18 May 2024

The heroes of Australia’s international story, from Eritrea to Indonesia

When the taxi driver in Eritrea’s capital city, Asmara, realised I was Australian, he would not accept payment, and instead, spent the duration of the trip telling me of Eritrea’s national debt to Fred Hollows.

13 July 2023

NATO seeks stage props; EU seeks trade protection

The convergence of the NATO Summit in Lithuania, and trade talks with the European Union in Brussels, saw Prime Minister Albanese and Trade Minister Don Farrell head to Europe. The former should not have gone, and the latter should be prepared to walk away without agreement.

26 May 2023

Frigates disaster a taste of the AUKUS catastrophe to come

When Australias Defence Minister, Richard Marles, talks imploringly in support of avoiding the valley of death scenario, Australians should listen. That is, until they realise he is not talking about avoiding the horrors of a modern war, but rather supporting the Hunter Class Frigate, a project in such difficulty that the picture of incompetence and mismanagement in the Australian National Audit Office report on the Department of Defences Procurement of Hunter Class Frigates (Report No.21 2022-23) and evidence presented during Parliamentary scrutiny is probably a kind interpretation of the reality.