Noel Turnbull

Noel Turnbull has had a 50-year-plus career in public relations, politics, journalism and academia. He blogs at http://noelturnbull.com/blog/

Noel's recent articles

The great election silence

The great election silence

Australian elections are often marked less by what is promised or talked about, and more by absences. There’s much about tax cuts, but little or nothing about tax rorts, such as negative gearing. Policy area after policy area has such absences.

Dutton appears to be slowly losing ground

Dutton appears to be slowly losing ground

Peter Dutton was edging towards possibly towards winning the forthcoming election. But lately he has been moving further and further away from that. It’s possible he might still win, but it looks increasingly unlikely.

Echoes of 500 years ago

Echoes of 500 years ago

This year marks 500 years since the end of the Peasants War in Germany (1524–25).

What the polls are and aren't telling us

What the polls are and aren't telling us

Political junkies and the media are obsessed with opinion polls on the relative standings of the political parties. Movements within standard statistical margins of error are treated with great respect.

Submitting to, or trying to placate, bullies never works

Submitting to, or trying to placate, bullies never works

Europeans are doing it, the great bruiser Doug Ford is doing it, Mark Carney is gearing up to do it – even Keir Starmer is doing it. But it’s a dance our very own prime minister isn’t doing.

Discombobulating the media election campaign coverage

Discombobulating the media election campaign coverage

The priestly pundit caste in the media is well into their election coverage rituals while the political parties are busy adjusting their strategies to tailor their offerings to these ritual needs.

The Murdoch plague on world politics

The Murdoch plague on world politics

Any company which had a history of illegality, incurred massive costs for those illegal actions, polluted public discourse and, made massive false claims about companies and institutions, the directors and managers would be facing summary sacking at an AGM. But in the case of News Limited all the evidence is that the company never learns from such lessons.

There will always be an enemy

There will always be an enemy

The English often sing There’s Always Been an England. For America the song would probably be something along the lines of there will always be an enemy.

Dutton's stuff-ups: Tough guy who's not so tough

Dutton's stuff-ups: Tough guy who's not so tough

For a self-promoted tough guy — particularly if it involves refugee women and children — Peter Dutton’s career has been marked by many instances of being missing in action.

Snouts in the trough

Snouts in the trough

Ah! Peter Dutton loves the past when sheilas knew their place, blokes were blokes and boozy lunches were a key characteristic of the business environment.

Musk – a perfume on the nose

Musk – a perfume on the nose

Elon Musk may not have fallen out with Donald Trump just yet, but he is definitely on the nose with the American public.

A massive mandate?

A massive mandate?

Donald Trump and the MAGA gang point to the ‘massive mandate’ he obtained to justify any policy he may implement.

Saving Labor from a likely defeat

Saving Labor from a likely defeat

In an ideal world politics would focus on rational and intelligent debate between enlightened people — just like in Ancient Greece — without, of course, the exclusion of women and slaves. Albeit there are some serious doubts about the Liberal Party’s commitment to advancing women.

Australian social cohesion under threat

Australian social cohesion under threat

The most comprehensive study of Australian social cohesion — The Scanlon Foundation Research Institute Social Cohesion Mapping 2024 Report — has highlighted strains in Australia society which are not yet dire, but are disturbing.

If only... 22 reasons to regret Australia's missed opportunities

If only... 22 reasons to regret Australia's missed opportunities

Everyone has the odd if only thought from time to time. If only you had made a different career choice, if only you had not said the things you have said, or if only you had not done some of the things you have done. All those done and not done moments – those decisions and those things you did which, when you wake up at night, have you squirming with anguish and/or embarrassment.

When will the Trump Musk bromance end?

When will the Trump Musk bromance end?

How long will Elon Musk last in the Trump orbit? Currently he seems to be ubiquitous but that presents a problem for Donald Trump and his massive ego.

What the Australian War Memorial should be doing about children

What the Australian War Memorial should be doing about children

Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man was a Jesuit maxim attributed to Ignatius Loyola. It is probably apocryphal, but it is an approach many have taken over the years to implant ideas in young minds.

Albo makes Dutton look electable

Albo makes Dutton look electable

It is now abundantly clear that the Albanese Government is gutless. But what’s worse is that – as recent events demonstrate – it’s also politically incompetent.

Australia at war - again, again and again

Australia at war - again, again and again

Every year or so Australia gets a bulky new book about an Australian war, military action, hero or some other military matter written by what is known as ‘storians.

Tragedy followed by farce in Future Fund dispute

Tragedy followed by farce in Future Fund dispute

When Marx wrote “Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce” he might as well have been talking about the recent spat between former Treasurer Peter Costello and the Albanese Government Treasurer, Jim Chalmers.

AWM one step forward one step back on Frontier Wars

AWM one step forward one step back on Frontier Wars

The Australian War Memorial oscillates between seeming to be ready to admit that Australia’s Frontier Wars ought to be commemorated in the AWM and then leaping back in fright at the thought of backlash from the RSL and others.

If you think the immediate future under Trump is horrific, just imagine the alternative

If you think the immediate future under Trump is horrific, just imagine the alternative

WTF just happened? is a question being asked around the world after the US Presidential election.

What the insurance experts say about Queensland's climate plans

What the insurance experts say about Queensland's climate plans

The new Queensland Premier, David Crisafulli, has made some moderately progressive comments about climate and nuclear energy but they are, when considered in the context of the latest Zurich-Mandala Climate Risk Index, insignificant compared to the scale of the problems the State faces.

