Writer
P&I Guest Writers
This post kindly provided to us by one of our many occasional contributors.
-
Michael Edwards-The unfortunate irrelevance of the arts in Australia
Objective and anecdotal evidence shows that activity in the Australian arts sector declined significantly during the pandemic. Performances closed, venues shut, exhibitions were cancelled and many artists were forced to abandon their artistic careers — hopefully temporarily. The sector’s demise produced the occasional news item, but otherwise it has aroused little reaction from the public Continue reading »
-
David Goodman and others – An Open letter to the New Government on relations with China
To Prime Minister Albanese and Foreign Minister Wong, Continue reading »
-
Peter Fry – Marginal voters in a few marginal seats decide our political outcome. NZ does it better.
In this second article on the problems of our voting system I argue that the current election results may give the impression that our democracy is working well. But that ignores the enormous effort needed by community groups and volunteer organisations simply to achieve a parliament which only begins to approximate the needs and wishes Continue reading »
-
Australia election: Why is Australia’s parliament so white?
Australia is one of the most multicultural nations in the world, but it’s a different story in the country’s politics, where 96% of federal lawmakers are white. With this year’s election, political parties did have a window to slightly improve this. But they chose not to in most cases, critics say. Continue reading »
-
Peter Fry – NZ style voting for Australia?
Many Australians see New Zealand’s MMP voting system as a complex German-based foreign contraption which has little to offer us. Pete Fry argues that for its users it is a simple responsive transparent process which could help to improve our trust in politics by making our Parliament more representative of the majority of Australians. Continue reading »
-
Alan Pears – Election May 2022 – A new beginning for climate and energy policy?
I’m writing this the day after the 2022 federal election, when it is clear that Australia will not have a Coalition government, but it is not yet clear whether Labor will govern in its own right, or how the composition of the Senate will influence energy and climate policy. Continue reading »
-
Keith Mitchelson: Just go away and die
For over three years the world has grappled with Covid-19. Australia was well served by doctors who convinced governments to listen to medical science. But the politicians have resumed control and science, all science, is being silenced.And not just on Covid but more importantly in climate change Continue reading »
-
Sue Barrett – A Teal test of character in Goldstein
There is nothing like leading and working on a political campaign to test one’s character. Continue reading »
-
Melvin A. Goodman – U.S. Intelligence boasting intensifies Russian-American proxy war
The New York Times’s international affairs columnist Thomas Friedman is arguably the most influential editorial writer in the country. Last week, his editorial aptly warned the Biden administration of the “huge unintended consequences” of its unplanned and impromptu remarks regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin and the savagery of his tactics in Ukraine. Continue reading »
-
David Morawetz-A hung parliament is chaotic”… or is it?
Have you received recently in your mailbox a card headed “Voting ‘Independent’ risks a chaotic hung parliament with weak leadership”? I have. And it’s just plain wrong. Continue reading »
-
Alan Pears-Energy productivity and efficiency improvement: Australia’s forgotten fuels
Whether you focus on climate policy, energy market transition, social justice, health or business competitiveness and innovation, improving energy productivity and efficiency is a winner. Continue reading »
-
Daryl Guppy: Remembrance of peace past
ANZAC day is a day to remember why peace is preferable to war. This year it was besmirched by the beating of the drums of war. Continue reading »
-
Jose Ramos-Horta wins presidential ballot in Timor-Leste but no congratulations from Scott Morrison
José Ramos-Horta will be the new President of Timor-Leste from May 20, 2022, following his decisive second round win on April 19. Continue reading »
-
Keith Mitchelson: Climate change and International security – Why defence is Morrison’s greatest policy failure
Scott Morrison claims to be Australia’s best defender. In reality he is its worst. His government’s subservience to local and international oligarchs has seen it neglect real interest in Australia’s long-term security and wellbeing. Continue reading »
-
Jessica Corbett: Chomsky on Biden calling Putin a war criminal: ‘Takes one to know one’
The dissident says that while outraged by Russia’s war on Ukraine, much of the rest of the world is reacting to U.S. condemnation by asking, “Why should we get involved in your hypocrisy?” Continue reading »
-
Mike Gilligan: AUKUS and submarines – a slippery slope
Not much of AUKUS adds up – at once there is too little and too much information. It looks like the bedrock of Australia’s security policy since the war is being swept aside. Continue reading »
-
Labor! Tell the story of us
The story of ‘us’: there’s a great tale Labor could tell about how it would govern – it just needs to start telling it. Continue reading »
-
Jacob Hornberger: Why not joint war crimes trials?
