Writer
P&I Guest Archive
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JOE ASTON AND MYRIAM ROBIN. Clean hands? How five Scott Morrison supporters voted to get rid of Turnbull. (AFR 17.9.2018)
Make no mistake, this new PM stood by the last one just like he stood by the one before. Like Brutus stood by Caesar. Continue reading »
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DAVID DODWELL. Keep Calm and carry on amid the current state of the trade war, for time is on China’s side. (South China Morning Post 16.9.2018)
Over the weekend, Donald Trump’s trade team invited Beijing to fresh trade talks. Almost simultaneously, tweets from the White House cast doubt on the talks. Is this “good cop, bad cop” tactics? Or routine erratic signalling? How is one to respond, given how much the world economy is at stake? Having mulled this conundrum carefully Continue reading »
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ROD TIFFIN. Murdoch and Stokes
If the Liberal leadership upheaval was a Muppet show, as Scott Morrison described it, Rupert Murdoch and Kerry Stokes have been revealed as its Statler and Waldorf. Muppets fans will remember the two cantankerous old men who heckled from the sidelines. The media moguls did not publicly heckle, but their behind the scenes barracking was Continue reading »
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WAYNE SWAN. Ten years after the crash, tax competition threatens global economies and democracies.
Ten years ago, the global financial system was rocked by the largest crisis since the Great Depression. Continue reading »
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ANDREW PROBYN. What did Rupert Murdoch and Kerry Stokes have to do with the Liberal leadership spill? (ABC News, 18.09.18)
Malcom Turnbull’s demise as Australia’s 29th prime minister was unusual for many reasons, and truly unique for one: his was the first known prime ministership to be the subject of a billionaires’ tug of war between the nation’s most powerful media moguls. Continue reading »
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JOE ASTON. Rupert Murdoch to Kerry Stokes: “Malcolm has to go.” (AFR 18.9.2018)
Murdoch met with Seven West proprietor Kerry Stokes …… “Malcolm has got to go,” he told the Perth billionaire. (This abuse of power by media barons is appalling.There is strong case for Bill Shorten to propose a Royal Commission into this unacceptable abuse of power and the general failure of our main stream media on issues such Continue reading »
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MEREDITH DOIG. Open Letter to Scott Morrison upon becoming Prime Minister.
Dear Prime Minister, The Rationalist Society of Australia (RSA) congratulates you upon becoming the 30th Prime Minister of Australia. We have two concerns we would like to raise with you: firstly, your Government’s response to the Ruddock Report, and secondly, your urging Australians to pray for rain in drought affected areas. Continue reading »
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JAMIE LINGHAM. The changing face of Australian immigration.
Now more than ever we need to work together as a nation to address the immigration department and the mechanisms of safe passage, and put a stop to Australia’s unacceptable practices and inhumane treatment of individuals. Continue reading »
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MAUREEN DOWD. Trump Finally Makes a Friend (New York Times, 15.09.18)
The president may be shunned nearly everywhere but at the bottom of the world he has finally found a loyal mate. Continue reading »
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ERIN O’DONNELL, AVRIL HORNE. Giving environmental water to drought-stricken farmers sounds straightforward, but it’s a bad idea (The Conversation, 18.09.18)
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack last week suggested the government would look at changing the law to allow water to be taken from the environment and given to farmers struggling with the drought. Continue reading »
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NICOLE GIBSON. A Letter to Canberra from a young Australian.
“Each Australian story I’ve heard is etched on my heart, permanently shifting my views and perspectives on leadership. I pray that you also have the humility to silence the chatter in your own minds and be inspired by the people you represent.” Continue reading »
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BIANCA BRIJNATH. Improving dementia awareness in Australia’s multicultural communities can mean better care for all.
Sheila holds 10 teaspoons in her hands and every time the cooker whistles, she puts one down. After 10 whistles, she switches the cooker off. The rice is done. She takes down two pots and prepares one of the five vegetable dishes she remembers. When dinner arrives at the table, there are two places set Continue reading »
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JIEH-YUNG LO. Reflections of a Chinese-Australian.
To ensure we remain as the world’s most successful multicultural society, it is important to get the China debate right from now on to prevent the re-emergence of sinophobia in Australia. Continue reading »
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JAMES FERNYHOUGH. Ten years on, there’s just one positive legacy of the Global Financial Crisis.
