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Meal deals on wheels

McDonalds will soon be trialling two lanes of drive through at some outer suburban restaurants to bring down its drive through wait time. There are a number of reasons why some people in outer suburbs are becoming increasingly dependent on drive-through takeaway food. Longer working hours, falling living standards and greater travelling distances have cut into the time, energy and money suburban working class families can devote to grocery shopping, meal preparation, sitting down to eat and washing dishes.

Will children be let out of detention?

An Essential Research poll released October 25, asked the question, 鈥淒o you approve or disapprove of the federal government鈥檚 decision to move children and their families out of immigration detention centres and allow them to live in the community while their cases are being processed?鈥 Alarmingly, only 33% approved while 53% disapproved and 13% said they didn't know. Furthermore, 29% strongly disapproved, while only 11% strongly approved.

QR National sell-off: the great train robbery

How much is QR National worth? With the sell-off of the massive freight and rail infrastructure part of Queensland Rail launched on October 10, will the 鈥渋nvestment community鈥 here and overseas gobble up at least 1.46 billion of the 2.44 billion shares on offer at between $2.50 and $3? If it does, the float will be worth between $6.1 billion and $7.32 billion for Queensland鈥檚 coffers (including at least $1.525 billion in QR National shares) and QR National鈥檚 managers, like those of Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, will have 鈥渆arned鈥 $65 million in fees.

McDonalds bans community languages

McDonalds bans community languages Sue Bolton, Melbourne Global burger chain store McDonalds has banned its employees in Australia from speaking languages other than English while on duty. Employees in Melbourne鈥檚 outer northern suburbs were told of the order by senior management figures at special regional paid training sessions.

Forest 'peace deal' signed

The signing of the much-anticipated 鈥淔orest peace deal鈥, an agreed statement of principles between some conservation groups and the timber industry, was announced on October 19. Most of the statement of principles had already been leaked. Still up in the air was the two last minute demands made by the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania. These concerned recognition of already existing supply contracts from publicly owned native forests and the use of forests for wood-fired power station.

Joe Hockey is no Hugo Chavez

Mike Smith, the CEO of the ANZ Bank has fumed about Liberal-National shadow treasurer Joe Hockey鈥檚 recent populist rhetoric against the four big banks that increasingly dominate the Australian economy. 鈥淭he Liberals鈥 economic credentials have been hijacked by out-there proposals鈥, Smith said in the October 29 Sydney Morning Herald. 鈥淢r Hockey seems to be on some kind of personal vendetta. It would appear he has been taking economics lessons from Hugo Chavez.鈥 Has Hockey been taking lessons from Venezuela鈥檚 socialist president?

Requiem for a river system?

The River: A Journey through the Murray-Darling Basin By Chris Hammer Melbourne University Publishing 2009, $34.99 pb Canberra journalist Chris Hammer has spent over a decade reporting on the crisis facing the Murray-Darling river system, and the communities that rely on it for their livelihoods. To write The River, however, Hammer actually travelled from tail to tip of the river system 鈥 from Cunnamulla to Dubbo and Echuca, from Bourke to Menindee and the Murray Mouth 鈥 and witnessed first-hand a river system in terminal decline.