Alex White

Alex’s blog about strategy, campaigning, growth, politics and climate (among other things).

  • We need strong action on emissions trading

    The Garnaut report released earlier this year made the case for a robust emissions trading scheme. If Australia is to combat climate change, Federal Labor needs to take immediate action to reduce the amount of carbon put into the atmosphere. As activists, we have a duty to lobby senior Ministers in parliament to do everything… Read more

  • Guerrilla marketing at work

    Database entrepreneur Robert Moore has uncovered a vast guerrilla marketing campaign being waged across the US, and potentially at a global level. Across America, yard signs advertising localised online singles and dating services point towards an enormous data collection effort. The signs point towards dating sites with a domain-name linked to that town, suburb or… Read more

  • Australia needs strong collective bargaining

    The right to collectively bargain was gutted by the Howard Government… unfortunately it looks like the Rudd Government may squib at fully restoring that right. Under the WorkChoices laws, Australian workers have no enforceable right to collectively bargain. Employers can indefinitely delay collective bargaining, denying their employees rights. Collective bargaining at a workplace level is… Read more

  • Republicans eat their own

    Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin typifies the hard-right conservative group in the GOP that would rather eat their own than work towards defeating a common foe. From CNN: At a boisterous Sarah Palin rally in Polk City, Florida on Saturday afternoon, one name was surprisingly absent from the campaign decor John McCain’s. Looking around… Read more

  • Desalination and water security

    Water security and sustainable use are crucial elements for future development. Agricultural use represents seventy per cent of water use in Victoria and Australia, with the remainder consumed by industry and urban usage. The drought and broader environmental concerns necessitate that Victoria develop alternative water sources to traditional surface reserves and rain-fall. Desalination is an… Read more

  • Negative campaiging works

    Negative campaigning works. Negative ads are also generally are more ‘honest’ than positive ads – they generally reference their sources. They are more likely to energise supporters into taking action – even Obama’s campaigning to potential volunteers use the scare-tactics of Rove, Cheney, Bush and ‘more of the same’. It especially works when you are… Read more

  • Controversial trimester at Deakin leads to industrial action

    Deakin University staff are standing up to get a collectively bargain. The NTEU Victorian Division has produced a video with Deakin staff explaining the importance of getting a collective agreement. Unfortunately the Deakin senior management have been dragging their feet and have not seriously negotiated. Furthermore the senior management have insisted on ramming through the… Read more

  • Labor needs a strong stand on emissions trading

    Federal Labor needs to take a strong stand on emissions trading. After the Garnaut Report and the Green Paper, it appears that Federal Labor may not make the Australian emissions trading scheme as robust as it needs to be to ensure that damaging climate change is mitigated. An emissions trading scheme (ETS) is essential for… Read more

  • Turn-out-the-vote 2008: the final hours

    After all the half hour ads, direct mail and phone calls, US elections boil down to getting out the vote. Obama has been able to spend enormous amounts of money on his “ground war” (as compared to the “air war” of television ads). Obama offices outnumber McCain offices in battleground states by as much as… Read more