14 November 2025
Wry & Dry: a cynical and irreverent review of the week in politics, economics and life. For intelligent Readers who disdain the trivial.
Investment Matters
Craig is on personal leave this week.
Wry & Dry’s musings…
Fiftieth anniversaries are optimal for retrospective reconstructions of events. So, it has been with The Dismissal: a prime minister getting the DCM from the GG. Uncle Albo didn’t even wait for the starter’s gun. The Gnats wagged the dog; and the Liberals have given Uncle Albo a great chance at breaking Menzies’ record. New peaks in Trumpster’s mental derangement continue, the men in white coats are standing by. Read on.
1. Is Elvis still alive? I
Well, it’s up there with the moon landing was faked and Diana Princess of Wales was assassinated by the British establishment. Uncle Albo now says that Whitlam’s dismissal was the result of a conservative conspiracy. And so, wants to erect a statue in Whitlam’s honour.
Let Wry & Dry give Readers the whisper; then, as now, the Coalition couldn’t run a bath, much less a conspiracy. The players in The Dismissal acted independently.
Further, Whitlam’s magnified martyrdom has allowed his true believers, including Keating, to obscure the realities of the day. Of which there are three:
The good: Whitlam undertook significant healthcare, educational, social and cultural reforms.1
1 But apologists ascribe to Whitlam reforms undertaken by others, for example: it was actually Menzies who introduced university scholarships for about 30% of first year students and up to about 40% of post-first year students, McMahon who stopped sending troops to Vietnam, Gorton who established the Australian film industry and the White Australia policy was ended by Harold Holt.
2. Is Elvis still alive? II
The bad: spendthriftiness worse than the former Duke of York’s former wife: the federal budget went from balanced in FY-74 to -5.6% of GDP in FY-75, a downgrade never since exceeded.
The ugly: Whitlam ran a government of extraordinary and ongoing chaos. It got to the stage that The Age, then Australia’s only left-of-centre quality broadsheet, in a front-page led editorial on 15 October 1975, demanded that Whitlam “Go now, go decently.” 2
It was a blend of economic chaos and the chaos of government that led The Age to its extraordinary pronouncement. And to the dénouement. Whitlam’s DCM was coming, either at his own hand (Whitlam declined Fraser’s offer of supply if he held a House election to coincide with the 1976 half Senate election) or others’.
The proposed statue to Whitlam, as newly ordered by Uncle Albo, should therefore be augmented by the ‘others’ – the trio who acting independently but collectively gave Whitlam the DCM. There were (a) the shrewd Queensland Premier;3 (b) the determined Opposition Leader;4 and (c) the place-in-history seeking Governor-General.5
Now, let Canberra’s pigeons do their work.
2 In July 1975, Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Jim Cairns was given the DCM by Whitlam for misleading Parliament. On 14 October, the Minerals and Energy Minister Rex Connor was given the DCM for misleading parliament about his attempts to raise today’s equivalent of $200bn from “a commodities trader named Tirath Khemlani, operating from a basement somewhere in London.”
3 Jo Bjelke-Petersen, who appointed a conservative stooge to fill a casual Labor Senate vacancy, thereby giving the Opposition the ability to block supply.
4 Malcolm Fraser, who was elected by the Liberal Party to replace the hapless Billie Sneddon, was of granite-like countenance and mind. And personality.
5 Sir John Kerr, a brilliant industrial lawyer, was appointed by Whitlam as Governor-General in 1974. According to historian Phillip Knightley, “The remaining years of Sir John Kerr’s life were miserable ones. He was subject to relentless harassment whenever he appeared in public. He therefore moved to London “where he could be seen most days, usually the worse for wear, at one or other gentleman’s club.”
3. Is the Liberal Party still alive?
The existence of a pulse suggests that the Liberal Party is still alive. But there is no indication of a functioning brain. But allow Wry & Dry to start with the Gnats that wagged the dog.
The intelligence of the Gnats has now regressed to that of gnats (a tiny flying insect). Y’see, gnats “have extremely small brains. Their intelligence is specialized for survival and navigation rather than abstract reasoning.”6
Which explains why the Gnats’ leaders decided to go the full nutzo about the distant and ephemeral but catchy Net Zero 2050 slogan and not the government’s increasingly unrealistic emissions and renewables’ targets for 2030 and 2035.
