Jobs summit shows urgency of problem

KEY POINTS The October jobless number crossed a red line politically. The administration's ability to rein in spending is limited.

Full steam ahead: paying a high price for coal's Holy Grail

ALLAN Blood is upbeat about the prospects for Victoria's vast reserves of much-maligned brown coal. To some, his attitude will seem counter-intuitive, given mounting concerns about climate change. But the West Australian resources entrepreneur paints a rosy picture of a future in which the Victorian Government gets its policies "right": when it opens up its coalfields for a range of uses, not just for burning in local power stations; when it approves the use of caverns under Gippsland to store the gases that come from the "cleaning" of coal; and when it helps build a vast network of pipes and other infrastructure to carry with ease coal gas and products for export.