passionate conversations" she'd had with Labor volunteers were what finally convinced her our candidate was "the real deal".

ARU to slice 20 players off top-up list

THE Australian Rugby Union will dramatically cut back the number of contract top-ups it offers, and have already begun shortening the length of contracts on offer.

NBN Co ditches 'gouging' bidders

THE company installing the $36 billion national broadband network has frozen negotiations over vital contracts, alleging exorbitant demands from construction companies.

Tax too hard but welfare in Abbott's sights

TONY ABBOTT has shelved a pledge to increase the tax-free threshold and introduce a flat tax if elected after acknowledging there would be losers from such changes and the budget would need to be in surplus to compensate them.

Soaring costs halt tenders for NBN

THE company in charge of the $36 billion national broadband network has frozen negotiations over vital contracts, citing exorbitant demands from construction companies.

Language tests should change: Libs

ENGLISH language tests were being used as a trade barrier to restrict temporary workers coming into Australia, the opposition immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, said yesterday.

One hit too many: former AFL player seeks compensation for impact of head injuries

A RECENTLY retired AFL footballer is seeking compensation from his former club after he was diagnosed with brain damage linked to the multiple concussions he sustained during his career.

Bell damage claim

AFL. A Melbourne footballer diagnosed with brain damage that has been linked to multiple concussions he sustained over a 66-match AFL career is seeking damages through the AFL Players' Association compensation claim procedures. Daniel Bell, the No.14 draft pick of 2002 who the Demons delisted last year, has lodged his claim after a neuropsychologist found his cognitive function had deteriorated significantly. Bell, 25, had planned to continue playing this year but has been strongly advised against it given the risk of further damage. If his compensation case is approved, he stands to be awarded 50 per cent of the base wage of his last contract. It is a sum of under $100,000, but a claim Bell has agonised over pursuing. "I still love the club and I don't want to put them out," he said. He stressed he is not claiming Demons' doctors mismanaged him.

PM orders GST review to punish states that let economies stagnate

THE Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has ordered a review of the formula used to distribute the tens of billions of dollars raised by the GST.

the kelly gang

Forty years ago, "13 bloody housewives" from Hunters Hill decided to take on the developers in an effort to save a patch of bush. They were shunned by neighbours and labelled communists but defied their critics to help instigate the world's first green ban. Helen Pitt meets the surviving "Battlers for Kelly's Bush".

ChemGenex offer spells a pretty pay day

US PHARMACEUTICAL giant Cephalon's $225 million offer yesterday for the locally listed ChemGenex was not only the closest thing to a sure bet for biotechnology watchers ��� it crystallised a nice pay day for management.

A cushion and a restraint, ours is a dollar for all seasons

Does the Australian dollar's meteoric rise to a post-float record of $US1.03 this week make you feel uneasy? The gut reaction of many people to a rise in the dollar is a combination of pride and fear.

Desal plant faces rorting accusation

RORTING on the Wonthaggi desalination project is rife, a paper will claim, while wages on the construction job are a third higher than a previous big project, EastLink.

Call to invest in infrastructure

AUSTRALIA should use the riches garnered from its resource-rich economy to counter its infrastructure backlog instead of establishing a sovereign wealth fund.

Imagine a tax system that penalised work

Among the negative effects of negative gearing are reduced housing affordability and supply, and reduced workforce participation.

Infrastructure is the issue: UBS

AUSTRALIA should use the proceeds from its resource-rich economy to counter its infrastructure backlog instead of establishing a sovereign wealth fund.

We're out of here, say hordes hankering for a state of satisfaction

PEOPLE are fleeing NSW at the rate of 50 packed cars a day. Figures show that NSW and South Australia are the only states experiencing significant net interstate emigration.

The biotech bets start to pay off

ChemGenex's chief Greg Collier stands to make $1.5m.

Upheaval in Middle East a warning for developed economies

The growing convergence of politics and corporations is meat for conspiracy theorists and has political consequences.

Welfare figures highest in decade

THE global financial crisis has left a bitter legacy with the number of people on welfare payments for more than a year rising to its highest level in a decade and by more than 100,000 people since late 2008.