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P&I Guest Writers
This post kindly provided to us by one of our many occasional contributors.
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Singapore Prime Minister’s message to foreign workers
What a contrast to Australia’s treatment of foreign workers. Continue reading »
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RICHARD HAASS.The Pandemic will accelerate history rather than reshape it(Foreign Affairs 7.4.2020)
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. Continue reading »
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GARY MOORHEAD. CSL- It Could Have Been Worse; Can It Be Better?
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. Continue reading »
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NEVE GORDON. For Us in the West, the Lockdown Is Meant to Save Lives. In Gaza It Will Kill Many (07.04.2020 HAARETZ)
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 closure that free citizens of the West are experiencing to the 13-year siege on the Continue reading »
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WITNESS J in the Pell case. I am content. Do not be discouraged.
I respect the decision of the High Court. I accept the outcome. Continue reading »
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FRANCIS SULLIVAN. It is not possible to divorce George Pell’s acquittal from the history of child abuse(The Guardian 9.4.2020)
The bishops should end their obsession with Pell and take up their moral responsibility to victims. Continue reading »
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JASON YAT-SEN LI et al. An open letter from Chinese -Australians calling for national unity.
We are deeply concerned that the recent rise in anti-Chinese sentiment is driving a marked escalation in racial abuse towards Asian Australians. This poses a serious threat to our national unity. Continue reading »
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EVA COX. Treating people as customers rather than citizens.
Will the current expensive policy shifts rebuild voters’ trust of those they elect? Continue reading »
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ALEXANDER C L HOLDEN and CARLOS R QUIONEZ. What should our health professional associations be in the 21st Ce ntury?
Health professionals form professional associations to facilitate collective action and advocacy on relevant and pertinent issues. What should the guiding values and principles be behind these organisations and what should their role be in our society in the 21st Century? Continue reading »
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TESS HOGUE. Covid 19- Give Hong Kong a pat on the back with gloved hands
The response of Hong Kong to Convid-19 is a prurient tale and its moral is that if the West learn from their story, then together future governments and citizens will be able to avert further national pandemic disasters. Continue reading »
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ELIZABETH COOMBS and AMY MCCARTHY.-DARE WE QUESTION ‘THE BARD’?
It may be “That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet” (Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene I), but there is a lot in a name, particularly if you are transgender. ‘Deadnaming’ denies and repudiates the gender identity of transgender individuals. Continue reading »
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GRAEME HOUGHTON. Role of the private hospital sector in the Covid-19 pandemic
The Commonwealth has announced that it is partnering with the private hospital sector to provide additional resources for dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading »
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MARIANA MAZZUCATO.- Capitalism’s Triple Crisis (Project Syndicate 30.3.2020)
This time, rescue measures absolutely must come with conditions attached. Now that the state is back to playing a leading role, it must be cast as the hero rather than as a naive patsy. That means delivering immediate solutions, but designing them in such a way as to serve the public interest over the long Continue reading »
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ADRIAN BAUMAN.-Shaping the Corona Story: mass communications in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Covid-19 crisis poses an unprecedented challenge for mass communications in Australia, and has posed new challenges for campaigns to persuade the population to change behaviour to reduce health risk Continue reading »
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PROFESSOR DANG VAN DUONG: COVID-19: National Unity and Solidarity: Lessons learnt from Vietnam
In Vietnam up until April 3rd 2020 there have been 233 cases of COVID-19, with no deaths. Complete recovery has been observed in 85 cases. Continue reading »
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TERRY FEWTRELL Pandemics and Quarantine – familiar and familial
It’s a family heirloom, but never has it had such significance. In a room in our house, that is a delight on a winter’s day as it fills with the rays of the waning sun, there is a piano. Continue reading »
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RICHARD HIL. Covid-19 and the conspiracy theory freight train
It didn’t take long, did it? Yes; it’s off and running – the Covid-19 freight train of conspiracy theories. Continue reading »
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SHIRO ARMSTRONG.- Is Australia trading too much with China (EAF 16.3.2020)
China accounts for close to a quarter of all of Australia’s international trade, and over a third of its exports, including both goods and services. Is Australia trading too much with China and too dependent on the Chinese economy, as a lot of the public commentary would have you believe? Continue reading »
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MARY KELLY. Gaza must be given the right to fight the Covid-19 pandemic
Australia must call on Israel to lift the crippling blockade so that Gazans can be given a chance to fight Covid-19. Continue reading »
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CHARLES LIVINGSTONE.- Crown and other casinos finally shut, but initial exemption suggests special status
Getting in early to stop the spread of the virus would have been good for the community, and from Crown’s perspective good for the company’s floundering reputation, as it faces multiple official inquiries. It would also have demonstrated that even ‘special’ companies have to play by the rules. Continue reading »
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KERRY BREEN and KERRY GOULSTON.- Further update: An apolitical approach to the Covid-19 crisis – hopes are fading.
In the eleven days since we first tried to make sense of the Federal Government’s approach to the current health crisis, little has changed in its approach. Continue reading »
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CHIARA BOCELLI-TYNDALL.- Coronavirus in Italy – a view from “exile”
On Sunday, February the 23rd my Australian husband and I was in Florence Italy, where we regularly enjoy an alternative residence, and lifestyle, to that of Basel Switzerland. We had tickets for a coveted opera performance of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, that afternoon when we heard the news. Continue reading »
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ALAN TYNDALL. Stem Cell Therapy; Hype or Hope?
What do you think of when you hear the phrase “stem cell therapy”? Miracle cures for wheel chair bound paraplegics? Building new organs to replace burned out old ones? Eternal beauty and youth? Immortality? Continue reading »
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KERRY BREEN and KERRY GOULSTON.- Update: An apolitical response at last to the Covid 19 crisis.
Last week we explored why government responses to the Covid 19 crisis seemed to be tardy and we argued for an expert apolitical group to lead the response. Continue reading »
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GAVIN A O’BRIEN.-Why I remain a Catholic.
I am being challenged to consider and discern why I remain a Catholic in a Church whose membership is declining and ageing;whose clergy are decreasing in numbers and ageing,where many Catholics, particularly our children, are no longer attending Mass and accessing the Sacraments.Where do we go from here? Continue reading »
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CHRIS SIDOTI.- Archbishop Anthony saves the day.
I laughed so hard I could hard stop myself from crying. There’s no limit to the wonderful capacity of human beings to produce clowns to make us laugh our way through every crisis. Continue reading »
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JONATHAN PAUL MARSHALL: The Rhetoric Climate Action is too Costly
Bjorn Lomborg presents an ambiguous type of anti-climate action rhetoric. He argues that the recent bushfires were insignificant, and that we should not research renewable energies because of cost, while also recommending costly research. Continue reading »
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MARCUS REUBENSTEIN: This is NOT an economic crisis!
The global reaction to the consequences of COVID-19 is absolutely warranted BUT its low mortality rate has lulled some in Australia into ignoring the fight against a highly contagious virus. Continue reading »
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ROBERT REICH.-America has no real public health system – coronavirus has a clear run( The Guardian 15.3.2020)
Trump’s response has been inadequate but the system is rigged anyway. As always, the poor will be hit hardest. Almost 30% of American workers have no paid sick leave from their employers, including 70% of low-income workers earning less than $10.49 an hour. Continue reading »
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KERRY BREEN and KERRY GOULSTON.-An improved response to COVID-19 will not be achieved with the current approach.
One of the puzzling and troubling aspects of the Australian response to the Covid 19 public health crisis is that the actions taken or advised by government have often lagged behind what many in the community, including people with expert knowledge, are agitating for. Continue reading »