All Articles
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Supporting independent public interest media
Government media funding supports the failing mainstream media (MSM) and right-wing advocacy groups like the Institute of Public Affairs. Continue reading »
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If the US and UK have any shame, they will welcome Palestine as a UN member State
This week, the U.S. and U.K. have the chance to correct decades of their blatant geopolitical errors in the Israel-Palestine conflict by welcoming Palestine as the 194th United Nations member state. More than any other countries, the U.S. and U.K. have wrecked the Middle East through their non-stop meddling and imperial arrogance. This week they Continue reading »
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Coral catastrophe signals our own undoing
Five times in the history of life on Earth the corals have perished, swept from the board by conditions hostile to nearly all life. Each time, it has taken them millions of years to evolve anew. Each mass death of corals has been accompanied by the mass deaths of most other species, on land and Continue reading »
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NDIS and Aged Care; from rights first to budget first
When she introduced the first NDIS legislation to the House of Representatives in 2012 Prime Minister Julia Gillard said it was to replace “A system that metes out support rationed by arbitrary budget allocations, not real human needs”. It was a radical break with other forms of welfare assistance because it put the human rights Continue reading »
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Sharing the benefits of technological progress
This is the first of three articles discussing how the benefits of technological progress are shared, and thus determine the distribution of income and influence our economic and social structures. This first article focuses on how these benefits have been shared historically. Continue reading »
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No substitute for US exceptionalism: Manifest destiny made manifest
Manifest Destiny, now more commonly called American Exceptionalism is a traditional and widespread view in the US. American views of its relationship with the world vary from isolationism to leadership, but the underlying base is always that the US is something special. While some may be more subtle than others, how many Americans could accept Continue reading »
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US assurance for Assange a fantasy
The United States Government’s assurance that Julian Assange would have all the protections of a US citizen in a US court is obviously a fantasy. Continue reading »
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Biden, Netanyahu and the golden rule
International politics is frequently conducted in a way that bears little or no resemblance to how it is reported in corporate and state media, nor as it is understood in academic circles. Continue reading »
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Secrets of the weapons trade
The Australian government is obscuring weapons exports to Israel despite International Court’s ruling to oppose ‘plausible genocide’. Continue reading »
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Terra nullius 2.0 – what AUKUS means for First Nations peoples
Australia will essentially become America’s military launch-pad into Asia. However, Ben Abbatangelo writes, little has been said or written about the drastic and disproportionate impacts it will have on First Nations communities in Australia. Continue reading »
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Why Australia should recognise Palestine
Formal recognition of Palestine by Australia and other allies will not, of itself, resolve the conflict, but it will lead to a political climate that helps to balance the relationship between Israel and Palestine and will push both towards a resumption of face-to-face negotiations. We urge the Australian government to maintain its support for Israel, Continue reading »
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Scientists confirm a 4th global coral bleaching event
Scientists confirm a fourth global coral bleaching event, the second in the last ten years. Continue reading »
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Knowledge and understanding deficit: The dire state of China Studies
Disgraceful gaps have emerged in our knowledge and understanding of Asian countries. This capability is essential to successful navigation of the future, as Peter Varghese and Joseph Lo Bianco have noted. Continue reading »
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The emerging spectre of American fragility: A reckoning
The United States, having learnt nothing from the 20th Century, is, quite characteristically, spoiling for a fight with one of the great success stories of our time, China, on the basis of nothing more than a doltishly unfounded fear of this success and an ever so faintly emerging spectre of American fragility. A fragility across Continue reading »
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Australia and Japan should calm tensions in the South China Sea
Geopolitical tensions are rising again in the South China Sea. President Biden’s trilateral meeting with PM Kishida from Japan and President Marcos to discuss military strategy to contain China’s perceived “coercive policy” will not help calm the waters. Continue reading »
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Independents targeting Labor voters
The Teals have targeted Liberal voters in wealthy electorates, so their focus has been on transparency, women’s rights and the environment. These are issues of concern to the Liberal-leaning who are unhappy with many coalition policies. I expect this to continue in the next election. However, we need to focus on the strategy to adopt Continue reading »
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Apparition, Ghosthunter, Fallowhaunt – what our intelligence agencies do in the shadows
A recent intelligence controversy in New Zealand is a telling lesson about how little influence junior parties like New Zealand and Australia have over allied intelligence operations. Continue reading »
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The West now wants ‘restraint’- after months of fuelling a genocide in Gaza
The Middle East is on the brink of war precisely because western politicians indulged for decades every military excess by Israel. Continue reading »
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Australia’s leadership is destroying the very fabric of this country
Some days I wake up and don’t recognise the country we have become. It is not the country I grew up in. It is not a country I can be proud of. It is not a country that has a bright future under current leadership. Continue reading »
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Podcast: Herzl’s Nightmare — one land, two peoples
Paul Collins interviews former Australian Ambassador to Israel, Peter Rodgers, on the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Zionist movement and the creation of the Israeli state, and the ongoing crisis in Gaza. Continue reading »
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Intervention to stop genocide: From investigative reporting to freedom flotillas
The leader of South Africa’s Palestine Solidarity Alliance insists that the ruling of the International Court of Justice ‘requires the whole world to play their part to stop genocide unfolding in Gaza.’ Continue reading »
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Why does Australia want to be so suicidal?
Australian leadership is no longer an embarrassment at UNFCCC COPs. Nonetheless, Australia’s participation in the fossil fuel industry, including through new projects, is not putting us on the fastest path to net zero. Will we miss our “brief and rapidly closing window” to secure a liveable future? Continue reading »
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Responding to tragedy
Much has already been said and written about the recent tragic stabbings at Bondi Junction. Daily, we are also exposed to stories about the ravages of war, hopefully neither suppressing nor being overwhelmed by them. As a funeral celebrant, I am familiar with, but never complacent about death and suffering – indeed, it is a Continue reading »
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A new 60-day prescription policy may halve your visits to the GP and pharmacy
The changes will be particularly helpful for women living with conditions including epilepsy, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel diseases and more. Continue reading »
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Modi will win again. But India may well end up the loser
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to win a third consecutive term in office in general elections in which voting begins on April 19 and runs over seven days. Continue reading »
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“Seamless integration”: Japan to become sub-contractor for US aggression towards China
‘New era for alliance’ headlined the right wing Japan Times after the Japan-US summit talks in Washington this week between President Biden and Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida.. But not everyone was so enthused. Continue reading »
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The notion of China as “uninvestable” is simply wrong
Despite challenges, including the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and structural concerns, voices from within the business community underscore a robust economic outlook. Continue reading »
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Pope Francis has abandoned transgender Catholics
In a recent official Declaration on Human Dignity, Dignitas Infinita, the Pope has endorsed a document that effectively outlaws sex change for transgender Catholics. The Declaration is both harsh and unrelenting in its tone, dismissive of new science and judgemental of those Catholics who in good faith make life choices contrary to the edicts of Continue reading »
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The end of occupation: A state of Palestine at the UN
UNSC approval of the application for Palestine to become a full UN member state this week would necessarily lead to the end of the occupation. One UN member state cannot occupy the land of another. In the present circumstances, a US veto of Palestinian statehood would make America look ridiculous. It would be seen as Continue reading »