“No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he’d only had good intentions; he had money as well.” Continue reading »
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TAMSIN SHAW. Edward Snowden Reconsidered (New York Review of Books Daily 13.09.18)
This summer, the fifth anniversary of Edward Snowden’s revelations about NSA surveillance passed quietly, adrift on a tide of news that now daily sweeps the ground from under our feet. It has been a long five years, and not a period marked by increased understanding, transparency, or control of our personal data. In these years, Continue reading »
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HYLDA ROLFE. Protection v exploitation – Uncertain outlook for National Parks in New South Wales
A common framework for crime fiction builds on the notion of a heavy character leaning on target persons in order to ‘encourage’ them to fund the provision of protection from even heavier characters. Hoping for security, the targets oblige and meet more and more demands, until at last they baulk. So then the heavies appear Continue reading »
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FRAN BAUM and TOBY FREEMAN. Time for the reform of primary health care in Australia: a ten-point plan (Croakey, 12.09.18)
12 September)marks 40 years since the World Health Organization member countries gathered for the International Conference on Primary Health Care in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and signed off on the declaration of Alma-Ata. Continue reading »
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GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND
A regular collection of links to writings and broadcasts covered in other media. Continue reading »
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JOSEPH NYE. The two sides of American exceptionalism (Project Syndicate, 5.09.18)
In July, I joined 43 other scholars of international relations in paying for a newspaper advertisement arguing that the US should preserve the current international order. The institutions that make up this order have contributed to “unprecedented levels of prosperity and the longest period in modern history without war between major powers. US leadership helped Continue reading »
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Bishop Long and other religious leaders denounce asylum-seeker policy.
Parramatta Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv. has joined other faith leaders in denouncing Australia’s indefinite detention of refugees and asylum-seekers on Nauru and Manus Island. Continue reading »
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LYNDSAY CONNORS. Latest OECD Education report should spark a reality check.
According to the OECD’s 2018 Education at a Glance report, one measure that places Australia in an extreme position internationally is its high proportion of private funding across the primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors. And Australia is certainly out on a limb when it comes to the public/private funding mix for private schools. Continue reading »
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PETER JANSSEN. Wealth gap remains under Thai junta rule.
PM Prayut Chan-ocha vowed to tackle the kingdom’s politicized income inequality but has failed to pass a redistributive land tax that would hit elite holdings Continue reading »
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GARRY WILLS. Resistance Means More Than Voting (New York Review of Books Daily, 10.09.18)
When former president Barack Obama called on the nation to oppose Donald Trump at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign last week, he said there was only one way to do it, by voting. This was a criticism of the internal resistance supported by the anonymous op-ed writer in The New York Times. Obama said Continue reading »
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NICK DEANE Invictus and the arms manufacturers connection.
The Invictus Games will be familiar to all who watch the ABC, their promoter and sponsor. The Games will be taking place in Sydney in October, the participants being injured service personnel from 18 countries.But why are major arms manufactures ‘official supporters’? Continue reading »
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ISHAAN THAROOR. The White House’s new attack on the international system.
In his first major policy address since joining the White House in April, national security adviser John Bolton offered a particularly aggressive demonstration of President Trump’s “America First” agenda. He threatened the International Criminal Court, a U.N.-mandated body based in The Hague, with punitive measures should it pursue an investigation into alleged U.S. war crimes Continue reading »
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MATT FLYN. The longevity dividend: how ageing populations could boost economic productivity.
People are generally living longer than previous generations across most parts of the world. Rising life expectancy is a result of advances in medicine as well as improving living standards and healthier lifestyles. But while this should be celebrated for social reasons, is it beneficial in economic terms? Does the increase in the older population Continue reading »
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HAMISH McDONALD. Australia takes immigration debate to a new low. (Nikkei Asian Review 5/9/2018)
In early August, the population of Australia reached 25 million, according to the government’s statistics bureau — more than three times its size in 1948, when I came into the world as one of 7.7 million Australians. Unlike a lot of my compatriots, I’m happy about the expansion and hope there will be many more Continue reading »
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VIC ROWLANDS. The Education funding battle and public education.
When then minister Simon Birmingham accepted the recommendations of the Gonski 2 Education funding model it was a courageous attempt to redress the mistakes of the past. His replacement post Turnbull by Dan Tehan sent a message that the traditional powerful education lobbies are still well and truly the influential players. It doesn’t auger well Continue reading »
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VIPS STEERING GROUP. Trump should involve himself in worsening Syria crisis
Respected US public interest group Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) has issued a public warning that uncontrolled escalation of the final battle for Idlib in Syria is worsening the risk of direct US-Russian military clash there. They appeal to Trump to seek better advice and to get involved. Continue reading »
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CHRISTIAN DOWNIE. Lack of climate policy threatens to trip up Australian diplomacy this summit season.
Australia has navigated a somewhat stormy passage through the Pacific Islands Forum in Nauru. Scott Morrison’s new-look government faced renewed accusations at the summit about the strength of Australia’s resolve on climate policy. Continue reading »