The U.S. mainstream media is calling for the criminal prosecution of Russian president Vladimir Putin, as well as Russian military personnel, for war crimes committed as part of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading »
-
Kenny Stancil: Copycat Cruelty – The Australian solution – Britain to send refugees to Rwanda
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s move to deport asylum-seekers to another country thousands of miles away will “only lead to more human suffering, chaos, and at huge expense to the U.K.,” said one refugee advocate Continue reading »
-
Derek Woolner & David Glynne Jones – From AUKUS to the Solomon Islands: Australia’s urgent need for a cohesive strategic policy
The major issue for Australia’s program to acquire nuclear propelled submarines has little to do with the vessels. Continue reading »
-
Tim Battin: Waiting for the result of the small-target tactic with baseball bats
If the ALP cannot secure victory in the coming election, the result will expose the fallacies on which the small-target approach is based, and we should be ready for it with baseball bats. Continue reading »
-
Matt Robson: Sleepwalking to war: NZ is back under the nuclear umbrella
As Minister for Disarmament in the 1999-2002 Labour-Alliance Coalition I was authorised to state that we would pursue an independent foreign policy and we would not march off to almost every war launched by Great Britain and then the United States – our “traditional” allies. Continue reading »
-
Brett Wilkins: The US arms industry, Ukraine and the media
“The people who have the most interest in influencing the direction of the media coverage of the Ukraine War are weapons-makers.” Continue reading »
-
Philip Huggins: Easter and the universality of forgiveness at a pivotal moment in our nation’s history
Forgiveness from the heart is profoundly beneficial and very demanding. That is why the Cross is such an enduring symbol. Both on Good Friday and then, thankfully, the Easter Sunday Cross, garlanded with flowers. Continue reading »
-
Eric Hunter: What’s God’s answer?
The world watches as an extremely distraught Ukrainian man sobs in front of a camera after seeing his daughter and young granddaughter killed in the Russian missile assault on the city of Mauripol, “God, why have you visited this on me?” A good question and tragically ironic! Continue reading »
-
Erik Paul: Australia beating the war drums
Given Australia’s strategic alliance with the US and the militarisation of the continent in preparation for war against China, Australians should decide whether they want to go to war against China. Continue reading »
-
Johnny Mok: Is Hong Kong’s rule of law in decline?
Hong Kong’s global ranking on the rule of law is close to the UK’s and has changed little since 2015 Continue reading »
-
Keith Mitchelson: The perfect rort…gas-guzzling SUVs and utility trucks and more
The Morrison Government is nothing if not inventive. If you need to rort votes there is always a danger that people will notice. How to devise the perfect rort that is the question? Free vehicles for anyone! Continue reading »
-
Margaret Beavis: What really makes Australians more secure?
We are assured nuclear powered submarines and missiles will make us more secure, but with hospitals chronically underfunded and poverty and homelessness on the rise, are they the actually the right choice? Continue reading »
-
William Xu and Li Bingcun: Three senior Australian judges show confidence in HK’s legal system
Three Australian judges－William Gummow, Anthony Gleeson and Robert French－stated in an email to the South China Morning Post that they support the judges of the Court of Final Appeal in their commitment to judicial independence. The Canadian judge, Beverley McLachlin, also intends to stay on, according to media reports. Continue reading »
