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
10 February 2024
Spruiking armaments manufacturers at Last Post ceremony: beyond the pale
If anyone ever imagined that commemoration of our war dead was not an opportunity to make political points look no further than the Daily Last Post ceremony at the Australian War Memorial at the recent opening of Federal Parliament.
26 January 2024
Three Nos at the Memorial make no sense at all
Divisions on the Australian War Memorial Council and political pressure are putting Memorial staff in a difficult position over the depiction of Frontier Wars. This has become clearer as time passes and more evidence becomes available.
24 January 2024
Who leaked sensitive legal material to a Murdoch columnist?
In the 20th century a series of UK investigations, including the Leveson Inquiry, demonstrated that Murdoch newspapers had engaged in phone hacking, police bribery and resort to dodgy private investigators.
23 January 2024
Can Dutton wage culture wars and chew gum at the same time?
As Australia Day looms its not surprising that Peter Dutton has yet again found another culture war to prosecute this time against Woolworths decision not to stock Australia Day themed goods.
2 January 2024
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price among most trusted politicians
The latest Roy Morgan Most Trusted & Distrusted Leaders research has bad news for Anthony Albanese but worse news for Peter Dutton.
9 December 2023
What does climate denialist Abbott think of the monarchy now?
Now what on earth will those staunch monarchists and climate denialists John Howard and Tony Abbott - say about their new king, Charles III, and his very strongly held environmental views?
24 November 2023
What was Parliament doing as the earth boiled?
On the day on which the Earth recorded a global average surface temperature of more than 2 degrees centigrade for the first time since records began what was the Australian Parliament and media doing?
22 November 2023
A satisfying cricket win - and not just for sporting reasons
For a former cricketer (one time Port Melbourne Cricket Club thirds all-rounder) and keen participant in politics it was immensely satisfying to see Australia winning the ICC World Cup while the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi was there in the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad to witness it.
19 November 2023
Defending Country campaign exposes the truth about Australias longest war
For decades the Australian War Memorial Council denied the need for the full recognition of Australias first and longest wars the Frontier Wars despite the overwhelming evidence of actions which today would be regarded not only as crimes but also in many cases war crimes.
15 October 2023
Duttons Pyrrhic victory
Certainly, Dutton has demonstrated that disinformation, division and some outright lies can confuse and motivate large sections of the community.
4 October 2023
On equality, business needs to get its own house in order
Business is always telling governments, and the rest of us, that Australia would perform much better if we and our rulers took their advice.
30 September 2023
The RSL - from a power lobby to poker machine empire
The RSL was once one of the most influential lobby groups in Australia. Today it is better known for the number of poker machines it operates.
23 September 2023
Want to solve Australias housing crisis? Look to Vienna
What do you think of when you think of Vienna? Probably not a model for affordable housing in Australia.
22 September 2023
The Great Australian Silence
Voice proponents flood the streets of major cities as Australian media battles its cult of forgetfulness.
12 September 2023
Where are the better angels of our soul?
The Age/SMH Resolve Strategic poll on the Voice referendum was a dramatic reminder that progressives should always be ready for a profound kick in the guts.
3 September 2023
Could Trump be banned from the Presidency?
Could Donald Trump be banned from standing as President? Even in the world of Trumpist paranoid delusions and social media posts it seems improbable.
27 August 2023
What do we want? War! When do we want it? Continually!
Post 9/11 the US embarked on a series of wars to make the world safe and more importantly settle old and new scores.
20 August 2023
Parliament of Hills: What a parliament full of Julian Hills could achieve
It is probably the kiss of political death to promote and celebrate the work of a Labor Government backbencher. After all promotion in the party might be partly due to competence but factional allegiance is more significant. Having too high a profile is probably not an advantage either. But nevertheless
16 August 2023
What do climate denialists say when the facts change?
John Maynard Keynes is widely believed to have said: Well, when the facts change I change my mind. What do you do? It was probably actually Paul Samuelson although Keynes did say something vaguely similar.
13 August 2023
Will the media miss another massive grassroots campaign?
A great illustration of how much of the media totally overlooks the huge grassroots campaign for Yes is the fact that the Jewish communitys far-reaching campaign has been unsighted in mainstream media coverage of the referendum.
3 August 2023
New research on when AMOC may go amok
There has been much research and speculation about whether the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC, or more popularly the Gulf Stream) may collapse and what the consequences might be. Now there is new 2023 research which firms up predictions as to when it might happen. The bad news it might be earlier than previously estimated.
27 July 2023
400 years and counting: Your social status is determined by class
Due to the entrenched English class system, research has shown that the strong familial persistence of social status across generations has not changed in the UK across 400 years of accumulated data. With growing inequality and the emergence of ultra-wealthy and privileged classes in Australia - are we following the same path?
19 July 2023
What gets some whitefellas angry and anxious
There is nothing that agitates some whitefellas more than an intelligent, articulate and charismatic blackfella.
15 July 2023
Very modern Major General
The Australian War Memorial Council believes its a strength that Council members can campaign against Council decisions a far sighted and enlightened view in many ways but also one that could allow a minority to undermine the AWMs mission.
