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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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VINCENT BEVINS. Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s Would-be Dictator.
For most of his twenty-seven-year career in national politics, Jair Bolsonaro has been a fringe figure on the far right of Brazilian politics, hopping among nine different political parties and yelling his support for Brazil’s bygone military dictatorship into empty congressional chambers. All that has changed. Last weekend, the former army captain won over 46 Continue reading »
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DOROTHY HORSFIELD. The St Petersburg International Economic Forum. A New World Order?
One of the most interesting aspects of this year’s St Petersburg International Economic Forum was the way it undermined commonplaces about a post-Soviet Russia with an economy is on the skids as a result of sanctions, international vilification, and its overdependence on energy sector revenues. How plausible were the Forum’s optimistic evocation of a new world economic order, Continue reading »
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RICHARD ECKERSLY. Getting to the heart of democracy’s decline.
The crisis in democracy is much discussed these days, but almost entirely in political terms that ignore its deeper causes. In this sense, the mainstream news media can be considered ‘enemies of the people’, peddling ‘fake news’. Continue reading »
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GREG JERICHO. Australia’s climate idiocracy must end – and there’s no time to waste.
The Liberal party’s biggest con was the idea that reducing emissions could be done without pain and at little cost. Continue reading »
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CATHERINE STUBBERFIELD. UNHCR urges Australia to evacuate off-shore facilities as health situation deteriorates.
The following is a transcript of the remarks by Spokesperson for the UNHCR Regional Representation in Canberra, Catherine Stubberfield at today’s press briefing(12 October 2018) at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Continue reading »
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LOGAN PAULEY. China stakes out a role for itself in post-war Syria.
As Syria’s civil war winds down, China is looking to establish itself as an economic, and possibly military, partner for the post-war period. Continue reading »
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ALAN FINKEL. The science is clear: we have to start creating our low-carbon future today.
This week’s release of the special report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has put scientific evidence on the front page of the world’s newspapers. Continue reading »
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MARGARET O’CONNOR. Changing the culture of the church.
“What is the good of drawing up, on paper, rules for good behaviour, if we know that, in fact, our greed, cowardice, ill temper, and self-conceit are going to prevent us from keeping them? I do not mean for a moment that we ought not to think, and think hard, about improvements to our social Continue reading »
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SARAH ANN WHEELER, CÉLINE NAUGES. Farmers’ climate denial begins to wane as reality bites.
Australia has been described as the “front line of the battle for climate change adaptation”, and our farmers are the ones who have to lead the charge. Farmers will have to cope, among other pressures, with longer droughts, more erratic rainfall, higher temperatures, and changes to the timing of seasons. Continue reading »
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JOHN INVERARITY. Do we have a higher priority as a society than the raising our children: We must end alcohol advertising in sport.
As responsible adults we need to do all we can to ensure that our young are provided with the best opportunities to live purposeful, fulfilling lives and are encouraged to partake of these opportunities. We need to strive to provide them with an optimum set of values and attitudes, and an environment in which they will Continue reading »
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PERCY ALLAN. Process, not Policy is where Left/Right can Agree.
The End of Hegemony The battle between Left and Right is intensifying. Major parties thinks they will win this contest at the ballot box. Continue reading »
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PETER RYAN. ‘Big four’ accounting firms should face banking royal commission to prove independence, former ASIC investigator says.
A former forensic investigator at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has called for the major accounting firms hired to audit and approve sensitive company reports to be brought before the financial services royal commission to prove their independence. Continue reading »
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CHENGXIN PAN. Pence on China: reviving a neo-conservative Dream (Lowy Institute, 08.10.18)
Ever wondered who is now the culprit for many of the woes of the United States? Then look no further than a major speech delivered by US Vice President Mike Pence last week. Continue reading »
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JIM COOMBS: “What’s good for General Bullmoose….” The Everest Affair and the Banking Royal Commission show the highly limited (I am attracted by the old term “purblind”)thinking which is driving the nation.
