"Possessing opinions is like possessing fish, assuming one has a fish pond. One has to go fishing and needs some luck - then one has one's own fish, one's own opinions. I am speaking of live opinions, of live fish. Others are satisfied if they own a cabinet of fossils - and in their heads, "convictions". - Friedrich Nietzsche
An academic who expects zero interest rates within two years and a 40 per cent drop in house prices has promised to walk from Canberra to the top of Australia's highest mountain if he's wrong.
University of Western Sydney associate professor of economics and finance STEVE KEEN made the bet with Macquarie Group interest rate strategist RORY ROBERTSON.
Police chase stolen car 250km from Wagga to Canberra
20 Jan 2009 12:21 PM
CANBERRA, Jan 20 AAP - Police have arrested a 26-year-old man in Canberra following a 250km high-speed car chase that started in south-western NSW.
NSW police started pursuing the stolen car in Wagga Wagga on Tuesday morning and ACT Policing took up the chase when the driver crossed the border into the territory.
BRISBANE, Dec 31 AAP - Queensland police have caught a man with an alleged blood alcohol reading more than six times the legal limit.
A 28-year-old man from Peak Crossing was stopped overnight for a random breath test in the nearby town of Boonah, south-west of Brisbane, and allegedly blew .303 per cent.
SYDNEY, Dec 20 AAP - The drivers of a Porsche and two motorcycles have had their vehicles confiscated after reaching speeds of more than 220km/h in an alleged road race.
Police say the three men were racing along a 100km/h zone of the Pacific Highway on the far north NSW coast on Saturday about 10.40am (AEST).
MELBOURNE, Dec 15 AAP - Two young men accused of drag racing before a crash that killed a 15-year-old boy will stand trial.
Mitchell Cairnduff, of Wheelers Hill, died when a turbo-charged Mitsubishi Lancer driven by Jarrod Rooke hit a taxi at 120km/h, the Melbourne Magistrates Court heard.
MELBOURNE, Jan 6 AAP - A 78-year-old hoon caught speeding at 170km/h on a narrow country road on New Year's Day told police he was a skilled race driver.
Victorian Premier John Brumby, however, was not impressed with John Belfield's claims, labelling Australia's oldest hoon driver an "idiot", while police said he was toying with death.i
Heralding the arrival of a new publication from The Weird House, the first edition of House Harris, a news publication that should provide a window into current affairs in Australia with articles from the Australian Associated Press who should be credited and duly paid their royalties.
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Feature Story
More grim economic news as political battle heats up
All House Harris News Articles are individually selected by The Editor
Todays Main Feature Story
Govt unveils $42 billion buffer against world recession
By Kate Hannon, National Political Editor
03 Feb 2009 12:54 PM
CANBERRA, Feb 3 AAP - The federal government has unveiled a massive $42 billion nation building and employment plan aimed at retaining 90,000 jobs over the next two years and insulating Australia against the worst of the global economic recession.
Billed as a "rapid response" to the deteriorating global economic conditions, the centrepiece of the 72-page plan is $28.8 billion of spending on schools, housing, energy efficiency in homes, community infrastructure and roads, and support to small business to be delivered mostly in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
The remaining third of the plan is an immediate injection of $12.7 billion in one-off bonus payments of $950 each for low- and middle-income households and individuals through five bonuses to be paid in the next few weeks through either the Australian Tax Office or Centrelink.
It means 8.7 million workers earning $100,000 or less will receive a lump sum payment of $950 each from April.
About 1.5 million single-income families will also receive the payment, provided they receive Family Tax Benefit Part B, in the fortnight beginning March 11.
Regularly Updated News As It Arrives From The Editor
House Harris News
NSW: Scorcher for NSW, followed by cold snap
Much of New South Wales will fry under scorching 40-plus temperatures for the remainder of the week .. but a cool snap next week will provide eventual relief .. cutting temperatures by 20 degrees. More...
Mid: Iran insists satellite launch has no military aims
TEHRAN, Feb 4 AFP - Iran insisted on Wednesday that the launch of the country's first home-built satellite has no military aims, despite deep concerns in the West. More...
NSW: Daughter of alleged murderer told to lie, jury told
SYDNEY, Feb 4 AAP - A woman accused of murdering her frail elderly father ordered her daughter to tell police she believed his girlfriend had once tried to poison him, a Sydney jury has been told. More...
QLD: Kids find loaded rifle under classroom
GOLD COAST, Feb 4 AAP - A group of primary school children have made a disturbing discovery of two rifles, one of them loaded, buried in the ground beneath a Gold Coast classroom. More...
Vic: Firefighters work to contain blaze in Victoria's east
MELBOURNE, Feb 4 AAP - Firefighters are working to contain a bushfire burning out of control in remote country in Victoria's east ahead of dangerous fire conditions forecast later in the week. More...
US: Girl, 4, dies in washing machine with button start
MISSION VIEJO, California, Feb 3 AP - A four-year-old girl in Southern California has died after climbing into a washing machine that began tumbling when her toddler brother hit its start button. More...
FED: Mentally ill face a lonely, isolated life: study
SYDNEY, Feb 4 AAP - Loneliness and isolation are harsh realities for many Australians with mental illness. More...
Qld: Tourists rescued from hood of car in floodwaters
BRISBANE, Feb 4 AAP - Four tourists had to be rescued after floodwaters washed their campervan off a bridge in far north Queensland. More...
NSW: Girl assaulted in private school dorm - police
SYDNEY, Feb 4 AAP - A teenage girl has been assaulted in a dormitory at a private girls' school in Armidale, north western NSW. More...
Big Four all match RBA rate cut, warn of higher funding costs
SYDNEY, Feb 4 AAP - The big four banks will pass on the full central bank interest rate cut but warn it will be harder to do so in future. More...
