Happy Spring Slicers! Below are the top news stories at home and around the globe for August 2007. Thanks to Patrick Baume at Media Monitors for the round up.
• Industrial relations policy – The IR debate came back to centre stage during August, with business groups weighing in with an advertising campaign warning of dire times for small business if the WorkChoices reforms are overturned, whilst the Federal Opposition came out with its detailed policy, keeping many of the reforms but sticking to the commitment to remove AWAs
• APEC – The early September meeting in Sydney of 21 government leaders from around the Pacific rim, including U.S. President George Bush and Chinese Premier Hu Jintao, received plenty of coverage during August, with most of the focus on security preparations and disruptions to business and travel in the Sydney CBD.
• Climate Change – Climate change was one of the key areas discussed in the lead-up to APEC, with the Government pushing its plans for an alternative future international agreement to Kyoto and announcing further subsidies for alternative energy use, while the Opposition maintained its commitment to long term significant cuts in carbon emissions.
• Dr Mohamed Haneef – After all charges against Dr Haneef were dropped, the Federal Court overturned the Immigration Minister, Kevin Andrews’s decision to revoke Dr Haneef’s visa, leading to further calls for Mr Andrews’s resignation and prompting the Government to immediately announce an appeal.
• Federal indigenous intervention plan – Strenuous debate over the merits of the Federal Government’s intervention into indigenous communities in the Northern Territory continued throughout August, with aboriginal groups and some welfare groups criticising several elements of the plan, particularly surrounding long-term ownership and the effectiveness of drinking bans.
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