Search Results
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Police shouldn’t be able to investigate themselves. Victoria needs an independent police accountability body
This week, a new report revealed First Nations people, as well as people of African or Middle Eastern appearance, were disproportionately targeted by police in issuing COVID-19 fines. Continue reading »
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American security establishment continues the persecution of Assange
News that the FBI continues its investigation into the case around Assange appears to have taken both supporters and the Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus by surprise. Continue reading »
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Without action, government apologies at historic Yoorrook Commission are hollow
Australia’s first Aboriginal-led Royal Commission recently completed a month of public hearings during which Commissioners questioned Victorian government ministers and senior bureaucrats about injustices against First Peoples in the criminal justice and child protection systems. Continue reading »
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Anti-Christian hate crimes in Jerusalem soaring this year
Church sources accuse Israeli police of downplaying acts of violence towards them, and attribute Jews’ vandalism to a growing national legitimisation of discrimination. Continue reading »
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Andrew Bacevich: American Imperium – Untangling truth and fiction in an age of perpetual US wars (Repost from 1/1/2018)
‘Republicans and Democrats disagree today on many issues, but they are united in their resolve that the United States must remain the world’s greatest military power. In its most benign form, the consensus finds expression in extravagant and unremitting displays of affection for those who wear the uniform. Considerably less benign is a pronounced enthusiasm Continue reading »
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Can someone in government explain why we are buying tanks?
When did US generals become arbiters of Australia’s strategic policy like it’s some banana republic. Continue reading »
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Space invaders: better broadband or sky vandalism?
We must ensure that private companies placing objects in space don’t create another environmental disaster like the plastic pollution in our oceans. Continue reading »
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Melbourne riots shake public trust in reliability of mainstream media
There is strong evidence that Melbourne’s four days of street riots by angry young men claiming to be construction workers were fomented by right-wing extremists who used social media to radicalise unemployed or locked-down young men. They look to have modelled themselves on Trump supporters storming the Capitol. Continue reading »
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Saturday’s good reading and listening for the weekend
What people in other forums are saying about public policy. Continue reading »
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Barry Jones speech for the Monash Medal at the Rotary Club of Melbourne 4.8.2021
The soldiers had to have a representative hero who was a volunteer; he was acceptable to the community as a seemingly unpretentious outsider, not really part of the Establishment. His commanding intellect was sensed as well as his basic honesty and decency. He was one tall poppy who was never cut down. Continue reading »
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The misuse of Covid app data by police and others.
There ought also to be heavy penalties and sanctions for the leadership of the police, law enforcement and security agencies when they facilitate or turn a blind eye to, the unlawful gathering of data such as Covid tracing app data. Continue reading »
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Assange ruling sensible, but no implications for press freedom
The judge accepted the legal arguments presented by US lawyers, saw no inherent threat of potential injustice, but denied the extradition request on health grounds. However, dumping, unfiltered, thousands of files on to the web is not journalism. Continue reading »
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NBN update. Let’s not compound a history of poor policymaking by people who claim to be good economic managers
In years to come Malcolm Turnbull will be remembered as the communications minister who, under instruction from then prime minister Tony Abbott, ‘demolished’ Labor’s 21st Century National Broadband Network. But another prominent politician had earlier inflicted enduring damage to any nascent aim of becoming an innovation nation and set us back as a player in Continue reading »
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Bowling Tips from John Howard
Former Prime Minister John Howard loved cricket as much as he loved war-making. Problem was he was terrible at the former and successful at the latter. Continue reading »
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A white flag moment on the NBN was inevitable.
This week’s capitulation – that’s what it is – by communications minister Paul Fletcher sets us on a course that hopefully will see Australia start moving in the right direction again as we head further into a digitally-enabled future. It’s a welcomed move, but we’d be wise to take a close look at the detail Continue reading »
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LAURIE PATTON. The Opposition Leader is correct. We need a decentralisation plan
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is right. In his latest vision speech he pointed to the benefits of decentralisation. It’s time we stopped cramming more and more people into already overcrowded cities. Continue reading »
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Badly designed. Badly marketed. The virus that has infected the Australian government
In the same week that Labor front-benchers Kristina Keneally and Tim Watts released a discussion paper examining Australia’s cyber resilience the Government was battling to convince us to download an app that IT experts and lawyers warn has basic design flaws. Continue reading »
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LAURIE PATTON. Three Blind Mice – Caught in the Netflix trap
Australia’s commercial television networks are in trouble. Not simply because of the Coronavirus but because they failed to develop effective strategies to counter the arrival of Netflix and other ‘streaming’ platforms – something anticipated long before it happened. Continue reading »
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LAURIE PATTON. Public administration accountability is not what it used to be!
Blame shifting between state and federal government agencies over how a cruise ship carrying people suspected to have the Coronavirus was allowed into the port of Sydney has shown up, yet again, the lack of public administration accountability in this country. Continue reading »
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LAURIE PATTON. A virtual solution to 21st Century government
As most of us are holed-up in our homes working or studying online as a response to the Coronavirus a bunch of politicians are ignoring medical advice and gathering together in Canberra. Perhaps it’s time for a virtual parliament? Continue reading »
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LAURIE PATTON. Let’s add fixing the NBN to our post Coronavirus planning
People are being required to work from home. Students are doing lessons online. Telehealth consultations are now being bulk-billed. All this will change the way we use the Internet forever. Continue reading »
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LAURIE PATTON. An opportunity for the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission to prove its mettle
The National COVID-19 Coordination Commission provides an opportunity for Australia to start planning for a post Coronavirus era – let’s begin by fixing the NBN. Continue reading »
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LAURIE PATTON. Telstra bells the broadband cat and spays NBN Co.
Telstra’s decision this week to only offer a maximum 50Mbps plan to more than half its NBN customers is another setback in the quest for #BetterBroadband. Continue reading »
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LAURIE PATTON. School’s Out – Time for better governance and oversight in the education sector
The principal resigned, his deputy stood aside, but apparently the school board knew nothing. Continue reading »
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ANDREW PODGER. In defence of an apolitical, professional public service( The Mandarin 24.2.2020)
I cannot let Laurie Patton’s opinion piece go unchallenged. It is a recipe of despair in its dismissal of fundamental principles of responsible government. Continue reading »
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LAURIE PATTON. Sports rorts shows need for public sector re-think
The buck has to stop somewhere. Despite the prime minister’s best efforts when it comes to the so-called ‘sport rorts’ affair it’s unlikely to stop with a temporarily sacked minister. Continue reading »
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How the OTIS group did Albanese a favour
A group of disgruntled federal Labor politicians known as the OTIS group and dubbed by some the ‘outside the inner sanctum group’ has helped Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese in a number of ways they probably didn’t intend. Continue reading »
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LAURIE PATTON. NBN latest: Oh dear, what can the matter be?
I’ve argued before, the only viable solution is to start replacing all the dud technology and that requires that we take the politics out and develop a bipartisan solution. Continue reading »
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LAURIE PATTON. The Data Retention Act. How not to introduce complex legislation.
Appearing before a Parliamentary inquiry into the Data Retention Act the Commonwealth Ombudsman Michael Manthorpe revealed that law enforcement agencies have obtained individuals’ web browsing history without a warrant. Continue reading »
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LAURIE PATTON. Overexposed – let’s hear from someone else!
In the film classic Casablanca, whenever a crime is committed the local police captain orders his officers to round up the usual suspects. Political commentary, in fact public commentary in general in Australia suffers from the Casablanca effect. The same old bunch of over-opinionated fringe players who see themselves as instant experts on anything and Continue reading »