ebrief

As the days tick down to Christmas the pace in parliament increases as the government seeks to finalise its legislative program for the year.

Some legislation and other issues in the parliament you may be interested in:

Yes they did. I am still excited by Obama's victory. I hope that the mess he has inherited does not overwhelm his biggest achievement to date - getting people to care about the issues and then converting that into democratic participation. I look forward to a greener, more conciliatory, more humane US.

This week in parliament has been dominated by the mini-budget. I have included the media releases (below).

Check out KEVINPM. Taking over from Kevin07 this site gives everyone the chance to have ongoing input into the work of our federal government.

Regards

Penny

As the clock ticks down to the US election, I find myself checking out every report, blog and you tube video to find out the latest - yes I have viewed the entire Obama video. This is the first time I have paid so much attention. Why?

Last week was estimates week for the 2008/2009 budget. Theoretically it should be a time when the Opposition and the Crossbenches spend time questioning the government about budget allocations. This is a patchy exercise.

As the economic turmoil in the US finds it's way to the rest of the world, I share the concerns of those US Senators worried about bailing out investment banks while families lose their homes. While I understand the reason why the bailout has had to happen, I lament what else could be done with $700 billion - urban renewal, climate change action, poverty alleviation, universal health care to name a few. I also rage against the greed that drove this situation....

The past fortnight in NSW has also been very busy as the new Ministers and the government gets serious about the issues facing the state. Some of the highlights:

New Premier, new Deputy Premier, new state ministry, local government elections, new Federal opposition leader... so much has happened in the past few weeks.

For many people, the last couple of weeks are just a blip on the radar of busy lives. What our government must do is make tangible improvements to health, to schools and to transport. We must rebuild public confidence in the Labor government and we have to do this under difficult economic circumstances.

As we slip into the Olympics and wonder the why it seems like yesterday that they were in Sydney there are a number of issues being tackled by the Government:

As Sydney farewelled the Pope the government has announced:

This week has been NAIDOC week. NAIDOC celebrations are held around Australia in July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The theme of NAIDOC week is Advance Australia Fair? which was chosen by the National NAIDOC Committee to encourage Australians to reflect on the principle of a "fair go" for all and to consider the inequalities still experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in this country today. Check out this link for events in NSW.

After sitting until the very family unfriendly hours of 3.30am this week, parliament passed over 40 pieces of legislation and is now in recess until September.

The Government has made a number of reforms and several announcements that have not received the media attention they deserve: