About Nick Bryant
I arrived down under roughly a year ago, just in time to see Steve Harmison's first ball of the Ashes series - the one that landed in the outback.
Those were the days when friends back home wrote me envious emails: vicious diatribes commenting on my prodigious luck in getting to watch so much of the cricket.
Five tests and five lop-sided defeats later, I received only messages of commiseration.
On day four of the second test in Adelaide, just as Australia were mounting what turned out to be a match-winning counter-attack, Kevin Rudd became the new leader of the Australian Labor Party and launched a much-vaunted rearguard action of his own.
In his election the seeds of this blog are found.
After all, had Mr. Rudd not become the leader of the opposition, John Howard would likely already have secured a fifth term in office and there would have been little of great interest to report.
I came to Sydney after falling in love with a beautiful Australian woman during my last assignment as the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ's South Asia correspondent.
Getting to cover such an intriguing election has come as a welcome and unexpected bonus.
Before Sydney I was in Delhi, and before Delhi I spent five years in Washington.
Self-indulgently, I spent seven years as a student, starting off as a failed architect and ending up with a rather unhealthy fascination with US politics.
Then I spent even longer turning the fruits of my academic labours into a book - The Bystander: John F. Kennedy and the Struggle for Black Equality.
I love cricket, rugby, football, and walking our labrador, Skip. 'Flat white' coffees are now a staple of my life, as are trips to my favourite Sydney restaurant, , and visits to my favourite Sydney pub, .
Occasionally, I find myself saying 'good on ya' and ending my sentences on an up.
I'm 
°δ΄Η³Ύ³Ύ±π²Τ³Ω²υΜύΜύ Post your comment
Umm...Nick. I think the name of your favourite restaurant is actually Sean's PanAroma.
So, should voting be made compulsory?
What are your daily units of fluid
in a drought-ridden country?
Which plane: French or Croatian?
What is your BMI at the beginning
of the campaign?
How many hours of TV have you
consumed? How does this compare
to the average Aussie this spring?
Picky but as a journo I'm sure you like to get names right - its Sean's Panaroma (not Panorama).
Nick makes a valid analogy with the 1997 British election. However, there are three crucial differences worth pondering:
1. The Major government had a reputation for being sleazy after a string of sordid affairs involving senior conservatives. The Howard govt has been relatively scandal-free by comparison.
2. The Major government lost its reputation for economic competency after black wednesday. The current Australian government is regarded by most voters as competent on economic issues according to the latest polls.
3. In 1997, Blair promised to give the Bank of England independence. This was a genuinely bold economic initiative which distinguished Labour from the Tories. By contrast, Kevin Rudd has so far merely aped the government's economic policies.
Before comparing Kevin Rudd with Tony Blair, would you be game and tell us how many trade-unionists Mr Blair had on his frontbench? Would the ratio come any closer to 7/10? That's the sort of luggage Mr Rudd is carrying at the moment. You may not have been sober enough to realise how much flak Mr Rudd is copping over this classical 70%. He keeps trying to worm his way out of it, but the Burgmann boy just can't do it.
G'day from Brisbane,mate let just say
after 11 and a half years of the Howard Government most of the people have had a gut full of this government
Iraq,AWB,I.R Laws,the Dr.Haneef affair
John Howards scare tactics will not work this time,,we have Burma (sic)people sitting on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean,,,No there is no more TAMPA,,all people have to do is read the australian newspapers,,,Thank heavens JH is gone and we will have a fairer Australia for ALL,,,just look at the opinion polls Labor 56% Liberal 44% ..........
You see,the liberals comment 5,,,,,
they live in fear,,,of a Labor Goverment,they have screwed the workers we will end up like america paying everyone $5 per,hour.........
John Howards "WORKCHOICES" will do him in,,,,and the lies he has carried on with for the past 11 and a half years,,(WMD),,,,,GOOG RIDDANCE
Hi Nick
Great intro despite there being some uncertainty over where you have actually been dining in Sydney.
How does everyone feel about the non-issue of Iraq ? In the US next year it's shaping up as issue number one but barely rates a mention in Australia with both parties seemingly keen to out-do themselves in their support-the-troops act.
