Australia’s immigration 'debate' is rhetoric, not policy
Australia is awash with immigration rhetoric, but little of it is grounded in evidence, clear definitions or serious policy alternatives. Rather than an informed public debate, Australians are being offered slogans, blame and ambiguity.
Recent articles in Politics
4 December 2025
The origin of Labor versus Green tensions
Claims that the environment movement almost cost Labor the 1990 election ignore the decisive role played by Democrat votes and preferences. A closer look shows the campaign helped deliver victory – and marked a turning point in Labor’s relationship with environmental politics.
4 December 2025
How the Albanese government kept “jobs for mates” alive
The Albanese government promised to end political patronage in statutory appointments, but has instead chosen a non-binding framework that preserves ministerial discretion and limits accountability.
4 December 2025
Selling out our sovereignty
Revelations of secret F-35 fighter jet parts shipments to Israel have exposed a yawning hole in Australia’s sovereign national defence.
4 December 2025
With a sneaky tweak, the government has made welfare recipients guilty until proven innocent
New social security laws allow payments to be cancelled for people with outstanding arrest warrants, even if they have not been charged or convicted, raising serious concerns about justice, rights and harm.
4 December 2025
Malcolm Fraser: a decent man committed to an independent Australia
Personal experience and recent reflections challenge the popular caricature of Malcolm Fraser, revealing a former prime minister increasingly willing to defy orthodoxy in defence of sovereignty, justice and independence.
4 December 2025
America’s justification for attacking Venezuela: Part 2: fact and fantasy in the drug wars
From Vietnam to Mexico and Afghanistan, the United States’ wars on drugs have deepened violence, addiction and instability. Today, that legacy is edging closer to Australia.
4 December 2025
From coal to solar: a new manufacturing bet in the Hunter
A company headed up by one of the legends of Australian solar research and development has won more than $150 million in federal Solar Sunshot funding to build a commercial-scale PV panel manufacturing plant in one of the nation’s biggest coal hubs – the New South Wales Hunter Valley.
4 December 2025
Book review: Things that concentrate the mind, by Peter Baume
Drawing on a lifetime of public service and reflection, Peter Baume addresses decision-making, medicine, death, liberalism, climate change and social justice with clarity, compassion and intellectual rigour.
4 December 2025
A practical answer to Australia’s AI ethics vacuum
As Australia shies away from meaningful AI regulation, a new framework offers a practical way to embed human moral responsibility at the centre of AI use.
3 December 2025
America’s justification for attacking Venezuela: Part 1 – a calculated insult to us all
The United States’ escalating actions against Venezuela reveal more about imperial power, criminal methods and strategic denial than any genuine concern about drugs or rule of law.
3 December 2025
Brave ACT shows restorative justice for sex offenders can work
A major Australian Institute of Criminology evaluation shows restorative justice in the ACT has improved victim wellbeing and significantly reduced reoffending in domestic and sexual violence cases.
3 December 2025
Expert independent evidence-based assessment
This month we are asking readers to support our work through a tax deductible donation via the Australian Cultural Fund. Regular author, Michael Keating writes about the value of Pearls and Irritations.
