Peter Henning

Peter Henning was an activist small farmer in Tasmania who opposed the building of Gunns’ pulp mill in Tasmania, and the destruction of water catchments and agricultural land by MIS monocultural agribusiness and the industrial pulpwood industry.

Peter's recent articles

Australian politicians are now just pathetic beyond measure

Australian politicians are now just pathetic beyond measure

The depth of Australia’s slide into an irrelevant and untrustworthy minnow on the global stage was demonstrated when distinguished UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese described the Australian prime minister’s refusal to criticise Donald Trump’s plan to turn Gaza into a neo-colonial capitalist venture for the benefit of his family and friends, as “pathetic”.

The hollow man seeks to lower the temperature

The hollow man seeks to lower the temperature

“And don’t forget Australia, that reliable imperial lapdog ready to hop to” – Eve Ottenberg.

Netanyahu and Australia

Netanyahu and Australia

Netanyahu has demonstrated that he has the complete measure of the Labor-Coalition political class, that he only has to snap his fingers and bark an order and they will all do his bidding and follow his instructions with alacrity.

The Amsterdam incident exposes Australian supine and servile dishonour and dishonesty

The Amsterdam incident exposes Australian supine and servile dishonour and dishonesty

The subservience of the Labor-Coalition political class to Washington is now almost complete. It is no longer possible to consider the Albanese-Dutton political groupings as anything other than propagandists for US imperial interests. This has been apparent for some time, but it has now reached the stage of making John Howard’s role as “deputy sheriff” appear as a form of forceful independence.

Thank goodness for Lidia Thorpe

Thank goodness for Lidia Thorpe

Calling Lidia Thorpe “un-Australian”, as occurred in Canberra on 22 October, is to be reminded that being “Australian” is to grovel to British royalty, to curtsy, genuflect and pay homage and allegiance to an anti-democratic institution, to a man who has wealth, position, entitlement and power due to birth, and birth only.

US boots on the ground in Israel demolishes international law

US boots on the ground in Israel demolishes international law

The US decision to send troops to Israel has upended the focus of attention for all those, globally, who have attempted to stop both the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and the determination of the current Israeli government to create Eretz Israel: a territory incorporating – at minimum – all Palestinian land now occupied by Israel, but also likely southern Lebanon and parts of Jordan and Syria as well.

As US puppets the Australian political class rejects international humanitarian law

As US puppets the Australian political class rejects international humanitarian law

One thing which was crystal clear from the vigils in Australia on 7 October 2024 was the almost complete unanimity between the Labor-Coalition political class at federal and state levels to only attend vigils solely commemorating the deaths of Israelis, while simultaneously completely ignoring vigils commemorating the deaths of Palestinians, or vigils commemorating the deaths jointly of Palestinians, Lebanese, Israelis and other people killed, such as UN aid workers, health professionals and journalists.

Australia: a very fine example of the ultimate vassal state

Australia: a very fine example of the ultimate vassal state

Australia currently has a Labor-Coalition political class which is committed to serving the interests of the United States as its highest priority, and within that frame the most significant conflicts that exist internally between the main factions of that class, Labor and Liberal — party labels which bear no relationship to the meaning of “labour” and “liberal” — are centred on base competition for favoured status in Washington.

Payman shatters the shackles of political amorality

Payman shatters the shackles of political amorality

The essential difference between Senator Fatima Payman and the rest of the federal Labor caucus – and the Coalition caucus as well – is that she opposes genocide and wants the federal parliament to take effective action against it. She is a minority of one in the federal Labor-Coalition political class.

Underestimating Albanese is a massive calamity for Australia

Underestimating Albanese is a massive calamity for Australia

When Anthony Albanese said during 2022 hed always been underestimated but here I am, the message he was trying to convey was one of self-congratulation. He portrayed himself as a poor boy made good who deserved widespread public applause and appreciation for that achievement.

The Australian Parliament besmirches us all by refusing Gaza ceasefire

The Australian Parliament besmirches us all by refusing Gaza ceasefire

It must be regarded as one of the most despicable and morally repugnant actions ever taken by an Australian parliament since 1901 when, in the first week of February this year, it refused by a huge majority to demand a ceasefire in Gaza as Israel prepared for a military assault on Rafah, where they had forcibly massed an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians in what can only be described as a massive concentration camp.

Stripped bare: The Albanese governments support for genocide

Stripped bare: The Albanese governments support for genocide

It is now very obvious that the Albanese government is determined to assist Israel in ensuring that the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are undermined and rendered unworkable.

A nation for a continent  no thanks

A nation for a continent no thanks

Events of the last three months or so will shape the way large cohorts of the Australian population assess the character, integrity and fitness for office of federal politicians and parties on issues of fundamental importance to them, much as happened during the years of the Vietnam War in the 1960s. But whereas the Vietnam War convinced a cohort to vote Labor for a generation, the current combination of events is likely to convince some cohorts that neither major party is worthy of trust or respect to govern.

Australians reject Trumpism

Australians reject Trumpism

We do need to pay attention to the cold reality that Australia came the closest it has been since federation to closing the door on a democratic future worthy of the name. With the defeat of Morrison Australia has dodged the abyss of Trumpism.

Morrison repeats his Macron trick on Pelosi

Morrison repeats his Macron trick on Pelosi

Trumps coal spruiker down under, campaigner for Trump at every opportunity, has transitioned with narcissistic chameleon aplomb into a new role, helping Australia become an unincorporated territory of the US.

With AUKUS, Australian nationhood is dead in the water

With AUKUS, Australian nationhood is dead in the water

Joe Bidens new pal, the uh, fella down under has dramatically outdone all previous attempts to sabotage Australia becoming a real nation state.

Morrison: no supporter of great causes or freedom

Anything that Scott Morrison has to say about great causes and freedom in relation to any of his policies, let alone Afghanistan, are absurd and outrageous hypocrisy, utterly devoid of credibility.

Frydenberg knows nothing of Voltaire

Fydenbergs misuse of Voltaire is a complete travesty, a total misrepresentation of Voltaires beliefs and values. Voltaire fought against the kind of political power enabling the incarceration of people deemed to have no rights under the law, as in the imprisonment on Christmas Island of children by Frydenbergs government.

"We are one and free" - sarcasm, lie or delusion?

Perhaps Morrison got muddled, fuddled and confused about what he was saying, and got the anthem mixed up in a marketing message about something else, like being one and the same with Donald, two sides of the Legion of Merit.

Fever Pitch: Whos an Enemy of the State?

The character of our own government at present is imbecility, said Samuel Johnson to James Boswell.

Morrison's Trumpist Dilemma: A Credible Revisionist Narrative is Impossible

The Morrison dilemma then, in the face of all the damning evidence, is how to create a revisionist narrative to gloss over his love-in with Trump, a herculean task requiring all kinds of miraculous shape-shifting, chameleonism, burning of bridges and scuttling for refuge under rocks and hollow logs.

Senator Eric Abetz: A career of negativity and division

Wouldnt it be nice if Sarah Cooper did a lip-sync covering the career of Tasmanian Senator Eric Abetz?

<