Writer
P&I Guest Archive
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How about it Gina and Twiggy? John Menadue
Since 1904 the brightest and best of young Australians have been winning Rhodes Scholarships to study at Oxford. Winners have included prime ministers, political leaders, a governor general, a Nobel Prize winner and high court judges. How about funding a substantial foundation to provide for the brightest and best of young Australians to study at Continue reading »
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Walter Hamilton. Australia – still a colonial relic in Japan.
The two greatest calamities to befall the people of Tokyo in modern times were the September 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and the March 1945 firebombing by American B-29s. In each case, many tens of thousands perished within a matter of hours. In Sumida ward, a working class area in the east of the city Continue reading »
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The Miners’ Lament. John Menadue
It is only a matter of time before the miners start lamenting that they did not seriously negotiate with Kevin Rudd over his Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT). The mining industry has always favoured rent/profit taxes instead of royalties. What the mining industry really disagreed with was the rate of the Resources Super Profits Tax. Continue reading »
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Was the ‘hung parliament’ all that bad? John Menadue
We have been told many times since the 2010 election that the hung parliament was an abomination, it wouldn’t work and that it wouldn’t last. Denied government after the last election, the Coalition tried to make the government as well as the parliament as unworkable as possible. Paul Keating put it more colourfully “If Tony Continue reading »
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Catholic Health still leaves the impression that it wants to destroy Medicare. Joint Blog: John Menadue and Ian McAuley
On Mar 14 John Menadue wrote, on this blog site “Does Catholic really want to destroy Medicare”. Martin Laverty responded on 29 May. This is a further response by Ian McAuley and John Menadue. Together we have written many joint articles on health policy. See johnmenadue.com. Catholic Health’s response through Martin Laverty identifies two problems Continue reading »
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Does Catholic Health really want to destroy Medicare? A Catholic Health response by CEO Martin Laverty
On May 14, I wrote a blog ‘Does Catholic Health really want to destroy Medicare? Martin Laverty, CEO of Catholic Health, responds as a guest blogger. Catholic Health Australia (CHA) commissioned the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) in 2010 to provide a contemporary assessment of the link between a person’s health and Continue reading »
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Asylum seekers and refugees – political slogans or humanitarian policies? John Menadue
Australia has a proud record in accepting 750,000 refugees since WWII. But the mood has now turned sour. It is so easy for unscrupulous politicians to exploit fear of the foreigner. It is paying off politically. We no longer ‘welcome the stranger’. The continually repeated slogan ‘stop the boats’ is with us almost every day. Continue reading »
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Myth-busting. John Menadue
One after another, the opinion polls tell us that the Liberal and National parties are much better economic managers than the ALP. This is despite Australia having one of the best performing economies in the world by almost any measure; debt, economic growth, employment and inflation. Unfortunately for the Liberal and National parties and John Continue reading »
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Japan: Renaissance? Guest blogger: Walter Hamilton
After two decades mired in largely self-made problems (post-bubble depreciation; political instability; aging population; nuclear meltdown), Japan is suddenly feeling much better about itself. Anyone observing events could not fail to register the shift in the national mood. Are we witnessing a Japanese renaissance, a return to economic expansion? Will economic recovery ease the way Continue reading »
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What Rupert Murdoch told the US Ambassador about the pending Whitlam dismissal – 12 months beforehand in November 1974? Yes 1974. John Menadue
More pieces are falling into place. Last year we learned from Jenny Hockey’s second biographic volume of Gough Whitlam that a serving High Court Judge Anthony Mason from August 1975 improperly briefed Sir John Kerr about the dismissal of the Whitlam Government. He even drafted a dismissal letter, although it was never used. The legal, Continue reading »
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We are a more generous people than the politicians think we are. John Menadue
It is easy to be disappointed and depressed with the whole toxic debate about asylum seekers. The government is doing some things well, such as releasing more people from detention, but it is failing to provide political and moral leadership in this sensitive area. Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison do their best to demonise asylum Continue reading »
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Truth, Trust and the Media. John Menadue
Our mainstream media is in a downward spiral. Its decline is driven by new technology and a growing sense by readers that we can no longer trust the media. We have a lot of spin, but very little well-informed debate. Ken Henry has commented that he can’t recall a time when public debate was so Continue reading »
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Malaysian Elections Hangover.-How 51% of votes secured only 40 % of the seats. Guest blogger El Tee Kay
As a guest blogger on May 2 I described the intense interest in the General Election to be held on May 5. This was shown on election day with a voter turnout of more than 84%, the highest in Malaysian history. The Opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) won the popular vote but lost the elections. It Continue reading »
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Euthanasia – A denial of human dignity. Guest blogger Dr Joanne Wright
It is concerning that The Greens and organisations such as GetUp have seen fit to re-ignite the debate about the legalisation of euthanasia. I am a doctor. I worked in palliative care and now work with the elderly. I have seen first hand the complexity of the issues at the end of life. In reality, Continue reading »
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Our better angels. Guest bloggers Brenda, Edith and Elizabeth
