Tag: election

The Victorian Election last month was not only a win for the Coalition, but also for iElect.com.au for successfully predicting the swing of the election before any traditional poll. Whereas most pollsters continue to rely on telemarketing and focus groups, iElect was predicting a Labor lead of 51% and the Coalition 49% for the bulk of the election, which changed quickly four days from polling-day, showing a swing to 61% Coalition and 39% Labor.

Australians' use of handhelds to track the election and its aftermath led to record usage levels. Nielsen's Mobile Market Intelligence service saw overall volume leap by 19 percent in August, compared to July, with the major news organisations the key beneficiaries of the traffic increase.

Garry and Leon talk about the new Labor government just scraping back into office. Download the podcast to find out how it will affect the outcomes of Australia’s credit rating, the mining tax, the NBN and more, plus all the latest in business news.

Leon and Garry talk about the business fallout from the election, particularly for the telecommunications industry. But whoever gets to be government will inherit a sluggish economy.

While the future shape of Government in Australia is still undecided, sufficient trends are emerging to enable IT managers to undertake some reasonable scenario planning. This is certainly not a time to sit around waiting for an answer, as the news is not all bad for government IT.

Even though Australia enjoys an excellent budgetary position by world standards, fiscal policy has been a big issue for the current federal election. In a tight election, each party argued hard that their policies would deliver the biggest budget surplus over the next three years. However, when this year's historic post-election dramas are over, the winner will be faced with the challenge of some serious belt-tightening if it is to deliver on promises. Whichever party wins, the next three years will herald another period of efficiency drives and cuts.

In this week’s podcast, Leon and Garry talk about the latest inflation figures coming in lower than expected and suggesting there will be no pre-election rate rise. Similarly, the cost of materials to business has grown at a modest pace, less than economists expected so inflation seems to be under control for now.

RMIT economist Steve Kates talks about the economic issues in the election campaign. He says the latest ACCI investor survey shows that business performance has deteriorated sharply after a rebound and suggests that the next government will have to deal with a softer economy.

Leon and Garry talk about Treasurer Wayne Swan’s announcement that the government is headed for a larger-than-expected surplus. They look at speculation that Australia’s biggest banks could be forced to raise interest rates independently of the Reserve Bank decision. But they won’t do it until after the federal election.

It's been an election dull enough to bore even the most Machiavellian of political pundits. With nothing much ado on the frontlines, the only option left for those in the commentary box is to... well... comment on the commentators. Fortunately, in the era of digital media, analysis has never been more interesting.

It's been an election dull enough to bore even the most Machiavellian of political pundits. With nothing much ado on the frontlines, the only option left for those in the commentary box is to... well... comment on the commentators. Fortunately, in the era of digital media, analysis has never been more interesting.

It's been a heavy news week. Talking Business is a podcast review of the Australian economy, presented by seasoned business journalists Leon Gettler and Garry Barker, produced in association with the RMIT College of Business. Just press play to listen.