Kym Davey
Kym Davey is a human rights advocate and former Commonwealth and State public servant. He is a member of Labor Against War.
Recent articles by Kym Davey
5 April 2025
AUKUS – the bucktooth cousin hidden in election blather
In French, buck teeth are called dents à l'anglaise, literally English teeth. Stay with me. The connection to the old dart, France, and the dishonourable origins of AUKUS will be revealed.
1 March 2025
High seas farce with Chinese characteristics
The melodramatic media story about the small Chinese naval flotilla exercising with live ammunition off the Australian and New Zealand coasts has run solid for more than a week. I’m beginning to suspect the Chinese military may have a sense of humour.
16 February 2025
ABC sycophancy erodes our democracy
As a 60 year veteran consumer of the ABC on radio, television and on-line, I am dismayed with the national broadcaster’s declining relevance, professionalism and integrity. The place is a mess, clearly made worse under the control of Ita Buttrose and David Anderson.
21 January 2025
Vassal states of the imperial order pay homage to their US master
The spectacle of Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Ambassador Kevin Rudd lining up for their security passes to the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States is nauseating. It is a grotesque example of hypocrisy and the deviant practices of realpolitik. Both leaders have previously criticised Trump for what he is. Both would argue they are now merely serving Australia’s interests by their ‘honoured’ presence as he takes power again.
15 January 2025
Can Korea avoid another war?
In the current edition of the prestigious publication Foreign Affairs Robert E. Kelly and Min-Hyung Kim argue a strong case for South Korea to build nuclear weapons to counter the military threat from North Korea. “Assembling even a limited arsenal would give South Korea greater strategic independence and reduce its constant anxiety over the shifts in US foreign policy”, they argue.
6 January 2025
Best of 2024: 'Disingenuous theatre dressed up as major news': Why the ABC is losing credibility
ABC supporters across the country are dismayed and angry with the national broadcaster. The biggest threat to the ABC today is its craven and distorted performance in television current affairs reporting.
19 November 2024
"Disingenuous theatre dressed up as major news": Why the ABC is losing credibility
ABC supporters across the country are dismayed and angry with the national broadcaster. The biggest threat to the ABC today is its craven and distorted performance in television current affairs reporting.
3 October 2024
High noon on the Korean Peninsula
As a return visitor to the beautiful, lively and fascinating city of Seoul, I am beginning to learn something about the way South Korean people think about their future and their complex relationships with both neighbours and allies.
10 August 2024
Escalation of national terrorism threat level misleads Australians
The announcement by ASIO Boss Mike Burgess that the National Terrorism Threat Level would be raised from ‘possible to probable’ has received massive mainstream publicity, a spike in talkback radio angst and widespread freelance interpretation about who presents the incipient threat.
27 June 2024
Sleepwalking towards war: will America and China heed the warnings of twentieth-century catastrophe?
“The United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The United States Government does not challenge that position.” – Shanghai Communique, United States government, 1972
20 April 2024
The National Defence Strategy - a fatal fault line in Australia’s security
Last Wednesday Defence Minister Richard Marles blustered his way through a speech and Q&A at the National Press Club. He presented the National Defence Strategy (NDS) to the nation - a document laden with the jargon of new defence priorities, AUKUS and a plan for our military to ‘project power’.
1 March 2024
Australia and ASEAN - A partnership for peace?
Australias relationship with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is now 50 years strong. On 4 March Prime Minister Albanese will welcome the 10 member nations to Melbourne for a Special Summit to celebrate our role as the first dialogue partner of ASEAN. The theme of the Summit is A Partnership for the Future.