50 years of the EU undermining Britain's worldwide historic trading links!

Why is Britain in the process of bankrupting itself to save a common currency to which it does not belong to undermine its own historic strengths? Are we mad?

Australia and Europe in Conversation – number 4: 50 years of EU-Australia relations

in

• Public lecture

Date: 

30 May, 2012 - 12:00 - 14:00

Venue: 

RMIT City campus, Building 13, level 3, room 9 Emily McPherson Building, Corner of Russel and Victoria Streets, Melbourne 

This month we are fortunate to be joined by H.E. Mr Sven-Olof Petersson, Ambassador of Sweden to Australia, H.E. Mr Patrick Renault, Ambassador for Belgium to Australia, and Dr Bruno Mascitelli, President of the Contemporary European Studies Association of Australia, Swinburne University, who will together discuss ‘The EU as a regional institution and democracy? The place of smaller member states’. Joining them will be Mr Paul Barclay from ABC’s Radio National, who will moderate the discussion.
Please RSVP to eucentre@rmit.edu.au for catering purposes.

Australia's Governing Labor Party splits asunder!

Any reasonably prosperous future there may be for the long suffering inhabitants of the British Isles will now almost certainly depend upon a rapid renewal of ties and trading links with our English speaking democratic cousins spread across the globe, rather than accepting further subjugation to an increasingly dictatorial and anti-democratic EU.

It is therefore a matter of considerable concern that Australia appears about to enter a period of political turmoil, brought about by the resignation of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd this week and a now open contest for the Labor Party leadership and that of the minority coalition government. Reports from The Age, The Australian and west Australia are linked from their titles. A Reuters UK report from this morning is linked here.

Hopefully, while Australia goes through a period of political uncertainty between now and the next scheduled elections in late 2013, Britain itself will see the reality of  the utter emptiness underlying its own governing coalition.

Hopefully some senior political figure will grasp the opportunity this period of deepening chaos offers to forge a new political partnership with Australia's opposition leader Tony Abbott.

ANZ Bank Losses

Some quotes from a report from 'The Age' in Australia on ANZ Bank's shock results: "I would recommend all of you visit London and New York in the near future just to see the effect of what is really happening there," Mr Smith said. "This is a financial services bloodbath and I think the Australian banking system is in remarkably good shape in comparison." ANZ will put aside $US200 million ($A220 million) as a provision against agreements it entered into with New York-based bond insurer ACA Capital, which has become imperilled as billions of dollars in loans given to people in the US with poor credit have failed........ Mr Smith said accounting standards required the bank to account for the losses on the derivatives, though it was likely they would regain their value when conditions changed. An ANZ spokesman said the companies represented included Fortune 500 companies in the US and Western Europe. "For ANZ to experience an actual loss on this exposure, it would require a significant number of what is a large and well-diversified portfolio of corporate names to go belly-up around the world," Mr Smith said. "If that happens, we're looking at an Armageddon situation."