5 July 2023
Another great example of English hypocrisy
Why oh why is anyone surprised by English reaction to the Bairstow stumping?
29 June 2023
Ostensibly Voice campaigns are binary support for yes or no
But underneath the overall campaign are a multitude of subsets of campaign groups and tactics.
28 June 2023
Propaganda works: But Australians still do not want war
The latest Lowy Institute Poll reflects a range of complicated and confusing Australian reactions to our place in the world; the threats we face; and what we think we should do about them.
24 June 2023
How were Indigenous warriors who did wear 'the uniform' treated?
While there are some such as Major General Melick - concerned about not depicting warriors in the Frontier Wars, because they didnt wear a uniform, in the Australian War Memorial, it is worth remembering how appalling the treatment of Indigenous veterans who did wear the uniform over the last century or so were treated.
21 June 2023
Greg Melick, the AWM and Frontier Wars
Major General Greg Melick, a member of the Australian War Memorial Council, would be in a very interesting position in any public company committed to best practice corporate governance principles.
13 June 2023
Our greatest blunders
Ten years ago Anthony King and Ivor Crewe published their book The Blunders of Our Governments.
7 May 2023
If only it was happening in Australia
The French Governments Research Minister, Silvie Retailleau, has announced a plan to shake up the countrys scientific research including investing an extra Euro 26 billion (equivalent to A$42.5 billion.)
5 May 2023
Worlds biggest democracy?
What would Australians, and much of the world, say if the Albanese Government arrested Peter Dutton and locked him up?
21 April 2023
Has Dominion spelt the end of Murdoch influence in Australia?
The alternative universe occupied by the Murdoch media and its consumers is facing a very expensive and damaging confrontation with reality. But how and whether this affect the Australian operations are another question.
13 April 2023
There is an irony in the Voice debate
There is a profound irony in the current Voice debate could Dutton be one of the Yes campaigns significant vote winners?
4 April 2023
Aston insights into Liberal world view
Perhaps the most significant thing about the Aston by-election was the comment on the result by Peter Dutton a comment which provides a profound insight into Liberal thinking and why the Liberal Party is in trouble.
2 April 2023
Rupert Murdoch has a wicked problem
Rupert Murdoch has a wicked problem. Many of the politicians who bent, or even grovelled, when his News media outlets blew on them are no longer scared. On the other hand News particularly Fox is showing signs that it is scared of its own audiences.
22 March 2023
Guardian Essential Poll: AUKUS support collapses, 3-in-4 oppose
Reflecting the diminishing public support for the AUKUS deal, a new Guardian Essential Poll has found that only one quarter of Australians support paying the $368bn price tag to acquire nuclear submarines. For decades Australians were gung ho about going to war almost any war. Today despite the best efforts of the Nine Media (Peter Hartcher in particular) and other media they are now far more hesitant.
16 March 2023
International Best Practice? Australia could do better
A couple of decades ago the phrase international best practice seemed to be on the lips of just about every business leader, business and economics journalists and the odd politician.
12 March 2023
Is Rupert running out of political clout and financial luck?
Rupert Murdoch may be running out of political clout and financial luck.
26 February 2023
John Pesutto - What are his chances?
Election night TV coverages blur into one big indigestible mass as the years go by. Yet every now and again a few stand out.
19 February 2023
Murdoch media problems
The good news for the Murdoch media is that its not the most distrusted brand in Australia despite the efforts of its journalists.
28 January 2023
Why the Dutton Voice approach wont work
Opinion polls suggest Peter Dutton and his media accomplices both Murdoch and the Nine Newspapers - are having some initial success in confusing The Voice issue.
9 December 2022
Nothing agitates the Anglosphere more than young women in power
There is nothing which agitates much of the Anglosphere media more than a young attractive woman in power. The latest example of the phenomenon is the treatment of 37-year-old Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
7 December 2022
Nationals and the Voice: How to derail policy you oppose but the public doesn't?
One of the most difficult tasks facing politicians particularly conservative ones is how to derail a policy which is popular and principled but which you oppose.
6 December 2022
55% of Teal voters were Labor and Green supporters
While we worry about social media misinformation we overlook that one of the main sources of misinformation about politics is mainstream media.
4 December 2022
How the UK is developing the characteristics of a failed society
A new book about Birmingham and its role in shaping modern Britain illuminates how the UK moved from the worlds first industrialised nation to financialisation and deindustrialisation to many of the characteristics of a failed society.
1 November 2022
Roy Morgan survey: Who is the most distrusted media brand?
The latest Roy Morgan Trust and Distrust survey has listed the most distrusted media brands in Australia. Which brand came out on top?
16 October 2022
Classrooms of hope and inspiration: Why is Sky News so angry about them?
The usual suspects in their regular appearances on Sky News After Dark or on the hustings are horrified by what they think is going on in our schools. Yet seeing what is actually going on is heartening for the rest of us.
7 October 2022
Climate change risk second only to nuclear war
Could anthropogenic climate change result in worldwide societal collapse or even human extinction?