Tag Archives: The Guardian

FRANK BRENNAN, TIM COSTELLO, ROBERT MANNE and JOHN MENADUE. We can stop the boats and also act decently, fairly and transparently

Posted on 15 February 2017

The only way forward in dealing with Manus Island and Nauru is for bipartisan commitment to keep the boats stopped while settling refugees in Australia.

Posted in Human Rights, Refugees, Immigration | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

CHRISTINA HO. Hothoused and hyper-racialised ethnic imbalance in our selective schools.

Posted on 6 January 2017

This is a repost from November 3, 2016.  “Across Sydney students from a language background other than English (LBOTE) regularly make up 80% or 90% of enrolments in selective schools.” As families increasingly turn away from their local public schools, … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Politics, Refugees, Immigration | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

JOHN MENADUE. White man’s media – Rupert Murdoch’s faulty memory.

Posted on 21 December 2016

Rupert Murdoch has asserted again that he has never asked anything from any Prime Minister. 

Posted in Media, Politics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

PAUL DALEY. Why Australia Day and Anzac Day helped create a national ‘cult of forgetfulness’.

Posted on 22 October 2016

Australia Day and Anzac Day are months away. But I’m getting in early. It’s beyond time Australia cast off these sturdy cultural crutches that both, somehow, define national birth, so we can discover who and what we truly are. Australia … Continue reading →

Posted in Defence/Security, Media, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Racists aren’t welcome here: how we kicked a racist passenger off the bus.

Posted on 23 August 2016

A nice story from The Guardian ‘Our better angels’ .  See link below.  John Menadue http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/19/racists-arent-welcome-here-how-we-kicked-a-racist-passenger-off-the-bus?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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Migration experts say it is unlikely closing camps on Manus and Nauru islands would re-start boats. We are beyond that point.

Posted on 16 August 2016

See link below – article by Ben Doherty in The Guardian, 16 August 2016. It includes an interview with me, Peter Hughes and others, on the need to act quickly to process in Australia, the detainees presently held in Manus … Continue reading →

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In the service of empires from Fromelles to the present day.

Posted on 19 July 2016

See link below to article by Paul Daley in the Guardian ‘Australians didn’t sacrifice themselves at Fromelles, the British sacrificed them’.  John Menadue. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/postcolonial-blog/2016/jul/19/australians-didnt-sacrifice-themselves-at-fromelles-the-british-sacrificed-them?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+AUS+v1+-+AUS+morning+mail+callout&utm_term=182252&subid=18184347&CMP=ema_632

Posted in Defence/Security, Politics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

‘Refugees don’t self-harm because of me, Peter Dutton, they self-harm because of you.’

Posted on 9 May 2016

One of the many disappointments of Malcolm Turnbull’s prime ministership is that he reappointed Peter Dutton as Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. This disappointment is reinforced by his attempt to blame refugee advocates rather than his own policies for … Continue reading →

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John Menadue. Are Conservatives better economic managers?

Posted on 3 May 2016

According to opinion polls the public clearly believe that Conservatives are better economic managers. Like other Conservative leaders, Malcolm Turnbull keeps asserting that this is so.  Tonight in the budget, Scott Morrison will probably tell us about the importance of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What a godsend politicians and journalists are to ISIS.

Posted on 26 March 2016

In The Guardian, Simon Jenkins writes about the way that the ISIS recruiting officers will be thrilled at how things have gone since their atrocity in Belgium.  He points particularly to the ‘paranoid politicians and sensational journalists’ who have perhaps … Continue reading →

Posted in Defence/Security, International Affairs, Media, Politics, Refugees, Immigration | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Which country has the world’s best healthcare system?

Posted on 26 February 2016

On 9 February, the Guardian published a report on health systems around the world. It drew particularly on analysis of ratings by the Commonwealth Fund and its correspondents around the world. The UK’s national health service was ranked number one … Continue reading →

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What’s holding back the world economy.

