Author Archives: P&I Guest Writers

Human survival and wellbeing must become the ethical basis of all government.

Conservatives always seek unimpeded power and Scott Morrison is no exception. Some cynics suggest this is a ‘right to rule’ mentality, but it is not. It is a duty. A ‘right to rule’ is arrogance; a ‘duty’ is more sinister … Continue reading →

Following the summer bushfires, the COVID-19 pandemic has smashed even further the livelihoods and the lifestyles of many Australians. The hit to the national economy will be comparable to that of WW2.

Terrific medical advice.

When Malcolm Turnbull was dumped as Prime Minister he joined his namesake Captain William Bligh in having been twice removed by his subordinates. Turnbull spends much of this book telling us who betrayed him on both occasions, but he gets … Continue reading →

Australia is a big country. Airlines help keep our population together. But the Covid-19 crisis has decimated traffic and exposed some basic financial problems in our aviation industry.

The ANZACS fought together first, not in 1915 but much earlier in the 1840/60s in the Maori Wars.

On 14 April 2020, US President Donald Trump announced a halt on US funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) as his administration reviews its handling of COVID-19.

Korea has won plaudits globally for its response to COVID-19. Despite Korea being one of the first countries hit hard by the pandemic, its swift response is paying dividends as its population have been able to avoid large scale lockdown … Continue reading →

On Friday April 10, in Melbourne, a safe car convoy protest organised by the Refugee Action Collective called for the urgent release of refugees in the Mantra hotel in Preston because of the threat of Covid-19. It was stopped by … Continue reading →

When it came to foot-and-mouth and Sars, we used to be the ones telling China how to respond, but now the boot is on the other foot. The Asians are in the lead and they’ve responded well. We’ve done poorly.

An idea from 1930s Germany could now give voters hope that there is a growth plan after the virus passes.

There is a precedent. One of George W. Bush’s first acts as president in 2006 was to reinstate the “global gag rule” which withdrew US aid from organisations that counsel women about abortions or to advocate for liberalized abortion laws … Continue reading →

We are going through what by every measure is a great crisis, so it is natural to assume that it will prove to be a turning point in modern history.

Back in 2010, Australia’s privatised Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (now CSL) was being tempted to move its vaccine research facilities to Switzerland, where it had been promised a better tax deal.

When people started to share the Facebook post “Dear world: How is the lockdown? – Gaza,” I felt uncomfortable. Though the posters sought to generate empathy for the 2 million Palestinians trapped in the Gaza Strip, the attempt to compare the … Continue reading →