Writer
Mungo McCallum
Mungo MacCallum is a veteran political journalist and commentator. His books include Run Johnny Run, Poll Dancing, and Punch and Judy. mungomccallum@staging-johnmenadue.kinsta.cloud
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Vale Richard di Natale.
Richard di Natale left his party much as he led it without fuss or fanfare, quiet, reasonable, and always at a certain distance from the turmoil of parliamentary conflict. Continue reading »
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Scott Morrison’s marketing of a vaccine is true to form
Morrison is offering not a solution but a thought bubble, something to keep us going until some other rabbit can be pulled out of his well worn hat of illusions. But the fact that it has already been dismissed as so much puffery by both AstraZeneca itself and by the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories who are Continue reading »
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We have the least worst Minister in charge of Aged Care
Depending on your choice of cliche the aged care portfolio may be seen as a minefield, a poisoned chalice or a suicide mission – a high risk activity best avoided. Continue reading »
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Morrison can’t bluff his way out of the aged care crisis
I will turn 80 next year, which means that the issue of aged care is rapidly assuming more than academic significance. Continue reading »
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The Ruby Princess fiasco, deaths and damage.
This was not just another Covid cluster – it was a full on Covid cluster fuck, brought to you in glorious 20-20 hindsight and quadrophonic dodging and denial. Continue reading »
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The federal government is hiding under the covers
Having tried pleas, threats, restrictions, lockdowns, fines and closures in vain, our political masters are now apparently cutting to the melodramatic climax: scare the living crap out of us writes Mungo MacCallum. Continue reading »
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University Failures and Canberra parsimony.
Cynical, short-sighted and gutless – everything a proper university should eschew. But perhaps the teachers have been taking lessons from their political masters. If so, both deserve a fail. Continue reading »
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Some good news emerging from the bad
Another month, another setback – several, unfortunately. With preparations for the budget being finalised in an atmosphere of quiet desperation, COVID-19 is now clearly out of control. Continue reading »
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It’s a terrible thing to say, but Joel Fitzgibbon is rapidly turning into Labor’s answer to Barnaby Joyce
We hasten to add that we are not comparing him to the Beetrooter’s personal failings, but his drift away from the political mainstream. Continue reading »
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A second wave of relief for Morrison
We would never dream of accusing Scott Morrison of being relieved by the onset of the second wave of coronavirus, but nonetheless it has postponed a nagging Jobseeker problem for him. Continue reading »
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An obituary for our native flora,fauna and habitat.
The essential reform…the appointment of “an independent cop on the beat” to remove politics from a system infested by donors and lobbyists, mainly miners and developers. Continue reading »
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Economic recovery is their only target, but do they have a plan?
The consensus is in: the economy rules, okay? Finally, what remains of the national cabinet is essentially united. Continue reading »
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The Queen’s plausible denial is risible
The queen did not pull the trigger. But she, her family and her closest advisers were well and truly in the loop during the events of 1975. And since 1975 was all about politics, the neutrality of the crown is irrevocably compromised. Continue reading »
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A second wave of economic stimulus
If this isn’t the dreaded second wave of COVID-19, it will do until the real thing comes along. Continue reading »
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The absurdity of border protection
Closing borders never really works. The Great Wall of China eventually crumbled and in modern times there were always trickles through the Iron Curtain (incorporating the Berlin Wall) until the trickles became an outbreak. Continue reading »
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Morrison and Sebastian, exemplars of Australian art
I have nothing against pop singers, Some of them are very nice people, generous, tolerant, kind to children and dogs. And they give pleasure to many Australians. Continue reading »
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A win’s a win in Eden-Monaro
A messy and unedifying campaign – gaffes, sabotage and dirty tricks. And a pretty ordinary result in the Eden-Monaro by-election. Continue reading »
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Our dream run over COVID has come to an end
Australia awoke last week to the strains of Spike Milligan’s poignant refrain, “I’m walking backwards to Christmas.” Continue reading »
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Knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Universities are not, and must never be, walled citadels – protected enclaves sheltering from the societies that surround and nurture them. Continue reading »
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Bloody Vics!
Déjà vu all over again. In the dim, dark ages before I even arrived in Canberra, I was writing stories about the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party – its bullying exclusion, its factional resistance to change, its impotent failure to rise from opposition to offer its disillusioned supporters even a sniff of electoral Continue reading »
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What to do with monuments!
New statues commemorating heroes like Pemulwuy and other great leaders of the indigenous resistance must be accorded pride of place in a reconciled nation. Continue reading »
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Hypothetical protests cost not worth the hyperventilation
Shock, horror. Someone has been tested positive to COVID-19 after the Black Lives Matter protest in Melbourne and Peter Dutton is terrified – his worst fears have been realized, he hyperventilated. Continue reading »
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There has to be better reason for a beer and a barbecue.
No real Australian would ever knock back the chance of a day off. But having said that. surely it is time for the meaningless ritual of the Queen’s birthday to be consigned to its use by date. Continue reading »
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MUNGO MACCALLUM. The patience of our first nation, while remarkable, is not inexhaustible.
Whether we like it or not, it doesn’t take much for racism to come out of the underbelly of this country. We only have to think back to Cronulla in 2005. And of course the Adam Goodes story just last year. Continue reading »
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The G7 and Trump’s protege
Coming from anyone else, an invitation for Australia to participate in the G7 meeting would be seen as a tremendous compliment. Continue reading »
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MUNGO MACCALLUM. Scott Morrison’s cooing of doves.
Morrison has finally built a store of political credit through his deft and lucky handling of the COVID-19 crisis and obviously believes that as long as he keeps moving, there is a fair chance that the punters will forgive him for a few mishaps. Continue reading »
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MUNGO MACALLUM. Thanks to Jenny Hocking’s indefatigable efforts, national pride has been salvaged.
It has taken more than 40 years, but Australian social democracy has prevailed over British hereditary privilege. Continue reading »
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MUNGO MACCALLUM. The miracle of being two-faced and saving both faces
In the end, it was all about saving face. The dodgy compromise resolution to set up an inquiry over the origins of coronavirus left everyone claiming a win. Continue reading »
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MUNGO MACCALLUM. Angus Taylor’s thought bubbles: from the second rate to the already discredited
Our current government has become inordinately keen on producing road maps, and its most recent cartographer is our constantly embarrassed and embarrassing energy minister, Angus Taylor. Continue reading »
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MUNGO MACCALLUM. The gruesome twosome’s crystal ball
In last week’s truncated edition of parliament, Scott Morrison declared stridently that he did not have a crystal ball. Continue reading »