Posted on 21 February 2016

In this article from The Guardian, Joseph Stiglitz points to the slow growth rates in the developed world and the reasons for them. He says that ‘In the US, quantitative easing did not boost consumption and investment partly because most … Continue reading →

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Brad Chilcott. I donated a kidney to my son. Don’t tell me not to make it ‘political’.

Posted on 25 January 2016

In early December, I went into surgery to give my eight-year-old son Harrison my left kidney. He heard me groaning in recovery as the anaesthetist put him to sleep a few hours later so that he could receive it. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Politics | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Stan Grant. The Australian Dream!

Posted on 24 January 2016

 

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Turkey and Daesh

Posted on 9 December 2015

In this blog on 6 December 2015 ‘Turkey’s new neighbour – Daesh (Islamic State)‘  John Tulloh referred to an article by David Graeber in The Guardian on how Turkey is obstructing Kurdish forces that are the most effective opponents of … Continue reading →

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Nauru and the Philippines

Posted on 9 October 2015

Three days ago, on 6 October, I posted a story ‘Nauru and the Philippines‘. That story carried an unconfirmed report that the Australian government was negotiating with the Philippines government for the transfer of 600 asylum seekers in Nauru to … Continue reading →

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John Howard on political Royal Commissions.

Posted on 11 July 2015

Last September John Howard said ‘I am uneasy about the idea of having Royal Commissions or enquiries into essentially a political decision. … I don’t think you should ever begin to go down the American path of using the law … Continue reading →

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Tributes to Malcolm Fraser.

Posted on 22 March 2015

See below, tributes from Fred Chaney and Robert Manne on Malcolm Fraser’s achievements in public life. John Mendue. Fred Chaney in The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/20/malcolm-fraser-a-leader-who-believed-there-is-a-moral-compass-in-our-nations-life Robert Manne in The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/20/frasers-great-conservative-achievement-cementing-whitlams-progress-on-race

Posted in Defence/Security, Human Rights, Indigenous affairs, International Affairs, Politics, Refugees, Immigration, Tributes | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

We should expect more.

Posted on 1 March 2015

In this article in The Guardian, Richard Flanagan, the Booker Prize winner, refers to the increasing ugliness in Australian public life.  He says ‘Writing my novel “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” I came to conclude that great crimes … Continue reading →

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Climate change – If only!

Posted on 17 February 2015

Last Saturday David Cameron, the British PM, Nick Clegg, the Deputy PM and Leader of the Liberal Democrats, and Ed Milliband, Leader of the British Labour Party, signed a joint pledge on climate change. The three leaders agreed on three … Continue reading →

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Is religion the cause of war and violence in the Middle East and elsewhere?

Posted on 20 December 2014

We are consistently seeing the ghastly side of Islam with public beheadings but we also need to keep in mind the ghastly side of Christianity which was so evidence during the Crusades. Many conclude that religion, now and in the … Continue reading →

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Australia is worst performing industrial country on climate change.

Posted on 9 December 2014

For the Lima Conference on Climate Change that has just begun, a report by the think-tank Germanwatch and Climate Action Network Europe examined the 58 emitters of greenhouse gasses in the world, and about 90% of all energy-related emissions. The … Continue reading →

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As the Berlin wall fell, checks on capitalism crumbled.

Posted on 5 November 2014

The Economics Editor of the Guardian, Larry Elliott, describes how capitalism is facing an increasing crisis. He says that after the fall of the Berlin wall, we have seen the dark side of the post-Cold War model. Instead of trickle-down, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Politics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Secrecy and Propaganda.

Posted on 21 September 2014

Yesterday Richard Ackland in theGuardian.com highlighted the way that the media cooperated with the government in the propaganda about raids on potential Muslim terrorists in Sydney and Melbourne. Both the NSW and Commonwealth Governments spared no effort to highlight the … Continue reading →

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