Recent articles by Percy Allan (Dec'd)
22 March 2022
Ukraines tragedy and its implications
My observations (and worries) about the escalating war in Europes biggest breadbasket and largest country by area (after Russia).
7 March 2022
Not one inch Eastward
Nothing can excuse Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its bombing of residential suburbs and social infrastructure. It is nothing short of a war crime. But how did it come to this?
24 February 2022
Another Biden/Blinken Blunder
Biden and Blinken (an appropriate surname) will now notch up their second humiliating defeat following the US rout in Afghanistan.
10 February 2022
Historical understanding will go a long way towards resolving Ukraine crisis
The US would not accept Russian influence on its borders 60 years ago. The West needs to give Russia the same security as it expects for itself.
15 November 2021
Public policy making is failing in Australia. Here's how to fix it
Federal and state governments are falling short of basic standards of evidence in legislating policy, according to new independent research.
20 October 2021
Good governance in six logical and easy steps
A statement of public interest should be obligatory for major government decisions. Heres why.
22 September 2021
After initiating the coercion against China we are now with AUKUS in the front row in a new cold war.
Since we have decided to integrate our navy with Americas and be its ally in confronting China, we should expect to be viewed as an extension of a nuclear superpower and be targeted accordingly.
17 June 2021
How to engage with China
The Chinese governments overriding goals are unity, stability, security, and prosperity. They arose from its century of humiliation (1839-1949) when it underwent invasion, addiction, civil war, and destitution. The Great Leap Forward campaign (1958-62) triggered famine and the Red Guard riots (1966-67) destroyed heritage and education. All post-Mao governments have brutally cracked down on internal dissent lest it leads again to fracturing and secession. To outsiders that is intolerable, but most Chinese accept a tightly policed state is preferable to a turbulent and broken one. Also, any visitor to China knows that its people are not dispirited. In failed states,...
20 May 2021
Australia's fundamental fiscal dilemma
This was a big pump-priming budget. The maximum deficit as a proportion of GDP is 7.8% which makes the deepest deficits of the Rudd (4.2%) and Whitlam (2.8%) governments look modest. It discards the governments pre-pandemic commitment to return to surplus. Of the $92 billion of new spending over the next four years, two-thirds is funded by windfall gains from a recession shorter than expected. The rest is from letting the deficit rip.
21 January 2021
China-Australia trade conflict is not all Chinas doing
For the past nine months China has blocked some Australian exports, including coal, cotton, lobsters and timber, while also levying anti-dumping duties on Australian wine and barley.Post Covid, it will be hard for Australia to grow quickly without Chinas market, capital, people exchange and know-how. Finding a dtente is essential.
26 November 2020
Latest Findings on how well our Governments make Policy
For the third year running, independent research undertaken by two philosophically opposed Right and Left think tanks finds that basic standards of evidence and consultation-based policy making are only loosely followed by Australian federal and state governments. Nevertheless, there was an improvement on last years results.
19 September 2020
Review: TOAST the new Australian primer on climate change
Toast describes the huge threat climate change poses to the world and to Australia in particular. It explains why this is so difficult to perceive. It sets out evidence that the climate scientists, not the denialists, are right.
5 July 2020
How to avoid a September cliff edge (AFR 29.6.20)
Bond sales to the Reserve Bank would allow stimulus to continue without busting the budget or raising taxes.