From what little political debate I hear around me, it is the recently introduced industrial relations laws which have contributed most to the anti-Howard backlash.
No offense, but have you been asleep?
"the muscular Christianity" - we are talking about the same man? That is the one who was only recently receiving media flack for being and out and about in New Yorks strip scene?
It'd be an embarassment for such an individual to lead the country regardless of his politics.
I've, been in Australia five years, though I have previously called Belfast and then London home.
As for economics and the whole debate here in Australia I believe Australia is suffering from it's biggest problem. Media monopolies. The media here is so sensationalist that it's hard to find a current affairs program were the stations owners are not pushing an agenda. Actually, it's impossible, and it's disgusting.
I often tell those around me, I miss being at home, for my family and the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ!
As for the politics, there is much talk of "Working Families" and other such punchlines designed to be void of substance, but of course to suggest some commonality and establish a bond with the "voting" man or woman. One joke is that Labour are talking about families on approx 100,000 AUD PA, that is the average income for a family with two adults on the average income. However, I'll bet if you look at statistics most households will not have that income level - globally men still make more than women on average so are their actions going to be aimed at the higher income earners or are they going to do something else altogether if they get in?
While we have seen lots of talk of fiscal conservatism, you need only to watch a debate between two opposing representatives of the two main parties. It will be blatantly clear that both individuals are playing politics, but that one will be stuck to singing from a party provided hymesheet and as a result may well fail to pursuade a critical reviewer that they even heard the question.
Additionally, I have noted a sense of the bully with the union representatives, and the recent union action in Sydney at one of the worlds leading hearing aid manufacturers over workers being required to speak the national language (english) on the production line was what? Yes, it was ridiculous, even if only for safety reasons! Note that this same company being one that reportedly pays there production lines employees %40 above the Australian historical wage guidlines for their roles. This was a blatant attempt by a union to flex muscle when there was no substance to their argument.
In truth I fear for the country if the opposition becomes the government, mostly because they are weak enough that they resort to bullies and haven't been able to convince me that they have any more substance than a picture postcard.
Australia is not alone, I'll bet there are a fair few in the UK who will believe the "Life on the Moon" headlines in the UK's tabloid papers.
The sad truth is that the media have a responsibility, particularly those in licensed broadcast mediums, and it is a responsibility that they often fail to live up to.
If only I was a better writer.
Whoops! Let's not forget that Labour are going to get Australia out of Iraq! Well, at least in the sense that they are going to take something like 25% of the forces out; those forces being some units currently training the local forces! Navy, RAAF, and neccessarily, diplomatics protection units will stay!! Seriously, why aren't the media slaughtering Labour on this falsehood. I'd better not go on, I'd be here until after the election.
Sorry about the typo's I know must be there.
Health and happiness.
Re Martin's comment. Five years you say you've been in Aussie? Yet you know nothing of Aussie's history. Did you bother finding out about us and how totally different we are to Britain. We have far too many ex pat Brits who think Aussie is an extension of England, who arrive here only to find a totally different ball game. Politically the Labor party is the oldest continuous party in Australia, yet we have had more Liberal/Country/National Governments primarily because of ex pat Brits who think they know everything. Did you know your wonderful Churchill had intended for Australia to be taken over by the Japanese, (WWII) refusing to allow our own troops to come home to protect us? For too long Britain has destroyed this wonderful country. Well things are about to change.
Nick,it is really amazing for some one like me to kow a little bit about you and the way in which you are covering the Australinan elections.So,I would be very happy to read much about you and your outs and abouts during and after the elections.Who is your favorite men on the differnent sport you have out lined?
Hi, Nick
First, many thanks for what looks like being a wonderfully readable, interesting and enjoyable blog about the election. As a Brit with family now over there (but, it seems, very little chance of getting over there myself), I will give a hearty welcome to any knowledgeable, balanced, well-written piece about one of the most beautiful, vibrant countries on earth. I'm looking forward to my weekly (or daily) fix.
(Ohhh... And don't worry about those (Aussie) carpers with ear-wax for brains, who criticise you for things you didn't say. As an Englishman who knows how to read, I know fully well you said you've been down there for ONE year, not five, and you DID get the name of the restaurant correct.. !!) Good on ya, cobber. :)
Nick,
If you are the Sydney correspondent who is the correspondent for the rest of Australia?