In so doing they forgot (a) that Labor doesn’t need to win rural seats to stay in government; and (b) the Liberals need to win city/urban seats if the Gnats ever want to be a part of government.
Stoopid.
Then whatever liquid was in the Gnats’ trough in the top paddock was also drunk by lunatic far-right Liberals, parliamentary and otherwise. Who again focussed on the wrong problem. Hence the half pregnant Liberal policy that emerged yesterday.
Uncle Albo might surpass R G Menzies’ record.
6 Source: www.natureroaming.com.
4. Trumpster: peak mental derangement?
Readers may have seen peak vote-winning Trumpster (after Republicans got a belting in New Jersey and Virginia state elections), but the world sees mental-derangement Trumpster reaching new peaks every week.
The latest announcements suggests that the men in white coats should remain on standby.
The first was threatening to sue the venerable but creaky BBC for libel. That would be over the BBC’s mischievous misediting of a video of Trumpster’s call to arms on 6 January 2021. Trumpster was undoubtedly wronged. And the BBC embarrassingly culpable. But one billion dollars? For ‘overwhelming financial and reputational harm’?
As (a) the video was never shown in the US (where the case will be brought); and (b) any further harm to Trumpster’s reputation would be difficult to prove (bonus: refer any media for latest Epstein/Trumpster revelations), Wry & Dry has written to the BBC suggesting a polite apology and an offer of $1.00 in compensation.
Secondly, following the Republicans red-faced election day results, Trumpster now wants to get in touch with Main Street, USA. And give “…at least $US2,000 a person (not including high income people) will be paid to everyone.”
For the avoidance of doubt, Trumpster is suggesting that the American taxpayer should pay, not himself. Which means it must go via Congress. Which will wedge Democrats.
But it’s a $300bn cost to the taxpayer. This is greater than the revenue from the tariffs, the tariffs that Trumpster is wanting to use to reduce the national debt.
Where are those men in white coats?
5. The Top Ten shows where Australia is headed
An article in yesterday’s Australian newspaper by Bernard Salt, the esteemed demographer, caught Wry & Dry’s rheumy eye. In it there was a fascinating table. A data extract told a story…
What does the above tell Readers about Australia’s future?
6. Meanwhile, Tsar Vlad eyes Georgia…
Georgia, the country on the Black Sea, south of Russia and east of Turkey, not the US state, is being dragged into Tsar Vlad’s cage.
The country had been on a pro-Western course since 2012. And in 2023 the EU formally accepted Georgia as a candidate for membership of the EU, as it had done for Ukraine and Moldova.
Hold the phone! Georgia’s richest man, Mr Ivanishvili is also the president. And who, like Trumpster, has elevated to a fine art the use of his position to line his own pockets. Oops, EU membership means democratic reforms; de-oligarchisation, the rule of law and human rights. Better slow things down.
Last week, government prosecutors charged eight of the country’s leading opposition figures, including a former president with plotting to carry out a coup. They face up to 15 years in prison. Six are already behind bars. A week earlier, the government had asked the country’s constitutional court to outlaw Georgia’s three largest opposition parties.
The EU has accused Georgia of “serious democratic backsliding,” which is exactly what Mr Ivanishvili wants.
So does Tsar Vlad.
7. Simandou update
Readers have begun asking questions about the world’s largest mining project. And how it might affect Australia’s budget. Ever a servant of his Readers, Wry & Dry can report that the Simandou mine will be inaugurated on Tuesday. Be excited!
The chart below put it into a global perspective.
Chart source: Financial Times
Since Rio was given an exploration permit in 1997, Guinea has had two coups and four presidents. Actually, the latter statistic isn’t so bad. Australia has had seven PMs since then.
In 1997, the price of iron ore was about $12 per tonne, today it is about $107. The 2025 Australian budget forward estimates assume a price of $60 per tonne. A $10 change in price can vary nominal GDP by up to $9.8bn and tax receipts by $1.8bn.7
Perhaps time for the Australian government, of any hue, to reduce reliance on iron ore for tax revenue and/or better manage expenditure.
7 Source: Budget.gov.au
8. “And the loser is…”
The Business Council of Australia has once again given Victoria the wooden spoon for doing business.