Bezos sullies Washington Post's history

Bezos sullies Washington Post's history

Journalists around the world were once inspired by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein to commit to significant investigative journalism.

Could it happen here?

Could it happen here?

Inauguration Day for the new President in 2025 will mark the 90th anniversary of the publication of Sinclair Lewis’ It Can’t Happen Here.

A life of achievement in politics

A life of achievement in politics

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there were purposeful, progressive and committed Labor Governments.

Dependency or protectorate?

Dependency or protectorate?

It is understandable that people around the world obsess about US elections given the cultural and political impact the country has on the rest of us.

Guess what? Tony Abbott got it wrong

Guess what? Tony Abbott got it wrong

Guess what? A study of about 1,500 climate policies in 35 countries found that the single most effective policy in reducing carbon emissions was a carbon tax.

Is a new American civil war possible? Probably not, but...

Is a new American civil war possible? Probably not, but...

It is sometimes difficult to believe that the US is not headed irretrievably towards a new civil war. But recent research suggests that among the massive problems and sheer insanity of many of its citizens — let alone that of one of the Presidential candidates — the situation is much more complex.

Another dumbed down Australian promotion

Another dumbed down Australian promotion

Australia has come up with some absolute shockers when advertising agencies have been tasked with promoting the country around the world.

Armed conflict and multimedia at the Australian War Memorial

Armed conflict and multimedia at the Australian War Memorial

There is no doubt that multimedia technology can tell stories dramatically. These stories particularly resonate with a generation raised on video games and social media, which are now an intrinsic part of their lives.

What's the point of the Albanese Government?

What's the point of the Albanese Government?

The Albanese government is arguably the most timid Labor Government in our history.

Bad news for the media

Bad news for the media

The latest Reuters Institute and University of Oxford report on media in Australia and the world has been published – and it’s bad news for almost all the media – and to some extent the reading public.

UK water industry still about investors and not consumers

UK water industry still about investors and not consumers

One oft-proven way to make money is to pick up a few gems among a pile of discarded mining rubble.

“The Sun has won”: exponentially growing solar destroys nuclear, fossil fuels on price

“The Sun has won”: exponentially growing solar destroys nuclear, fossil fuels on price

It’s not known if Peter Dutton reads The Economist but if he does, he must probably think from time to time that it is sometimes dangerously left wing.

Meta and media minnows

Meta and media minnows

It is hard to know whether the bleatings of the major media outlets about losing the Meta $70 million payments under the media bargaining code are pathetic or laughable. Indeed, perhaps both.

How Dutton's HALEU nuclear power could lead to nuclear weapons

How Dutton's HALEU nuclear power could lead to nuclear weapons

If a future Prime Minister Dutton was able to get the fuel for a HALEU power station, would you be absolutely confident that he might not want to also dabble in some nuclear weapons procurement as well?

Who prepared Dutton’s report on nuclear power?

Who prepared Dutton’s report on nuclear power?

The Canberra Press Gallery is not a homogenous group although its members do seem to suffer from a fair amount of groupthink; preference for gotchas and speculation about what might happen next in politics; and heavy dependence on leaks and drops for copy.

"We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality..."

"We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality..."

“Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.”

Dutton's nuclear dream

Dutton's nuclear dream

In the unlikely event that Peter Dutton could manage the succession of problems with nuclear power stations – persistent massive cost overruns; State legislation banning nuclear; and NIMBY backlashes - he would still have a big problem – lack of staff to run the plants.

What's wrong with the media?

What's wrong with the media?

If you are in Melbourne and travel though the CBD along Collins Street on the 109 tram you pass a nondescript building called Collins House.

Banned books, manifestos and a better way of reading

Banned books, manifestos and a better way of reading

At last weekend’s Victorian Writers Festival three authors – two of them also bookshop owners and one of them an author and enthusiastic supporter of bookshops – talked about books and the threat to reading.

Australia: the land of lost revenue

Australia: the land of lost revenue

Australia once thought of itself as a country of opportunity and innovation – economically and socially. Like most countries self-beliefs, the thought was not always matched by reality. Indeed, it would arguably be better to see Australia as a land of lost opportunities with many of those losses being biggest and most damaging in recent decades.

The UK’s Thames Water and Macquarie Group rip off

The UK’s Thames Water and Macquarie Group rip off

The UK’s Thames Water – infamous for pumping raw sewage into waterways – parent company has now defaulted on its debt.

The age of eco-anxiety

The age of eco-anxiety

Back in 1947 the W.H. Auden poem, The Age of Anxiety, was published a year after he renounced his British citizenship for US citizenship.

Focus research beat ups

Focus research beat ups

In journalism and politics there are beat ups every day of the week. But some are so outrageous that they make a zephyr breeze look like a tornado.

Dutton's new form of climate denial

Dutton's new form of climate denial

When Twiggy Forrest, Private Eye, The Financial Times and Bloomberg all describe why nuclear power is not the answer you have to wonder why Peter Dutton cant hear the message.

Weathering the storm: support for multiculturalism resists politicians frenzied divisiveness

Weathering the storm: support for multiculturalism resists politicians frenzied divisiveness

Reading the latest Scanlon Foundation social cohesion report makes you aware that there are two quite distinct images of Australia. One totally dark and doom laden is depicted in the mass and social media and the other clear-eyed about both serious problems and opportunities is depicted in the 2023 Scanlon Foundation annual Mapping Social Cohesion report.

Genocidal wars dominate US history

Genocidal wars dominate US history

US politicians and others are always boasting about the US being the greatest in just about any category you can think of from the record for eating hot dogs in a given time to their so-called democracy.

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