Not sure if this fits best here, in International General Discussion or Political Geography and Demographics, so the Boardbashi can move it as he sees fit. PG&D is probably the best fit, but it seems more focused on the US. I think it fits better here than IGD because it's not really news, but rather an analysis of demographic trends. Regardless, I'll leave it in the hands of the Boardbashi.Bernard Salt would have to be one of my favourite Australian social commentators, even though he rarely discusses political issues, and certainly never from a partisan perspective. He has a weekly op-ed piece in the property section of
The Australian, which is usually summarised by a journalist or two in a separate article earlier in the paper (in other words, I suspect he does the research, prepares a short essay, which is then summarised).
As a demographer, he usually analyses population trends, which he frequently discusses in terms of geographic location, even if he doesn't map them (sometimes he does, sometimes he just describes the location - but always looking for trends... showing how a group characterised in a particular way lives in inner-suburbia in each of the capitals, or outer-suburbia in each of the capitals, etc, backed up by naming specific locations).
Today's articles are particularly interesting from a psephological perspective. While most of his articles have a direct application in explaining voter behaviour, the prominance of interest rates specifically, and the economy generally, in election campaigns has seen outer-suburban swing seats referred to in the media as the "mortgage belt." Today he analyses this mortgage belt and the impact it has on election campaigns.
Today's ArticleThe closer to the edge, the tighter the mortgage belt
