
Don’t stir Semar – He seeks harmony
Ancient Javanese mythology, often inherited from India and adapted to fit local culture, is rich with striking characters in the wayang kulit shadow puppet theatre. The fat-gut wise clown Semar is charged with maintaining stability.
Recent articles in Politics

17 May 2025
An open letter to Penny Wong seeking action on Palestine
Dear Minister, Responding to war crimes committed against the Palestinian people Congratulations on Labor’s achievement of another term of government. We hope this term will be one in which everything possible is done to promote, support and invest in peace, without which Australians - and others - cannot be secure.

17 May 2025
Ferocity, fitness and fast bowling: how Virat Kohli revolutionised Indian cricket
Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket on Monday.

17 May 2025
Judge orders release of Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri from ICE detention
My only 'crimes' making me a 'national security threat' are my marriage to a United States citizen of Palestinian origin and my support for the Palestinian cause, wrote Badar Khan Suri in an op-ed published on 13 May.

17 May 2025
Our humanity is lost under the rubble in Gaza
It is a Sunday evening, and I am shopping online. But there is a difference.

17 May 2025
Still waiting for the Asian Century? The world-system has moved on
Dr Allan Patience’s recent essay, Australia’s misunderstanding of the Asian Century, is a wake-up call we can no longer afford to ignore.

17 May 2025
Water is a vital part of population policy
If ecological sustainability must be the basis for population policy, as argued by Jenny Goldie, then a vital ingredient for sustainability is water – the essence of life.

16 May 2025
Sussan Ley and gender politics
Apart from a slight uptick of hope when Malcolm Turnbull gained the leadership of the Liberal Party in September 2015, promising to bring “emotional intelligence” to the role, I have never wished the LNP anything but defeat and oblivion.

16 May 2025
Fear, censorship and repression are keeping Israelis in the dark about Gaza
The public's indifference to what Israel is doing in the Gaza Strip is not just the result of a lack of care, but the result of the war Israel is waging against the possibility of knowing.

16 May 2025
Political parties can recover after a devastating election loss. But the Liberals will need to think differently
Australia has just had its second landslide election in a row. In 2022, there was a landslide against the Liberals, but not to Labor, which fell over the line (as a majority government) by three seats and with just more than 32% of the primary vote.

16 May 2025
China and renewable energy: Dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
China’s deployment of renewable energy technologies is spectacular and globally dominant, but is not its primary focus.

16 May 2025
As costs rise, poll shows most Americans blame Trump
Working families are seeing their grocery bills and other prices skyrocketing thanks to President Trump's erratic trade policies, and they know full well who is to blame, said one critic.