Writer
Noel Turnbull
Noel Turnbull has had a 40-year-plus career in public relations, politics, journalism and academia. He blogs at http://noelturnbull.com/blog/
-
Debunking misinformation and climate change
It might be surprising given the scale of the problem, but there is an emerging consensus about the current status of the science of misinformation and its debunking in respect to climate change. Continue reading »
-
Who is Australia’s worst Health Minister? How does Greg Hunt rate?
In the past 50 years, Australia has had 23 health ministers. But who is the worst? Continue reading »
-
Take a closer look – the art galleries among victims of the pandemic
There are many things so many of us have missed during lockdowns that it is difficult to make a list – or even start to develop one in ranked order – even though there has been plenty of time to think about it. Continue reading »
-
A nauseating colonial cringe by our media for an upper class Steptoe.
The BBC scrapped all regular programming to cover Prince Phillip’s death. The complaints roared in from viewers, listeners and online followers who complained that it was all too much and they wanted their regular programs back Continue reading »
-
A tale of two Morrisons
There are two Morrisons who have confronted sexism in their ranks. One, David, showed leadership. The other, Scott, showed the antithesis of leadership. Continue reading »
-
Have unions healed their racist past?
When Federation occurred in 1901 trade unions and conservative politicians were agreed on one thing – keeping Australia white. Continue reading »
-
Is technology the only way to solve technology-driven misinformation?
Technology-driven misinformation has become so powerful that it is impossible to reply on individuals to sift through the ‘facts’. Is technology-driven truth detection our only way out? Continue reading »
-
How to tackle the dangerous epidemic of fake news and conspiracy theories.
The Macquarie Dictionary recently declared ‘fake news’ the word of the decade. While the epidemic of fake news and conspiracy theories shows no signs of abating, the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communications has made a significant contribution to the fight. Continue reading »
-
Poll shows Scott Morrison shares Trump’s female problem
A new Guardian Essential poll (3 March 2021) indicates an emerging Morrison vulnerability – he shares a female problem with Donald Trump. Well, not the major Trump one – just the electoral one. Continue reading »
-
The frightening cost of Morrison’s climate inaction
Scott Morrison loves saying he won’t take action on climate change without knowing what it will cost. Joel Fitzgibbon takes the same tack when defending his coal mining constituents. But now we have a clear idea of the cost of not taking action. Continue reading »
-
What’s the point of Labor?
As the Labor Opposition jettisons policies on negative gearing, capital gains taxes, franking credits and climate change policies that don’t embrace coal you have to ask – what’s the point of Labor? Continue reading »
-
How good is Morrison’s Australia? Going backwards and being left behind
After seven years of a Coalition government, household debt is the second highest of 43 countries; we ranked third last out of 35 OECD countries for wage growth and we have the third most unaffordable housing market in the OECD. But the good news is that the combined worth of Australian billionaires is 52.4% higher Continue reading »
-
Morrison’s not a miracle worker; he just got lucky with an inept Opposition Leader
Since the Coalition came to power in 2013 Australia has fallen down the Transparency International corruption index from seventh to its current 11. With endless material to attack the Coalition over corruption issues, why is the Albanese-led Opposition apparently incapable of doing so? Continue reading »
-
Let the JobKeeper rorts roll
Where do we start when considering the $100 billion JobKeeper scheme? Should we focus on the opaque nature of the scheme in which less than 3% of JobKeeper payments have been disclosed in public company accounts and there is no way of finding out who got what and how much? Continue reading »
-
Ongoing Trumpism Australian influence predictions probably overblown
Kishor Napier-Raman posed a question about the Australian political future when he wrote (crikey 15 January 2021) that: “The question is no longer whether Trumpian politics are on the rise in Australia, it’s now a question of how severe the damage will be.” Continue reading »
-
Uncategorised
Three word slogans – Part 2
One of the most successful three word slogans in recent-ish political history– the Thatcher Opposition’s “Labour Isn’t Working” – almost didn’t get seen by the client. Continue reading »
-
Paranoid politics is back – again
Paranoid politics always seem to be with us in some form or other. It has ebbed and flowed for centuries but in the past year, it has seemed more like a flood than a flow. Continue reading »
-
Polarisation decades in the making
Between 70% and 80% of Republican voters believe the recent Presidential election was rigged. While it’s astonishing funding it is not simply representative of the Trump years but more a reflection of steadily developing attitudes over some decades. Continue reading »
-
Will he really run in 2024?
Will he run in 2024? Will, he set up a new Trump TV channel? Will he continue to dominate the Republican Party and Tweet it into loyal submission? Continue reading »
-
2020: The year of three-word slogans
If Scott Morrison is to be remembered for more than knifing Malcolm Turnbull, the 2019 election, bushfires, corruption and climate denial, it will be his propensity to relentlessly deploy two or three-word slogans. Continue reading »
-
Disillusioned Aussie youth diss democracy
Young Australians now rank among the groups most dissatisfied with democracy in the world –better than among others like Venezuela and the US but worse than Ghana and Peru. Continue reading »
-
A blueprint for action on integrity
Since the Liberal-National Part Government came to power Australia’s ranking in Transparency International’s (TI) global corruption surveys has fallen. Continue reading »
-
Framing the Palace Letters by our National Archives
It doesn’t need a conspiratorial mind frame to explain the Murdoch media, Morrison Government and National Archives synchronous framing of the Palace Letters – just a realisation that such strategies are now so institutionalised that overt co-ordination is unnecessary. Continue reading »
-
Fraudster will create US COVID vaccination problems
In the US we can guarantee that someone among the anti-vaxxers will be claiming that the new President is trying to poison them and/or forcibly convert them to communism. Continue reading »
-
Soldiers vs warriors: a distinction between Australian and US troops and Kerry Stokes!
What’s the difference between a soldier and a warrior? And in what environment is the distinction in danger of being lost? If Kerry Stokes wants to get involved he is entitled to – but, if he does, he should also step aside from his role at the Australian War Memorial. Continue reading »
-
Something to think about other than that election
In the past 75 years, there have been two authors who have profoundly demonstrated the effects when language is mangled and distorted and, conversely, how to write clearly and powerfully. Continue reading »
-
A Harold Evans postscript
What sort of obituary do you think The Sunday Times would publish about probably its greatest editor, Harry Evans? Continue reading »
-
Morrison refuses to acknowledge Australian Nobel Peace prize winners
The Australian winners of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) are celebrating the ratification by 50 countries of The Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. However, the Morrison Government has refused to acknowledge the achievement just as they refuse to sign the treaty. Continue reading »
-
Morrison: How to market denialism on climate change
Scotty from marketing may now be the common Scott Morrison descriptor. When it comes to climate change it is more and more spin. Continue reading »
-
Lobby Land. The retiree lobby, the poor dears
Lobbyists can be pretty shameless – from hyperbole about the ‘unintended consequences’ of some legislative or policy change they don’t like – to arguments which would shame a beginner debater. Continue reading »