Dear Elizabeth, At our church, Liverpool South Anglican Church, we have befriended some men from Sri Lanka who have been released from the Curtin Detention centre. They are setting up house in Sydney. We held a BBQ and cricket match on Anzac Day and about 30 men came along. Our Minister explained to them about Anzac Day and why it is Continue reading »
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Are wage rates to blame? John Menadue
We have read a lot recently from retailers and restauranteurs about high wage rates particularly at weekends that are said to be a major burden for business. But is this the full story? There are several factors that we need to consider. Do we have too many retailers and restaurants? Restaurants seem to be opening Continue reading »
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National Party fails farmers. John Menadue
Warren Truss and Barnaby Joyce have allowed the National Party to be dragged along at the heels of the Liberal Party on climate change and other issues. What was it that Tony Abbott said about climate change being ‘bullshit’? Australian farmers particularly in Western Australia are now paying the price of failed leadership by the Continue reading »
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Malaysian General Elections – Change or Chaos? Guest blogger: El Tee Kay in Kuala Lumpur
The run up to the 13th General Election on Sunday May 5 has been described as the dirtiest in Malaysian history. For the first time in 54 years the Barisan Nasional (BN) Government led by Prime Minister Najib Razak fears it may lose its grip on power. For the first time the Malaysian Continue reading »
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A canary in the coal mine. John Menadue
When environmental activist, Jonathon Moylan, sent a hoax email concerning Whitehaven Coal to the ANZ in January this year, there was outrage and tut-tutting by business journalists about his action. A few months later, it is becoming clear that the future of new thermal coal mines is doubtful. Australian resource companies have let over-optimism skew Continue reading »
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Is the ALP a political party or a suicide cult? John Menadue
Friends overseas are amazed that with a world class economy such as ours, the Australian Government faces a rout. I try and explain that the government’s difficulties are self-inflicted; that it is tone-deaf on many political issues; that the Prime Minister is not being listened to and the public will not accept what she did Continue reading »
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Tony Abbott keeps telling us that boat people are illegals and by inference, criminals. John Menadue
Last week on radio Tony Abbott was at it again, repeatedly referring to illegals and illegal boats. It cannot be ignorance to keep calling asylum seekers illegals. He must know they are not illegals, but by using this language he inflates fear and hatred of people in distress. We cannot presume that boats are illegal Continue reading »
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An Excel coding error with tragic consequences. John Menadue
In 2010, just after the Greek financial crisis, two respected conservative Harvard economists, Reinhart and Rogoff, published a paper ‘Growth in a time of debt’ that said that once debt exceeded 90% of GDP, economic growth drops off sharply. Their thesis added great weight to those urging austerity on such countries as Greece, Spain and Continue reading »
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The post-September struggle. Guest blogger: Red Pimpernel
As the Labor Party lurches to a blistering defeat in September there is a lot of work going on to reframe it as a democratic and progressive organisation. Those that seriously believe in the ALP as a 21st century social democracy have begun quietly. The reframers know they will run into internal conservative opposition. It Continue reading »
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There’s nothing basic about basic nursing care. Guest Blogger: Professor Mary Chiarella
The Minister for Health and Ageing, Mark Butler has announced a new aged-care workforce compact which will result in 350,000 workers receiving supplementary payments of 1% over and above award increases. This amounts to $1/hour more for each worker – the lowest paid workers in the health care industry. Why is “intimate” nursing care, for Continue reading »
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The Wars we would rather forget. John Menadue
Aboriginal Wars The Australian War Memorial records as follows: “When it became apparent that the settlers and their livestock had come to stay, competition for access to the land developed and friction between the two ways of life became inevitable. As the settlers’ behaviour became unacceptable to the indigenous population, individuals were killed over specific Continue reading »
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The blame game over schools: a way through the impasse. John Menadue
The Commonwealth and the States will blame each other for failure to agree on Gonski ‘light’. It is a pattern we have seen so often over many years, particularly in health. Federalism is just not working for us. It has become an obstacle to good government. The Commonwealth financial dominance will continue. The States are Continue reading »
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Where has the Business Council of Australia been? John Menadue
The BCA President, Tony Shepherd, was at it again on Wednesday 17 April at the National Press Club attacking the Government for many failures – a lack of focus, the need for politicians to sacrifice their jobs for the national interest and that old perennial of his, reform of the labour market. His comments were Continue reading »
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Report of ‘Clerical celibacy in context’
A few nights ago, some fifty people went to the Veech Library, at Strathfield, to hear a retired history professor, Ed Campion, give a lecture entitled Clerical Celibacy in Context. The next day people telephoned the library to get copies of this lecture but there was none to be had because the lecturer performed Continue reading »
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Privatisation on the wane. John Menadue
From the days of Maggie Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and John Howard, the assumption has been that the private sector will grow in relation to the public sector because it is more efficient and contributes more to the public good. The political correctness of the political Right assumed that privatisation would carry all before it. But not Continue reading »
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Post card from Kyoto
Kyoto is both an historic and beautiful city. Fortunately it was spared allied bombing during the last war. When our family first visited Kyoto and other parts of Japan in the 1960’s the exchange rate was about 400yen to the Australian dollar. It made for not only wonderful holidays, but cheap holidays as well. We Continue reading »
