All Articles
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Rising interest rates – will there be a soft landing?
Inflation is outside the target zone in all developed economies. Central banks are responding by increasing interest rates. But the critical question is whether monetary policy can bring inflation down without causing a recession. Continue reading »
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Public servants judge and jury over next-up political bosses
Spare a thought for Michael Coutts-Trotter, the Secretary of the NSW Premiers Department. He has been asked, in effect, to decide which of several versions of how John Barilaro was appointed “on merit” to a cushy $500,000 trade commissioner job in New York most closely approximates the truth. Continue reading »
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With our dismal history of bombings in Iraq, Australia cannot take the high moral ground on Ukraine
From Malcolm Turnbull’s first day as Prime Minister in 2015, the bombings on Iraq increased. We all became responsible for killing great numbers of Muslims. Continue reading »
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Myanmar: providing life-saving aid through the military government while minimising military interference
Aid agencies say the Myanmar junta is attacking villages and wiping out communities as collective punishment against those who it cannot identify but who the military claims allegedly support the People’s Defence Forces. Continue reading »
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The Greens are our best hope for the urgent climate action we need
The Greens have the right and the duty (a “mandate” if you will) to use the numbers in which they were elected by Australian voters, to go hard on getting the climate policy outcomes they proposed. Continue reading »
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Samuel Yang: Chinese investors fast abandoning Australia but still hold vast amounts of infrastructure, land and water
Chinese investors are fast abandoning Australia as a frosty bilateral relationship dampens trade, with a report showing Chinese investment in Australia nosedived by almost 70 per cent last year to the lowest level since 2007. Continue reading »
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A good ally is not a faithful well-armed dog but a thoughtful calm advisor reflecting its own national interests
As the Australian prime minister heads for the Nato summit in Madrid on 29-30 June, there is churn in the global strategic situation. The Albanese government has thus far taken strongly supportive positions towards US policy in both Asia and Ukraine. We are supporting flawed postures. Continue reading »
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Beijing not Madrid, Prime Minister, would be more in Australia’s interests
In the national security domain, changing governments is like changing spark plugs in that nothing else changes. From their darkened cloisters the militarists befuddle new ministers with gloomy prognostications while proffering prophylactics like deterrence, alliances, and interoperability. And so the Prime Minister is off to the Madrid NATO conference. Continue reading »
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A new era as Australia joins historic UN nuclear ban meeting
This week in Vienna, Australia joined a landmark gathering of eighty-three governments to further implement and develop the treaty banning nuclear weapons. Continue reading »
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Restoring integrity to Commonwealth infrastructure spending
The new Parliament should take responsibility for dealing with pork barrelling – not pass the buck to an integrity commission. Continue reading »
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Where to next for the human world?
Our new government is facing a profoundly difficult and complex world situation, with a string of ten catastrophic threats that are bearing down on humans everywhere. Continue reading »
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Deadly games: The labour casualties of Qatar’s World Cup
A sordid enterprise, nasty, crude and needless. But the World Cup 2022 will be, should anyone bother watching it, stained by one of the highest casualty rates amongst workers in its history, marked by corruption and stained by a pharisee quality. The sportswashers, cleaning agent at the ready, will be out in force, and the Continue reading »
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If growing US-China rivalry leads to ‘the worst war ever’, what should Australia do?
Should Australia join the United States in a war against China to prevent China taking the US’s place as the dominant power in East Asia? Until a few years ago the question would have seemed merely hypothetical, but not anymore. Continue reading »
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Stepping back already from the integrity election?
Labor won government promising more accountability, so why disempower the crossbench? Continue reading »
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Hubristic Greens
There is one area in which the Greens are out in a class of their own – hubris. Continue reading »
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John Brennan: UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, East Jerusalem & Israel
The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, issues first report – June, 2022……..A WAY FORWARD. “The question, I believe, is not to devise a means for persisting on trying to separate them, but to see whether it is possible for them to live together Continue reading »
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CRAIG MURRAY. Biden works to prolong Ukraine war
Why we live in a world where the goal of nations is to damage the lives of inhabitants of other nations is a question which continues to puzzle me. Continue reading »
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Dr Chris Brook: Courts getting science wrong: Again
Should forensic science be scientific? Seemingly not, if you ask the Victorian Court of Appeal. Continue reading »
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Bring Home the Suffering Australian Children and their Mothers in Syrian Camps
The Albanese government has had bequeathed to it several unresolved human rights scandals which together have severely shrunk the moral character of Australia and Australians. Notable among them has been the plight of Australian overseas citizens who have fallen from grace. Continue reading »
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Weekly roundup Saturday 25 June
Weekly roundup of links to articles, reports, podcasts and other media on current political and economic issues in public policy. Continue reading »
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The Asian Media this Week
Uncomfortable choices between US and China; support for stronger Japanese military role; Marles moves closer to India; Myanmar military oppression worsens; South Korea joins space race. Continue reading »
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Environment: Can capitalism deliver the future we want?
We need to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions, not just CO2. Solar and wind slowly replacing coal as Australia’s source of electricity. Sydney and Canberra middle of the pack for sustainability. Continue reading »
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African youths make it clear they prefer China over US
The 2022 African Youth Survey released on Monday has sent shock waves across the world. China has surpassed the United States as having the biggest positive influence among African youths. Continue reading »
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It is critical that the housing bubble is safely deflated
Stratospheric housing prices are perhaps the most critical domestic issue in Australia. Not only are a collapse of the housing bubble and a recession now threatening, but homelessness and rent stress, unaddressed and exploited, can quickly fester into ugly politics. Continue reading »
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Ann Wright: Largest ever US and Nato naval war drills in Pacific a threat to both peace and marine life
Military posturing in the Asia-Pacific also risks nuclear war and the potential extinction of the human species. Continue reading »
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The United States-the Pacific bully
The US dominates the Pacific Islands to an extent China can never hope to achieve. With Australia’s support, the US is now engaged in an arms build-up in its Pacific territories and de-facto colonies in a little known boost to its containment of China. Continue reading »
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New Heads of Departments in Canberra
The appointments announced by the Prime Minister on Wednesday 22 June seem mostly sensible, offering the APS a more professional leadership which can both provide strong support for the Government and demonstrate its impartiality in its policy advising and management of programs. Continue reading »
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Government benefits from Opposition’s divisions
The new Albanese Labor Government is facing a host of difficult problems that will thoroughly test its capacity to govern, but politically it is in an enviable position enjoyed by none of its predecessors in the past half a century and more. Continue reading »
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EPBC Act and regional landscape and resilience plans
The new Australian Government is well positioned to pick up the challenges from the Samuel review of the EPBC Act and the IPCC’s adverse comments on Australia’s institutional performance in managing climate risks. A way forward could involve formal recognition of a regional landscape planning approach in partnership with States and Territories. Continue reading »
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The Teals will force the Greens to get smart at last
John Menadue asks whether the Greens can avoid the perfect obstructing the good. The Teals will force the Greens to Get Smart. Continue reading »
Top 5 most read
- The United States-the Pacific bully
The US dominates the Pacific Islands to an extent China… - New Heads of Departments in Canberra
The appointments announced by the Prime Minister on Wednesday 22… - Stepping back already from the integrity election?
Labor won government promising more accountability, so why disempower the… - Strategists admit West is goading China into war
US military experts say a war over Taiwan is desirable,… - If growing US-China rivalry leads to ‘the worst war…
Should Australia join the United States in a war against…
