From more recent reports, the guy has significant intellectual disabilities and was on an excursion, but his carer had a lapse of attention. I suspect ‘on bail’ in this case means ‘back to the closely supervised home where he normally is cared for and won’t be coming out’.
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Sorry, I need to correct your error.
The Australian Federal Treasury Dept contains a unit called the Centre for Population, within the MacroEconomic Group, comprising about 20 staff. As of April 2025 it was headed up by Nick Latimer.
As to your other opinions about planning, I would largely agree, but population planning must work on timescales well above 4 years.
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Apparently he jumped out of a wheelchair. If all true thats why he was given bail.
Probably pays until the facts come out before hanging him. Or feeding him to the crocodiles.
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Thats exactly what I thought when I first read it.
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Hahaha same
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Thanks for that. A positive development that is quite recent (in terms of public service). I wonder if ERC/BERC/Planning proposals have to refer to and incorporate trend data from the population projections.
FYI, I left the public service as a pariah prior to the formation of this unit in 2019. My experience was with the Mark Cully and Abul Rizvi era DIAC/DIBP and just barely, the DHA. We used to rely on the ANU School of demography for accurate research and Monash for the more colorful stuff.
Though I note that some of the reporting of population inputs is a touch confusing. During the Covid years (2020-2022), immigration (as NOM) was widely reported as a big negative and expatriaties returning home had a big jump. but these numbers aren’t shown in the bar charts on the unit’s website.
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I have a very superficial view of the Australian government, so it is disappointing to hear that as a former federal public servant you left so disappointed in the functioning of the planning implementation.
Populationpyramid.net is fascinating. Some of the most cocked up demographics are in Nigeria ( exploding) and Russia ( too many women) but nowhere is there a bigger short term issue than in baby boomer bulged socialised countries, while Nigeria is headed for disaster long term.
Its in this area that long term dictatorships can caused long term damage to countries, which they have no idea about until it hits with a vengeance. One would hope that properly governed democratic governments have some planning. When the UK was in Schengen, the free movement of people allowed an automatic balance through the free market. But now the UK is on its own, it needs to control migration carefully, because out of work immigrants have nowhere else to go.
As it happens the UK population pyramid is in reasonable shape, what is out of shape is the change of the job market after Brexit, which will still take decades to stabilise.
Apparently Andy Burnham has a personality. So did Boris, but his vision and gravitas were not there when times demanded it. I hope Andy has more than just a personality.
Just to stamp his qualification to lead the Labour Party, heere are some of those who opposed him.
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You’ve got to go through Binface to get to No. 10
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Starmer is a decent man but lacks political nous. And weirdly, as PM he’s done now. For mine, he should’ve replaced Reeves his Chancellor a while ago, who rather than generate growth has just taxed away incentives to save or invest, and face down Andy Burnham who has not got a mandate to just walk into No.10 the day after he wins a seat in a contrived by-election.
After the utter chaos and ineptitude of those recent Tory governments and leaders, Starmer has reclaimed for this country some respect and competence. Turning around lax immigration oversight and missteps, the NHS and military reinvestment was and is going to take at least a few more years. I’m not thrilled about everything he’s done but far more he’s achieved then not. He didn’t support BRexit, didn’t wish for the Ukraine war, has handled Trump and the MAGA re-election and his tariffs, and nor is it his sole fault the harder right under the Farage types are rising. A decent man who deserves time and better MPs and advisors around him to turn things around given the huge mandate he won for kine. But with a more competent Chancellor who just clobbered farmers, the middle class, small businesses and hospitality (inc restaurants and pubs) and drove wealth creators offshore since Day 1.
It’s not an easy balance to strike for a centrist/ centre left party like UK Labour, but Starmer is paying a high price for trusting bad apples like Mandelson and thinking his Cabinet were better than they’ve proven to be. IMHO Pat McFadden and Shabana Mahmood now in the Home Office are exceptions. And before they left his side and turned on him, Yvette Cooper in the FO, Healy in Defence and Streeting the Health Sec were OK. They’re all just ■■■■ scared of Farage and Restore .. and their own skins.
Burnham scarpered Westminster when Corbyn was his leader and UK Labour Left, in opposition, were bankrupt in 2017. There’s a fair bit of teflon about him tbh. And look, he might turn out to be a good PM but I don’t know and neither does anyone else right now. But if Burnham just walks into Downing St. and doesn’t clamp down hard on the many scams and fraudsters in this country, and then goes on to appoint a left wing ideologue like Ed Milliband to No.11, then strap in and get ready for a run on the £ and GB gilts and bonds.
Confidence in the UK may plummet.
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Starmer expected to resign very soon
Good summary Jackdaw. I have a branch of my family living in the midlands. I have more than a passing interest in the UK. It is astonishing how fast political capital originating in landslide election wins can be eroded. The average PM lasts 4 years, in the modern era it ranges from Truss at 53 days, to Thatcher at 11 years. Starmer has lasted just on 2 years since a massive win at the ballot box. Boris lasted almost 3 years, however he was far more popular electorally than Starmer in terms of percentagae of votes. Starmer won a massive majority which led many to believe that the Tory party were dead and buried.
But here we are with the Tories and Labour neck and neck in polling, albeit in the shadow of Reform, while Kemi Badenoch is quite popular ahead of even Farage. However I expect Burnham to rapidly shoot to top in opinion polling and drag Labour upwards in a classic “honeymoon”
But popularity must be forged in the heat of Government and as Boris and Truss found just one huge stuff up can destroy you, while Starmer just alienated too many people with tax measures, we will just have to wait about 2 years to see how Andy Burnham goes. Good luck Andy. The people of the UK need a competent government, not just a popular leader, as ever.
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In the next hour apparently
They brought the podium out in front of number 10.
Starmer will give an end date of end of September most likely.
Gives labor time to go through their election process.
7 prime ministers in 10 years.
Burnham will go the same path with taxes. The majority of the labor party wants to increase taxes for NHS and benefits. Starmer allowed as few as he could but still was one of the reasons he was done in after flip flopping on some of them and reversing them.
Let’s see how Burnham goes but I don’t like his chances.
He’s speaking now
Gone. Finish your reps and farkorff.
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Well he has gone for a phasing in of the new leader over 3 months. WTF. As if we dont know who that will be, and the people of the UK will be counting the days if not protesting the delay.