I am appalled at your bias. How can anyone pass comment when only here for 12 months.
In all your comments etc., not one mention has been indicated or pointed towards the 'grey vote'. This is an under-estimated powerful section of society.
Mr Howard cynically changed the Super-annuation tax two years ago to save himself thousands of dollars in taxation.. Is this a question of politians feathering their own nests?Yet after 10 years many pensioners on the basic pension live below the poverty line. Ask Tony Abbot how many previously prescribed medications have been removed from the Benefits Scheme.....One can't even get an anti-histamine or basic pain killer.
Come on Mr. Bryant get with it.....
Hi nick to see the bbc has ship you here for a good sentance of easy laubor i enjoyed your corro from our country hope if i ever bump into you be happy to buy you a beer anytime from the great nation that is Australia.to all brits come on down you dont know what you missing.
Hello Nick
Thanks for your blog which I am enjoying from the remote rancidity of Freetown in Sierra Leone. Unlikely to get home to vote (dammit) but it is good to get a different slant on things, particularly as the Aussie press seems to be having a lot of trouble keeping its own level of interest up, let alone that of the punters.
I picked up from your blog photo that the Libs (who seem not to be able to take a trick) have reproduced an inaccurate version of the national flag in their backdrops etc. look at the photo and check the official version.
This has amused me immensely nd is I think indicative.
Good luck and keep it going
best wishes from John
nick--enjoying reading the blog also but this American former Hobart cabdriver (late 1980s/2 years) found it uproariously funny that you described Tasmanians as being so extraordinarily healthy, etc.--You have not driven cabs late at night--where I believe one meets quite a representative cross-section of the population giventhe great fondness of the populi for the amber fluid and gambling at wrest point and RSL halls.--best, tanner of virginia
I agree with Anthony O, If Nick Bryant calls himself the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ's "Sydney correspondent" how can he call it an "Australian Blog".
There is hardly a less Australain location than Sydney.
His reportage is the the equivalent of the Scottish news being sent from West Ham.
There is a more sinister precedent to Nicks behaviour...that of the first world war correspondents who"reported" the war from an entirely remote location?
Hi Nick
Nice to see you in Oz & I hope the relationship is still going strong but what have you done with Michael Peschardt?
Yeah, Sydney's a great place but you couldn't really say it represents the majority Aussie view, could you? I hope you'll get out a bit more, like you did in the US & give us some of those great reports you did from there.
Mind you, it's good to know that the people actually felt able to kick Howard out this time - he's been an insult to all fair-thinking Aussies for far too long. Okay for me to say, from the UK, but I have a few Aussie rellies. Frankly, they make me politically horribly uncomfortable - Howard fans, with no idea about Kyoto, or their pollution per head, or any care for refugees or Aboriginal people. To quote them: 'It's the economy, stupid!' That's all they care about. I'm so glad they'll have to start thinking again. Or will they? I fear they'll just bury their heads in the sand & still believe they made the lucky country and this lot'll destroy it. You must have met them - but perhaps not in Sydney! Oh and if they read this, it's not me ...... honest!
Oh, and by the way, judging by your conversation with John Humphrys today - you are going up at the end of sentences already - & that twang!!
Love ya blog! You are doing well and you have a good blog here. Keep up the good work!
G'day Nick,
I've enjoyed reading your blogs re the election It's been good to get an "outsider's" view on things. All in all the election result has been good for OZ. One thing I do wonder about is will the traditional cricket match between the PM's 11 and the visiting team (India) go ahead?
Cheers and keep up the good work
Geoff
Hi Nick
After 4 years living and teaching in Chelmsford and Romford Essex we returned home to Australia. I suffered when we lost the Ashes but had my revenge when we won this trophy back. You are most fortunate mate that your beautiful Aussie has agreed to be your wife. We are most fortunate that Howard is gone, and we can begin to feel proud of our great nation again. my new saying "Wall to wall Labor and the new tenant is a Labor Prime Minister". I will always be proud of my party's achievement. I hope you enjoy your life in our great country, and your life with your bride after your marriage mate.