No surprises there. Except to Premier Jacinta Andrews. “You’d have to ask those in the Business Council why they continue to do such a grave disservice to their members, because they’re talking down their own members…” she observed, momentarily forgetting that it was she herself who was doing such grave disservice to business.
9. Killing the goose
Readers may have heard that New York City has elected a socialist mayor on a platform of universal free childcare, free buses and freezing residential rents on rent-controlled apartments.
So, who will be soaked? Well, obviously, the rich. State company tax will increase to 11.5% from 7.5%. The marginal city income tax for incomes greater than $2.15m will increase to 15.5%, up from 13.53% for both state and city income taxes. These income taxes are in addition to federal income tax.
So, why stick around? Consider that both Texas and Florida have zero state or city income taxes. And Dallas seems to be the place to which financial services businesses are moving.
In the last five years, over 100,000 jobs were added in Texas’ financial services sector, and Florida added 58,000. New York added 18,000. And in September, Texas received SEC approval for its own stock exchange (which will be in Dallas). JP Morgan has more employees in Texas than any other state, including New York.
Is Texas the future of US financial power?
10. Sudan update
The number of deaths in the genocide in El-Fasher in Sudan now exceeds 150,000. And there are still over 200,000 trapped in the city.
Greta, where are you?
11. “Hitler, had only one…”
DNA evidence from a remnant from Adolf Hitler’s bunker has confirmed the words of wartime song (to the tune of Colonel Bogey’s March). Hitler had Kallmann syndrome, a genetic disorder that hinders the normal progression of puberty and the development of sexual organs.
Snippets from all over
IOC to ban transgender women
The International Olympic Committee is set to announce a ban on transgender women in female competition early next year after a science-based review of evidence about permanent physical advantages of being born male. (The Times)
Wry & Dry comments: Wait for the fuss when the formal announcement is made.
Sarkozy free, for now
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was freed from prison under judicial supervision on Monday after serving less than three weeks of a five-year sentence for conspiring to raise political campaign contributions from the late Libyan dictator Muammer Gaddafi. (Financial Times)
Wry & Dry comments: no recent French leader had spent time behind bars since the jailing after the Second World War of Nazi collaborator Philippe Pétain, who died in prison.
DCMs at BBC
The BBC’s director-general, Tim Davie, resigned amid criticism that the broadcaster displayed bias in its reporting on certain topics, including Donald Trump, Gaza and transgender rights. (The Economist)
Wry & Dry comments: According to a YouGov survey on 10 November, only 19% of respondents said that the BBC “was not politically biased.” A view not shared by Trumpster, who has threatened a US$1bn law suit.
Chinese buses remote controlled?
The UK government is investigating whether hundreds of Chinese-made electric buses on British roads could be remotely deactivated, in the latest sign of concern about Beijing’s role in the country’s infrastructure. (Financial Times)
Wry & Dry comments: The traffic in the UK is so bad, who would notice?
UK bank becomes big UK landlord
Lloyds Banking Group has quietly become one of Britain’s largest private landlords, building a residential property portfolio worth more than £2bn as part of a drive to diversify its income. (Financial Times)
Wry & Dry comments: Australian banks will be watching.
It figures
- 4.3%: Australia – unemployment rate. If there were any doubt… no interest rates cuts until the 12th of Never.
- 5.0%: UK – unemployment rate. PM Starmer’s retirement village is cleaning the curtains.
- -0.1%: UK – GDP growth in September. See above.
- 12.8% points: Australia – the bounce in Westpac/ Melbourne Institute’s consumer sentiment survey.
And to soothe your troubled mind…
“i want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is trump… [VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him, he has never once been mentioned.”
Jeffrey Epstein, paedophile, in a 2002 email to Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted sex-trafficker, the email was part of 22,000 documents released by the released the US House of representatives.
Wry & Dry comments: “The dog that hasn’t barked” is taken from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes story “Silver Blaze” (1892). In that mystery, Holmes points out the significance of a watchdog that did not bark during the theft of a racehorse, deducing that the culprit was someone the dog knew. Readers can therefore join the dots on Epstein’s comments. Trumpster hasn’t.
Disclaimer
The comments in Wry & Dry do not necessarily reflect those of First Samuel, its Directors or Associates.
Cheers!
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