When peaceful protest is allowed to work, democracy works
Melbourne’s mass protest against the visit of Israel President Isaac Herzog showed how large, diverse crowds can assemble peacefully when police exercise restraint and common sense. Sydney’s response points to a deeper failure of judgment about protest, power and democracy.
Recent articles in Politics
11 February 2026
Salt, light and the visit of Isaac Herzog
As controversy surrounds the visit of Israel’s president, Frank Brennan reflects on how Australians might respond with moral seriousness, legal clarity and a commitment to justice for all.
11 February 2026
Herzog greeted by mass protest despite limits on marching
Denied permission to march, thousands still gathered in central Sydney to protest the visit of Israel’s president. The demonstration revealed both the scale of public anger and the state’s increasingly fraught response to dissent.
11 February 2026
The Coalition decision that locks the Liberals out of the cities
By returning to Coalition with a declining National Party, the Liberals have doubled down on policies and demographics that alienate urban voters and younger Australians.
11 February 2026
Valéria Chomsky responds to Epstein controversy
Noam’s overly trusting nature, in this specific case, led to severe poor judgment on both our parts... we express our unrestricted solidarity with the victims.
11 February 2026
Capital gains tax reform could reshape Australia’s housing market
As debate over capital gains tax returns to parliament, longstanding concessions are again under scrutiny for their role in driving housing speculation, inequality and intergenerational imbalance.
11 February 2026
Inviting a foreign president to Bondi’s commemoration divides rather than unites
Inviting a foreign head of state to commemorate an Australian tragedy blurs citizenship, religion and geopolitics – and risks undermining social cohesion at a moment that demands unity.
11 February 2026
Why Australia should consider boycotting the World Cup
International sport is never separate from power. When nations participate in global tournaments, they confer legitimacy on the political and institutional arrangements that make those events possible.
10 February 2026
Antisemitism laws, double standards and Australia’s unfinished reckoning
Proposals to legislate new antisemitism definitions raise hard questions about identity, equality before the law, and why Australia continues to avoid confronting its most entrenched forms of racism.
10 February 2026
Why higher taxes make more sense than higher interest rates
Rather than cutting public spending to restore the budget balance and reduce inflationary pressures, it would be better to increase taxation.
10 February 2026
Cruelty as policy only works until the public recoils
Trump’s immigration crackdown reveals how governments test public tolerance for cruelty exercised in the name of order – a lesson with clear echoes in Australia’s own recent history.
10 February 2026
Giving billionaires a voice: 2025 election donations
New donation data shows how wealthy individuals and well-funded campaigning organisations sought to shape Australia’s 2025 election through money, messaging and pressure politics.
10 February 2026
India’s submarine deal shows what due diligence looks like
India’s decision to buy conventionally powered submarines from Germany highlights a sharp contrast with Australia’s AUKUS pathway on cost, capability and planning.
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