Today’s important Age article by Royce Millar; Political Donations Linked to Developers, Contractors dissects how those in property or infrastructure dominate Victorian Labor’s cosy Progressive Business fundraising arm. They also dominate the political donations made to political parties. The returns are staggering. The percentage return on donations for Victorian Govt contracts: Leighton – 301% return ABN Amro – 684% return … Read More
The Village Green, Urban Sprawl and Affordability
Andrew Sadauskas It was a cold Thursday morning when I set out on my quest. My mission? To find the heart of Melbourne’s housing affordability and traffic problems. My quest took me to the middle of Melbourne’s great southeastern sprawl, which now stretches as far as Pakenham. After a morning spent hunting for it on Melbourne’s public transport, I reached … Read More
Amend UN Human Rights
Ammend the UN Human Rights by signing this petition. The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights is failing humankind. Indeed it’s failing planet Earth itself. The evidence is everywhere: a billion citizens live and die on a dollar a day; people lack control over their own community’s resources; terrorism, war and unrest threaten everyone; the planet’s future is imperiled … Read More
Farm Land Grab, Managed Investment Schemes & Monopoly Capitalism
‘Corporate Raiders Eye Rural Australia’ drills the The Weekly Times headline (June 18, 2008). With the Macquarie Pastoral Fund having $1billion in it’s pastoral investment kitty and PrimeAg having invested $225million since December 07, the 3.8% of Victorian agricultural land in corporate hands is tipped to rapidly escalate. Concerned readers of George Monbiot’s Small Is Bountiful article last week will … Read More
Oil Wealth feeds Higher Land Prices
Moscow property market soars, driven by oil wealth states: As prices slump in the United States and elsewhere, Russia is wrapping up a year of an extraordinary, oil-driven real estate boom. Moscow, for instance, now ranks as the fourth-most-expensive city in the world for office space, trailing only London, Tokyo and Hong Kong, according to some surveys. Over in oil … Read More