January - April 2009
Is mortgage stress hitting you hard?
If you had a magic wand what would you do to the Sydney housing market?
Parramatta Sun 23 April 2009
Home loan pain is hurting more in the west
Western Sydney households are affected by mortgage distress more than anywhere else in Australia, a researcher at the University of Western Sydney has found.
Penrith Star 21 April 2009
Las Vegas real estate turned out the gamble
Las Vegas is America’s mortgage foreclosure capital The city is suffering severe downtown.
Newcastle Herald 20 April 2009
Sidetracked and stuck in the past
Sydney is paying the price for a series of broken public transport promises
Sun-Herald 19 April 2009
Last week's unemployment figures show what we all knew: that the NSW economy is performing worse than any other state economy.
Parramatta Sun 14 April 2009
Need for reality check on new broadband project
The federal government has announced it will take the lead in rolling out high speed broadband to 90% of Australian homes. Close scrutiny of the proposal is needed.
Parramatta Sun 8 April 2009
Questions for Conroy
The federal government believes it can build a broadband network that the private sector would be incapable of delivering. Yet huge questions remain to be answered by the Communications Minister as to how it will be done.
Business Spectator 8 April 2009
Gamble is on more power to bad taste
Las Vegas is a big air-conditioned, water-guzzling, freeway-bound, airport-in-the-city-centre monster in a desert, perched between two mountain ranges. Its future looks grim.
The Newcastle Herald 6 April 2009
The $20 billion congestion we will all choke on
Once again the government is playing catch up with the immense problem of Sydney's traffic.
Parramatta Sun 2 April 2009
Buy Aussie campaigns won’t aid the economy
Resorting to jingoistic ‘‘Buy Aussie’’ campaigns can only damage our economy and our image with the rest of the world
The Newcastle Herald 23 March 2009
Viva Las Vegas forever? Don't bet on it
Las Vegas depends on the Hoover Dam for its water and electricity, on freeways for daily movement through the city, and on an airport for bringing in tourists. In the long term Las Vegas looks unsustainable. But maybe bad taste will kill the city off first.
Parramatta Sun 25 March 2009
Desperate need for jobs fuels planning desperation
The Riverstone West business park plan only lacks a few things - rail, road, infrastructure, flood-proofing, people - but apart from that it seems like a good idea.
Parramatta Sun 18 March 2009
Media Jobs fear as west expands
RESEARCH commissioned by Western Sydney councils has found population growth will outstrip job growth unless the region can better diversify away from manufacturing.
Blacktown Advocate 18 March 2009
We set the standard
Parramatta is the "perfect model'' for other key centres in western Sydney to follow because of three decades of government attention and the relocation of jobs.
Parramatta Sun 18 March 2009
Clothing trade leaves worker loyalty in rags
The closure of the Bonds Wear clothing factory in Cessnock, in the Hunter Valley, will end a proud tradition of textiles and clothing manufacturing in the coalfields district.
The Newcastle Herald 9 March 2009
Huge challenge to meet jobs target
Urban Research Centre has released a major report which sets out strategies for delivering jobs to Sydney’s fastest growing sub-regions: in short, it won't be easy.
Parramatta Sun 12 March 2009
Jobs summit calls for more but less
Coverage of the NSW jobs summit was hijacked by Pacific Brands' announcement of the closure of its Australian factories and the loss of 1850 jobs.
Parramatta Sun 6 March 2009
Job losses hit home and everybody gets hurt
Targeted measures are needed urgently to arrest the growth in unemployment, particularly in Sydney's south west.
Parramatta Sun 17 February 2009
The stash of cash is gone - rough roads ahead
The global financial crisis has ripped away the federal government’s expected budget surpluses. Are we back to square one, then, as far as infrastructure spending in Australia is concerned?
Parramatta Sun 12 February 2009
Finally, the jobs summit will happen
The much-needed jobs summit will happen later this month. My only question is why did you wait so long?
Parramatta Sun 5 February 2009
A blue print for infrastructure reform
In a four-part summer series for the on-line magazine Business Spectator, Phillip O’Neill analyses the mistakes in infrastructure procurement in Australia in recent years. The first contribution warns of the drastic curtailing of the Rudd government’s Building Australia vision. The second looks at the merits of public and private infrastructure projects. The third searches for new ways to approach infrastructure projects in Australia. And the fourth explains how corporations can become more effective participants in infrastructure provision.
Business Spectator 16 January 2009
