Kevin Rudd is no longer Prime Minister of Australia.  Today a precedent is set - the Labor Party has chosen pragmatism over principle by knifing a first-term prime minister after a short period of unpopularity.  Julia Gillard's willingness to put ambition over loyalty starts her prime ministership on a sour note.  Gillard has said that the main cause of the challenge is that she disagreed with Rudd on the direction of the government.  This precedent says to Labor Prime Ministers in the future - do not expect loyalty from your colleagues, expect self-interest.  If the polls start dipping, you will be knifed by your own party.  Expect "Yes Minister"-style risk aversion.

Banks profit first

Profiteering behaviour by banks is allowed to happen by customers unwilling to change.  Banks in Australia increased margins, increased fees and profited during the financial crisis.  This put increased pressure on small business.  Westpac talked about banana smoothies while redundant workers with a mortgage could not afford milk.  This most profitable bank is also one with low customer service.  When interviewed, Westpac CEO Gail Kelly explains the pressure she is under while collecting a multi-million dollar salary. The government gave the banks a "free kick" by guaranteeing deposits - this has now meant mortgage business has been consolidated in banks and there is reduced competition.

After attempting to avoid Catherine Deveny's annoying appearances on Q & A and stupid columns in The Age newspaper, and then hearing the deliberately obscene and hurtful comments she broadcast over Twitter, I was glad when The Age got rid of Catherine Deveny.

I suggest the government abandon its misguided plan for web filtering, and instead launch an information campaign and instruction leaflet on how parent can use the free service OpenDNS to monitor and block sites on their children's internet connections. Parents can put a password on their router so that DNS settings can not be changed. There will then be the same level of security as the government's proposed solution. The kids might figure out how to use IPs directly (typing IP addresses directly into the browser) or other DNS traversal methods, but this free filter is no worse than the government's expensive filter.