Hi Nick
Just read your article on how Aussies regard the Kyoto Protocol (Blah Blah Blah) and all i can say is you are indeed a stereotyping idiot. If you for one second think that the average Australian regards the Kyoto Protocol as a sort of suishi then you are no smarter than the average chav in Knowle West, Bristol. I have lived in your 'homeland' for the last two and a half years, and have found the average UK person to be the most environmentally inconsiderate, self centered imbiciles I've ever had the mispleasure to meet. Hmmm and shall we talk about emission levels? Look in your own back yard, you numptie, before you go bagging mine. Howard did not speak for most of us on the climate change issue and you bloody know it.
BR
GM, Bristol, UK
For a country that's supposed to be so relaxed (ha!), looking at the above responses to a fairly benign introduction - we are a political bunch, aren't we!
Nick, as I'm sure you've realised already the sun burnt country is a political minefield, with treacherous paths leading off in all sorts of directions. Even your geographic location and the name of this blog have been contentious.
Still - we make it work. I can't think of many other countries where a sizeable part of the population want the flag changed, a majority aren't happy with how the head of state is determined, and being "un-Australian" spans from not recycling to raising interest rates.
But good heavens, who would want to live anywhere else??
Gosh, here is the place all us that don't fit in (no not convincts) thought we might make a life. Kidding, my son thinks that. Tooo many vets on his family tree, he just wants to go and work and be. Is that not so anymore in Australia? I mean you don't have a cuisine other than Thai or Indian do you?
Gosh, here is the place all us that don't fit in (no not convincts) thought we might make a life. Kidding, my son thinks that. Tooo many vets on his family tree, he just wants to go and work and be. Is that not so anymore in Australia? I mean you don't have a cuisine other than Thai or Indian do you?
What are messages 1 and 3 going on about?
I take note of /blogs/thereporters/nickbryant/2007/11/ which says:
'And in the history of Australian politics, no incoming government has been sacked by the electorate after just one term in office.'
You forgot James Scullin and Labor, 1929-1931. Not to mention 1914 and beforehand.
I've got to comment - having enjoyed Nick Bryant's insightful, witty and illuminating commentary on the Australian election last year... I find myself adrift with the US election using Justin Webb's blog as my torch to explain the current situation. Where Mr. Webb uses copious links without describing their content or relevance, Nick Bryant laid out the issues for any of us to understand. Where Mr. Webb always seems to be too busy traveling to put his thoughts down, Nick Bryant posted regular, thoughtful and relevant blog entries that kept us in touch. And maybe the US candidates are too untouchable for the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ, but I seem to recall Nick Bryant actually getting the quotes from the candidates' mouths.
So well done Nick, and thank you for your hard work last November. We didn't realise just how good you were!
Nick,
If you're going to provide coverage of Australia 2020, why not look at the constructive ideas on decarbonising Australia's economy by 2040 put forward by the Australian Society of Foreign Energy Executives (www.asfee.org). The entire report is at that URL.
Your sanctimonious article is quite boring and your bias is quite obvious. You talk about vulgarity but never mentioned Symonds provocation which bought the pointing finger from Ishant Sharma.
Suzy says that the wedding was fantastic.
Enjoyed reading your blogs now that I have learned how to access them. Your next subject? How about further comparison with Uk featuring something that Oz does far better .... like ejecting undesirables from sporting events. I am reminded of the streaker at the SGC who was confronted with a force that would have seen off the Taliban with no sweat. Also the straw haired gent with plastic breasts survived whilst the authorities seemed to accept , or hope that his cheer raising might turn the tide but once all was lost out he went. I am not sure why, sex discrimination?
Suzy's dad
I don't have much time for the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ these days. Nick Bryant's sensationalism, passed off as "news" is reason why. Nick, it's time to move away from an attempt at establishing an imperialist imprint in your writing as a way of molding the colonialist psyche, so as to please your hungry audience. If an Aussie journalist based in the UK reported the local news in a similar fashion, I'd be embarrassed. Alas, other than the info-tainment trash of our current affairs programs (Today Tonight and A Current Affair), I think our print and TV journalists do a far superior job to their UK brethren in reporting the "facts" in a substance over style format. The ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ has lost its way, and for my money, it doesn't come close to the ABC or SBS in terms of quality journalism. We're a sufficiently confident country so as to not be constantly fishing for reassurance and approval from others about every aspect of our culture, but your approach seems to value Australia only as an extension of the ol' dart. It's a shame you've chosen to live in a parochial ex-pat bubble despite your socalled attempts to meet the locals from Sydney to Townsville and onwards to the outback. You've been in Australia for about 9 months, but are acting like your know the country (the people, the land, the psyche) like the back of your hand. How very Shirley Valentine of you. Can I say this--how very English of you.