Prime Minister Morrison, for such, alas, he is, sees the Opera House as a billboard for promoting whoever can pay for it. That’s BUSINESS, isn’t it ? Anything that turns a quid is, for them, Business, and that’s good enough. Indeed this government seems to think its job is done if it looks after business, Continue reading »
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TONY COADY. The Synod, the Celibacy Rule, the Wider Problem of Radical Change in the Catholic Church
The current meeting of the world’s Synod of Catholic Bishops in Rome to discuss “Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment” will clearly have an eye to the vast decline in vocations to the priesthood, particularly in the Western world. Its deliberations come shortly after the recent appeal by the Australian National Council of Priests Continue reading »
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ALISON ELLIOTT. Making the preschool promise a reality
The recently announced promise of preschool education funding for 3 year olds has the potential to improve developmental and education outcomes for young children, but with chronic teacher shortages in early learning centres, delivering new preschool programs will be a major challenge. Continue reading »
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DENISE FISHER. New Caledonia’s independence referendum
On 4 November, indigenous and some other longstanding New Caledonian residents will vote on the question “Do you want New Caledonia to accede to full sovereignty and become independent?” The referendum process will re-shape the role of France in the South Pacific at a time of geostrategic change, and yet is passing relatively unmarked in Continue reading »
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KATE MALTBY. What to Expect When a Woman Accuses a Man in Power.
Last week, the world gazed on as Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified against a man backed by the strongest political forces in America. I couldn’t watch. Continue reading »
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WILLIAM PESEK. ‘Great Depression’ ahead? IMF sounds dire warning.
Massive government debts and eroded fiscal buffers since 2008 suggest global dominos await a single market crash. Continue reading »
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USHA M RODRIGUES. New research shows how Australia’s newsrooms are failing minority communities.
Australians from culturally diverse backgrounds often feel frustrated about media coverage of news events and issues that portray them in a negative light. A new study analysing media coverage of issues related to multicultural Australia found that more than a third of stories reflected a negative view of minority communities. Continue reading »
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ADAM MORTON. In a canter? Climate experts say Australia will not meet emissions targets. (Guardian 11.10.2108)
Guardian Australia spoke to 12 economists and scientists – almost all reject government’s claim to be on track. Leading climate researchers have overwhelmingly rejected the federal government’s claim it is on track to cut greenhouse gas emissions as promised under the 2015 Paris agreement. Continue reading »
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MARK BUTLER. There is only one energy future: firmed renewables. (AFR 10.10.2018)
Australia is in the deep throes of the most severe energy crisis in living memory. Power and gas prices have skyrocketed in recent years and are continuing to go up in spite of claims from the Liberal government that they have solved the energy crisis and prices are coming down. Continue reading »
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SUSAN CHENERY. The Scribe: portrait of Freudenberg, author of the speech that changed Australia (The Guardian 9.10.2018)
Legendary Labor speechwriter Graham Freudenberg was at the centre of power for more than 40 years. A new film sheds light on the man who wrote the script. Continue reading »
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ANDREW TILLETT. Deputy PM Michael McCormack shelves inquiry into road pricing
A raft of economists have called for a road-user charge, including former Treasury Secretary, Ken Henry, in his tax review, and former Productivity Chair, Peter Harris. [We continue to waste billions of dollars on more and more roads, but refuse to face the political hot potato of road congestion charges. John Menadue] Continue reading »
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MAX HASTINGS. Smoke and Mirrors (New York Review of Books, 27 September, 2018)
The United States spends more than $70 billion a year on the gathering and assessment of information about its enemies—and friends. Other nations lavish proportionate amounts, which can only increase now that cyberwarfare and information games have become inextricably entangled with intelligence and counterterrorism. China is estimated to employ some two million people on electronic Continue reading »
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ROGER COHEN. Confirmed: an insidious presidency (the New York Times)
Trump believes that judges should be agents of those who appoint them. That would be the end of the rule of law. Continue reading »
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PAUL BONGIORNO. Political climate uncomfortably hot for Scott Morrison (New Daily 9.10.2018)
The Prime Minister Scott Morrison found himself in a very awkward spot on the day the world’s most authoritative climate science body released its latest report. Continue reading »
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STEPHEN COSTELLO. Who controls US policy on the Korean peninsula? (East Asia Forum, 5 October 2018)
Much has been made of the theatrical stand-off between North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump. But most signs show that the two could quickly reach a deal on how to move forward with DPRK denuclearisation and economic development. The real tension is between Trump, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in Continue reading »
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JANE PERLEZ. Pence’s China Speech Seen as Portent of a ‘New Cold War’ (New York Times, 05.10.18)
BEIJING — Vice President Mike Pence’s accusations in a stinging speech Thursday warning of a tougher approach toward Beijing may have been familiar to China’s leaders. But until now, such remarks were delivered in private, in fairly decorous terms, and rarely threatened direct action. In Australia,another important ally, the government has been saying many of Continue reading »
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WAYNE MCMILLAN. Insecure work by another name
The NSW Business Chamber and the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) are leading the charge on behalf of employer business interests. It’s obvious that both their main concerns are to create a new class of insecure workers that can be dismissed at the whim of employers under the guise of better pay. Continue reading »