Qld: 'Wet towel' blankets north Qld
INGHAM, Qld, Feb 4 AAP - Flood-bound north Queensland is braced for another cyclone, but deputy premier Paul Lucas reckons the region's so wringing-wet already it can't take any more. More...
NSW: Explosion, shots fired in Sydney's inner west
A bikie gang clubhouse in Sydney has been blown up and shots fired into a nearby tattoo parlour in the city's inner west. More...
NSW: Rudd social housing program will house 17,000 in NSW: govt
SYDNEY, Feb 4 AAP - A federal government plan to invest $6.4 billion in Australia's social housing will help create homes for up to 17,000 people in NSW, and create 8,700 jobs in the state, the NSW government says. More...
MID: Israel bombing tunnels on Gaza-Egypt border: witnesses
GAZA CITY, Feb 3 AFP - Israeli warplanes on Tuesday bombed smuggling tunnels on Gaza's border with Egypt after the Jewish state warned of the "severest riposte" to rocket fire from the Hamas-run enclave, witnesses said. More...
MID: Iran sends first home-built satellite into orbit
TEHRAN, Feb 3 AFP - Iran said on Tuesday it has launched its first home-built satellite into orbit, raising fresh concerns among countries already at odds with Tehran over its nuclear drive. More...
FED: Drug addicts find less pleasure in everyday life: study
New Australian research has found drug addicts find it harder to derive pleasure from everyday life. More...
MID: Gaza violence simmers as Egypt holds truce talks
GAZA CITY, Feb 3 AFP - Violence simmered around Gaza on Tuesday as Palestinian militants fired a rocket into Israel a day after a deadly air raid, while talks on a long-term truce in the Hamas-run enclave dragged on in Egypt. More...
MID: Iran puts first home-built satellite into orbit
TEHRAN, Feb 3 AFP - Iran has launched its first home-built satellite into orbit using a homegrown rocket, a move certain to set alarm bells ringing in the international community. More...
Qld: More rain for flooded north Queensland
Flood-ravaged north Queensland is set to face further disaster with the weather bureau predicting heavy rain for the rest of the week .. and a possible cyclone. More...
NSW: Woman accused of smothering father, cling wrapping him
SYDNEY, Feb 3 AAP - A woman seemed "possessed" as she held a pillow over her father's face after restraining him to his bed with cling wrap, her daughter has told a Sydney jury. More...
FED: Mortgage rates echo days of pounds, shillings and pence
SYDNEY, Feb 3 AAP - The last time interest rates were this low, Australians paid their mortgages in pounds, shillings and pence. More...
Aust dollar closes higher after RBA cuts rates
SYDNEY, Feb 3 AAP - The Australian dollar has closed higher after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced another large cut to official interest rates. More...
FED: Church welfare groups back stimulus package
The church welfare sector has given the thumbs up to the federal government's 42 billion dollar economic stimulus package .. saying it's well targeted. More...
Big cut as expected but no clear hints on outlook
SYDNEY, Feb 3 AAP - The Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) decision to lop a full percentage point off its policy interest rate was well anticipated, but there were no clear pointers for the outlook from here. More...
NSW: Graffiti artist gets two-year good behaviour bond
A graphic design student caught doing graffiti on a Sydney wall has been wished luck in his art career by a magistrate .. so long as his work is exhibited in galleries and not on public property. More...
Rate cut signals good time to enter house market: Lenders
SYDNEY, Feb 3 AAP - Conditions have rarely been better for first home buyers but caution must be exercised before taking on debt, the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) says. More...
Westpac cuts variable mortgage rate by 100 basis points
SYDNEY, Feb 3 AAP - Westpac Banking Corporation, Australia's second biggest home-loan lender, will cut its standard variable mortgage rate by 100 basis points to 5.91 per cent, passing on the full central bank rate reduction. More...
Vic: Firefighters race to quell fires ahead of hot change
MELBOURNE, Feb 3 AAP - More than 500 firefighters are racing against the clock to contain a cluster of bushfires in remote parts of Victoria before weather conditions worsen later in the week. More...
RBA cuts by 100 basis points again with more to come, economists
SYDNEY, Feb 3 AAP - The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) delivered another massive 100 basis point cut to official interest rates on Tuesday and economists expect more of the same in the coming months. More...
SYDNEY, Feb 3 AAP - Resi Mortgage Corporation says the latest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will deliver greater options to borrowers. More...
FED: Govt unveils $42 billion buffer against world recession
CANBERRA, Feb 3 AAP - The federal government has unveiled a massive $42 billion nation building and employment plan aimed at retaining 90,000 jobs over the next two years and insulating Australia against the worst of the global economic recession. More...
Millions to go toward roads and rail
CANBERRA, Feb 3 AAP - The federal government is moving quickly to spend part of its $42 billion stimulus package on small road and rail projects. More...
Fed: RBA cuts key rate by another 100 basis points
CANBERRA, Feb 3 AAP - The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has slashed its official cash rate by a further 100 basis points following Tuesday's board meeting. More...
Qld: Man kills teenager during birthday brawl, court hears
BRISBANE, Feb 3 AAP - A man fatally stabbed a teenager during a brawl at a birthday party, a court has been told. More...
FED: Rudd justified in slamming neo-liberalism: Keating
CANBERRA, Feb 3 AAP - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is only partly right when he says the great neo-liberal experiment of the past 30 years has failed, his Labor predecessor Paul Keating says. More...
NSW: Insulation plan to stave of recession: reports
SYDNEY, Feb 3 AAP - More than two million homes will qualify for free ceiling insulation in a federal government plan to stimulate the economy by creating green jobs. More...
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