Nick, some of the issues you've commented on demand respect and understanding, not small-minded sterotyping and cliched generalisations. As luck has it, you're dealing with two audiences, an Australian and non-Australian audience--and lucky, in the sense that we're pretty good at copping "it" on the chin no matter how biased or off the mark you are. Now, imagine if the shoe were on the other foot? I'm not sure that your blogs would be so civil and polite in the response corner. Would love to see the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ apply the same template to other countries, that is, to take the mickey at any given opportunity. Cane toads might fly. Aw, they already do out there in the wild west of sunburnt Aussie. Gosh, I miss that crazy, yet sane, land.
Having thought it might be refreshing to hear the news about Australia from an βoutsidersβ perspective, Iβve now got to ask myself why the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ have taken the time and trouble to finance and furnish an employee here in Sydney. The same miserable monologues on how awful Sydney, Australia and Australians are, could surely be belted out from Fleet Street. So very sporting of the writer to pay blind obedience to the UKβs expectations. It would be wonderful to find an English columnist that doesnβt inhabit a glasshouse, or hide behind weathered clichΓ©s and tacky phrases. All of the articles here carry a sense of the journalist falling back on inherent feelings of self-superiority (or βhaughtinessβ as the writer so unashamedly declares), and this will serve one well, despite the fact that it relies on a deluded estimation of their stature in the world. I look forward to your next book, Mr Bryant. A few suggestions for the title: β10 Ways to Hate Sydneyβ, β10 Ways to Understand Self-loathingβ, and βHow to Avoid Living in an Ex-pat Bubble.β
Having thought it might be refreshing to hear the news about Australia from an βoutsidersβ perspective, Iβve now got to ask myself why the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ have taken the time and trouble to finance and furnish an employee here in Sydney. The same miserable monologues on how awful Sydney, Australia and Australians are, could surely be belted out from Fleet Street. So very sporting of the writer to pay blind obedience to the UKβs expectations. It would be wonderful to find an English columnist that doesnβt inhabit a glasshouse, or hide behind weathered clichΓ©s and tacky phrases. All of the articles here carry a sense of the journalist falling back on inherent feelings of self-superiority (or βhaughtinessβ as the writer so unashamedly declares), and this will serve one well, despite the fact that it relies on a deluded estimation of their stature in the world. I look forward to your next book, Mr Bryant. A few suggestions for the title: β10 Ways to Hate Sydneyβ, β10 Ways to Understand Self-loathingβ, and βHow to Avoid Living in an Ex-pat Bubble.β
Why no press about the withdrawal of the 5 bonus points for investing $100,000 for those applying for skilled migration into Australia? Many Brits have sold there homes and were ready to make the investment when it was canned. There are over 3000-6000 applicants around the World who have sold their possessions and applied BEFORE the rules were changed in December. This all happened as a result of a big scam by a bank worker in Australia giving loans to people for the money and yet nothing in the news? I refer you to the following thread where you can get more information on this story:
The Australian Government has not even extended us the courtesy of an update on when we might hear anything. There has been no proactive communication from them since the rule change in December.
I'm quite disappointed this quite big story did not make the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ.
Why no press about the withdrawal of the 5 bonus points for investing $100,000 for those applying for skilled migration into Australia? Many Brits have sold there homes and were ready to make the investment when it was canned. There are over 3000-6000 applicants around the World who have sold their possessions and applied BEFORE the rules were changed in December. This all happened as a result of a big scam by a bank worker in Australia giving loans to people for the money and yet nothing in the news? I refer you to the following thread where you can get more information on this story:
The Australian Government has not even extended us the courtesy of an update on when we might hear anything. There has been no proactive communication from them since the rule change in December.
I'm quite disappointed this quite big story did not make the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ.