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The Agenda Group
State Productivity Reforms on the Way
Last Thursday, as Victorians were cleaning up after the previous night’s flash flooding and thunderstorms, a report was quietly released that looks set to form the basis of the Victorian Government’s economic agenda.The Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission, or VCEC, … Continue reading
viewChoosing the Right Rail Projects
Anyone with the slightest interest in the transport sector knows that State Governments around Australia face enormous challenges paying for transport infrastructure projects. Yet, even before grappling with the challenges of finding funding, there is the basic challenge of selecting … Continue reading
viewWhen the Occupy Wall Street Movement came to Las Vegas
The Occupy Wall Street movement came to Las Vegas. Watching the march down Las Vegas Boulevard one couldn’t help but feel that the marchers did not really have their game face on. Certainly there were some cheap placards – generally … Continue reading
viewHas Melbourne Missed the Boat on Port Privatisation?
The announcement in last week’s NSW state budget of the privatisation of Port Botany will bring renewed focus on the future of the Port of Melbourne. Following the sale of the Port of Brisbane late last year, the Port of … Continue reading
viewUsing community engagement to make better decisions
Organisations today have an array of interested stakeholders monitoring, often providing public critiques, the words and actions of key decision makers. While stakeholder management has become something of a mantra for communications professionals, perhaps the best way to ‘manage’ stakeholders … Continue reading
viewNSW Budget – Mike Baird’s First Test
After its election in March this year, the new Coalition State Government in New South Wales took the decision to hand down its budget in September – rather than the traditional May – to allow it more time to consider … Continue reading
viewFertile Ground on our Doorstep
It’s one of our closest neighbours and just a short plane trip from Darwin and it has a business environment ripe for the picking. Yet to most Australian companies putting together strategic business plans and looking for greenfield opportunities East … Continue reading
viewSo what if my seven-year-old son understands the mathematics of gambling?
There is nothing more irritating in a debate than when a particular point is constantly made on the basis that, to its users, it is so self-evident that no further discussion is required. A current example is the issue … Continue reading
viewWhy Sport has more Integrity than Politics
Oh, the irony. On 11 August 2011, the Joint Select Committee on Gambling Reform held a public hearing in Melbourne. As a result Senator Xenophon is reported to have been outraged at the practice of betting operators paying commissions. But … Continue reading
viewReplacing a tax on a tax on a tax…. Victoria’s new broad-based property tax
It’s not every day that a Government has the opportunity to introduce and design a new tax from scratch. And while it might not be a task a Government will relish it’s an exercise which, as the current debate over … Continue reading
viewLies, Damned Lies and Poker Machine Expenditure
At the end of each financial year the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation releases expenditure figures, which is another way of saying player loss, on poker machines. How one should interpret those figures depends on how the information is presented. … Continue reading
viewWhen the music stops …
That politics and government have become tawdry forms of entertainment for the masses is a malaise that raises genuine questions about the health of Australian political discourse. The now seemingly weekly Newspoll commands such attention and lengthy analysis with dedicated … Continue reading
viewWho has the House Advantage?
One of Australia’s biggest publicly listed gambling companies was split in two during June. Tabcorp Holdings Ltd, which had owned and operated four casinos as well as various other parimutuel, fixed odds betting, slot and keno activities, spun off its … Continue reading
viewToo much politics is well and truly enough
Last week marked the one year anniversary of Julia Gillard’s rise to the top. In a highly unscientific straw poll, carried out by this blogger amongst friends, family and colleagues, there was one resounding reaction when asked about the PM … Continue reading
viewExtracting Value
Recent published data shows Australians love to gamble. How much? The Economist magazine has just published figures showing that Australians gamble around $1,300 per head per annum. This data includes all forms of legalised gambling. On its own, this figure … Continue reading
viewTechnology takes Government scrutiny to a new level
Setting up his office following the election of the Kennett Government in 1992, a Chief of Staff to a new Senior Minister had the temerity to ask the department for a desktop computer. Continue reading
viewBut Why?
Every month for the last nine years I’ve been monitoring poker machine expenditure (player loss) in Victoria. Continue reading
viewThe ‘Unspun’ Budget
For those seeking to get a read on where Victoria is heading over the next four years the State Budget is usually a useful tool. Continue reading
view“Spending on a rainy day”
The VCGR has just published gaming machine expenditure for Victorian pubs and clubs for March 2011. It’s up 5.4% – the largest monthly rise since April 2009. The financial year to date expenditure is running at 2.0%, the highest level since June 2009. Continue reading
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