Writer
P&I Guest Archive
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Minister! Let them work.
There is a growing number of asylum seekers living in the community who are not allowed to work. The new Minister, Brendan O’Connor, could put his stamp on the portfolio by immediately making a decision to allow almost all asylum seekers to work. The present policy of denial of work is cruel, denies the dignity Continue reading »
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Corporate bullies
Public debate and the development of good policy are being steadily corrupted by the success of powerful lobby groups to quickly close down debate and force retreat by the government. This tactic is assisted by a timid government and a media that has little understanding of policy issues, and is only too prepared to recycle Continue reading »
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The Bad Samaritan. Guest blogger Greg at Cottesloe
You don’t have to be Christian to get it about helping sick or injured strangers but the parable of the kindly Samaritan does have its limits. What happens when the Samaritan notices the packet of smokes and the crumpled betting tickets? Irritation then becomes outrage – could that be a bottle of liquor in Continue reading »
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Teaching ‘medical English’ in Vietnam. Guest blogger Kerry Goulston
Vietnamese medical students realise that English is the international language of Medicine. They can read it well—all have Laptops or i-pads and have easy access to radio and TV- but they know that they have problems in understanding spoken English and in speaking it. It is a language very different from their own but in Continue reading »
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Sport and Markets. Guest blogger: Ian McAuley
We are all suitably shocked by Justice Minister Jason Clare’s announcement of the findings of the Australian Crime Commission’s investigation into the use of prohibited substances and links to organized crime in sports. I heard his solemn announcement as I was driving home, past our local croquet club, and wondered if any code was exempt. Continue reading »
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Japanese Amnesia. Guest blogger: Susan Menadue Chun
In the Washington Post articles http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/japan-must-face-the-past/2013/01/25/7a9b9244-6713-11e2-85f5-a8a9228e55e7_story.html Jennifer Lind describes how Japanese conservative politicians have been playing a potentially dangerous game in disputes with neighbouring countries. The dispute arises mainly because of Japan’s inability to acknowledge its past aggression. The current Japanese hostility to neighbours is in part designed to distract national attention away from the country’s Continue reading »
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New leadership on Asylum seekers
Yesterday, Crikey published an article by Arja Keski-Nummi and me on the opportunities for the new Minister for Immigration to break the impasse on asylum seekers. You can find it at my website johnmenadue.com. Continue reading »
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Can the media spell ‘policy’?
A friend of mine, Ian McAuley, has drawn attention to an election study by the ANU’s Institute for Public Policy Trends. It covers elections 1987-2010. The study shows conclusively that our media is badly out of touch with what the public wants. For the 2010 federal election campaign, the study asked voters what were the Continue reading »
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Cricket – Junk food and BUPA
I used to be a grafted-on cricket watcher. But I am being weaned off. One reason is that there is so much cricket on TV that the quality suffers. I mostly turn off the audio and although the camera work is superb, I can’t turn off the unhealthy diet of fast-food and beer advertisements that Continue reading »
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Handle with Care. Guest blogger: Greg from Cottesloe
When I was a kid, the pictures on Saturday afternoons were a highlight of the week. Before the main feature, the cartoons and even the Pathe newsreel would come one of the top favourites, a government warning on the danger of keeping unexploded ammunition in homes. Mortar bombs often featured; unlike bullets and other Continue reading »
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Federal Election bits and pieces
There was nothing new in the timing of the next election announced by Julia Gillard. There wasn’t much doubt that it would be some time in August or September. There may be a marginal benefit for the government in the early announcement. It has some major policy issues to outline – Gonski reforms, national disability Continue reading »
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Nova Peris and the Captain’s pick
Julia Gillard’s action in parachuting Nova Peris into the Northern Territory senate seat is understandable. The ALP machinery is so decrepit and undemocratic that occasional use of power by the parliamentary leader is necessary. Party members have left the ALP in droves over the years. It is a ramshackle organisation that is so easy to Continue reading »
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Rio Tinto – Corporate Governance and Asia
Since 2007 Rio Tinto has written off $US 35 billion in failed investments. It must be a world record. There are probably more write-downs to come with its investments in Mozambique coal and in aluminium in North America. Tom Albanese has been sacrificed but the remainder of the Rio Tinto board are apparently unscathed. They have been too lax with shareholders Continue reading »
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Australian media and President Park Geun-Hye of ROK
If we want to be serious about our future in the ‘Asian Century’ we will need to start with our media. The election of President Park Geun-Hye in ROK in December last year was a very significant event, but it passed in the Australian media with only the briefest of mentions. (The same could be Continue reading »
