Nostradamus' Media Watch
By Craig Cormick
Based on highly reliably international contacts, leaked documents and horoscopes from several TV magazines, Nostradamus' Media Watch presents a highly accurate forecast of political events across the globe.
Keating continues overseas travels
Following the success of his Japanese jaunt, Paul Keating continues touring nations of the region — increasingly abandoning his role as Australian prime minister and becoming an economic guru at large.
He spends several weeks in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, lecturing leaders on the need for economic reform.
When the federal election is finally called, he refuses to come home, but continues his economic lecture tour through India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Maldives. The ALP go to the polls without him, and as a result record their biggest postwar win.
Gareth Evans, acting prime minister, appoints Keating roving economic saviour for life.
Maharaji Keating, as he becomes known to his increasing number of cult followers and pilgrims who travel the world to hear his words of wisdom, sets up a base in Bali, and signs a broadcast deal with Rupert Murdoch.
Embassy bugging allegations go to High Court
The Chinese Embassy bugging scandal reaches the High Court of Australia. The case is between Optus and Telstra, which are fighting for a monopoly on the laying of bugging optic fibre cables in all the embassies in Canberra.
Meanwhile Rupert Murdoch offers to buy all rights to embassy broadcasts, and begins transmitting them on a new pay TV channel.
Kerry Packer begins signing up embassies for a Super-Spy Series, in which the best intelligence reports play off against one another for a grand jackpot prize — a free subscription to the service.
States' competition increases
The Australian federation disintegrates as the state governments openly compete with each other in a range of government services and money-raising ventures.
New South Wales passes legislation swapping taxes for a criminal amnesty and draws the major crime syndicates from around Australia.
The Queensland government abolishes daylight savings forever and elects Ray Martin premier, which attracts most of Australia's pensioners and their superannuation savings.
The South Australian government secures long-term rights to the Grand Prix, the TV show Gladiators and the year 2000 Olympics.
In response, the Victorian government leases itself as a province of China and opens 17 new casinos.
The Tasmanian government, not quite grasping the idea of competition, raises taxes in an effort to attract honest business people who like to see their tax dollars going into government services. Victoria buys the debt-ridden state in 1997.