Tag Archives: Rural & Regional Voters

Interview with Prof Judith Brett — ‘Fair Share: Country and City in Australia’

by Leave a comment

BY BEN HABIB. In this podcast I am joined in conversation with Professor Judith Brett, Head of School in the School of Social Sciences at La Trobe University, to discuss her Quarterly Essay entitled Fair Share: Country and City in Australia. In our discussion, Judy interprets some of my observations and experiences growing up and living in regional areas, in the context of the themes of her essay. Topics covered in our discussion include the brain drain from the country to the city, efforts to attract skilled personnel to regional centres, the urban-rural culture clash, intellectual capital and bigotry, along with politics, multiculturalism and environmental issues in country Australia.

Read Article →

Initial Analysis of the Gillard government’s ‘Clean Energy Future’ Proposal

by 3 Comments

BY BEN HABIB. On Sunday 10th July, 2011, the Gillard government announced the details of its long-awaited carbon tax—the Clean Energy Future scheme. The hype surrounding the announcement was justified; for a number of reasons, this was one of the most important public policy announcements since Federation. I have a cautiously favourable view of the scheme, based on clear scientific evidence about the seriousness of the climate change threat and expert analysis indicating that a market-based carbon price is the cheapest and easiest way to achieve comprehensive nation-wide greenhouse gas emission reduction.

Read Article →

Event Review: When QandA Came to Albury-Wodonga

by Leave a comment

BY BEN HABIB, with MARTIN DICKENS, LISA TUCK, LEA MACLAUGHLIN, KRYSTLE BROWN, JESSICA LOVE & ALICIA PETERS. Like everyone else in attendance, I was caught up in the excitement of being part of the spectacle of a live television broadcast. Over 700 people attended the show, the largest ever audience for Q&A. While prepping the audience before the show, Tony Jones described Q&A as an “open democracy experiment” that was “rare in the world”. Or was it?

Read Article →

2010 Victorian Election — Benambra Candidates Forum

by 1 Comment

BY BEN HABIB. This event represented an exiting first for Wodonga, with the Border Mail, ABC Goulburn Murray and La Trobe University Albury-Wodonga joining forces to host a candidates forum for the Victorian state seat of Benambra, in the lead-up to Saturday’s state election. The discussion covered a lot of ground, on the back of some excellent questions from the audience and the panel.

Read Article →

Interview with Bruce Pennay — The Role of the Border Region in Our National Story

by 1 Comment

On this podcast, Our Voice: Politics Albury-Wodonga is privileged to talk local history with Professor Bruce Pennay OAM. Bruce Pennay is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at Charles Sturt University, Thurgoona Campus. In a fascinating discussion, Bruce takes us back in time to examine some key periods of local history with great significance to the story of Australia: the gold rush, federation, and the post-World War II migrant influx—in which we touch on the border region’s rich migrant history, antagonistic water politics dating back to the 19th century, and much more.

Read Article →

Federal Election 2010: Candidates Forum for the Electorate of Farrer

by Leave a comment

Podcast interviews with each of the candidates for the seat of Farrer in the 2010 federal election: Sussan Ley (Lib), Christian Emmery (ALP). The candidates were asked a set of similar questions on local issues, the state of political debate in Australia, climate change, the economy, and border security. This framework provides a basis to directly compare the positions and policy proposals of each candidate and the party they represent.

Read Article →

Federal Election 2010: Candidates Forum for the Electorate of Indi

by 2 Comments

Podcast interviews with each of the candidates for the seat of Indi in the 2010 federal election: Sophie Mirabella (Lib), Zuvele Laschen (ALP), Jenny O’Connor (Greens), Mark Carey (Dem), Alan Lappin (Ind). The candidates were asked a set of similar questions on local issues, the state of political debate in Australia, climate change, the economy, and border security. This framework provides a basis to directly compare the positions and policy proposals of each candidate and the party they represent.

Read Article →