pathology_doc

(Synopses only to save time - may incorporate fulltext later, if I get to it before the links drop. Format shamelessly copied from carlanime)

Fail #1 - complete:
New South Wales Transport Minister John Watkins has defended appointing a former minister found corrupt for rorting plane expenses to head up the Sydney Ferries Corporation. A State government already plagued by health-related scandals and a massive protest over infrastructure policy, and it goes and does this? How much more failsome can you get?

Fail #2 - festering fit to burst:
South Africa has been shocked by a series of attacks on foreigners living in townships that have left at least 12 people dead and many more injured. The violence intensified over the weeked, with foreigners living in Johannesburg's townships being burned and beaten to death. Locals blame the foreigners, most of them from Zimbabwe, for criminal behaviour and for taking jobs. Dear Mr Mbeki, what are you and your fellow African government heads going to do about that festering sore called Zimbabwe? If you don't want another few million Zimbabweans across your borders, I suggest you act quickly and effectively.

Fail #3 - brewing:
Opposition treasury spokesman Malcolm Turnbull has denied leaking an email which reportedly said Brendan Nelson's plan to cut the fuel excise was a bad idea. Six months out from the election, and it seems the Libs have an ineffectual leader and a shadow cabinet which is at odds with him. No wonder Howard lost, trying to fight an election while holding this pack of jokers together. Accountable democracy is dependent upon a coherent and talented Opposition: get your act together, guys!

Fail #4 - incipient:
The owner of the freight arm of the Darwin-Adelaide railway, Freightlink, is up for sale. I've ranted before about the need to keep infrastructure control ownership local - will the Government please stand up and nationalize this before it's too late? National infrastructure and logistics should not be regarded as a profit-making enterprise! This is what we pay taxes for.

Fail #5 - potential:
When companies go bust - and there have been plenty of them recently - shareholders and creditors often question why the directors were not aware of what was going on. The liability of company directors can differ from state to state. But now the Federal Government is keen to relax and standardise the personal liability faced by company directors, because it believes the current rules are stifling innovation. These people know what they're getting into when they take up the position. I'm all in favour of standardizing the rules across states... but I'd like to see responsibility for a failed company determined by mandatory audit - essentially a company autopsy and subsequent financial court-martial, with questioning of all involved and the facts presented, and all the technicalities stripped away to deny slippery lawyers the chance to get equally slippery clients off.