Economy
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AUKUS: A greedy pup
It seems that poor old Albanese has been sold a very greedy—though only virtual—pup. Think of the comparison with another Labor PM, Ben Chifley. Albanese doesn’t come out of it very well. Continue reading »
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We are being led to war with China to satisfy American hegemonic interests
As the American Empire is attempting to open up another war front with China and dragging us into it, the Doomsday clock is now 10 seconds to midnight. Can we resist? Continue reading »
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Independent occupational shortage body for employer sponsored visas would not work
This editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald suggests an independent body should determine which occupations are in shortage for employer sponsored visas rather than using labour market testing. That would be a mistake. Continue reading »
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For Australia, horror of war over Taiwan is not inevitable
Contributors to the “War with China over Taiwan” horror show which began in the Nine newspapers this week assume that a war between China and the United States is likely, and some of them then explicitly say that Australia would be involved. Australia should instead regard the Taiwan issue as one for us to “sit Continue reading »
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Will the Lake Eyre Basin be sacrificed on the altar of gas production?
The integrity of the ecology of the Lake Eyre Basin and its water supply from the Great Artesian Basin are threatened by oil and gas development and by ineffective state and federal administration. Continue reading »
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The defence establishment and Fairfax take on China
Hysteria over a supposed immediate China threat is being peddled by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in the first of a series of three reports titled Red Alert. Not since Menzies’s days, have we seen anything like the papers’ dramatic image of an air force fleet emerging from a supersized China to dominate Continue reading »
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Restoring societal values that make a better future for all
Can we really believe that the power structurers of human societies in 2023 are setting policies and programs that are doing the best for our future? Continue reading »
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The cruel impact of US sanctions on earthquake affected Syria
The unilateral coercive sanctions Australia and its allies impose on Syria make us complicit in a war on the people of Syria, and arguably complicit in policide, if not genocide. To lift the cruel sanctions, we must come to the realisation that Syrians are human, like us. Continue reading »
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How best to tackle inflation
After nine successive increases in the Reserve Bank’s cash rate, this article argues that it is time to pause. In addition, given the sources of increased inflation, more targeted measures are called for rather than the blunt instrument of further interest rate increases. Continue reading »
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It’s the bureaucracy that enabled the Robodebt shame
Major General Kathryn Campbell, currently sitting in a fairly empty office in the Department of Defence on a miserly $900,000 plus a year, seems set to become, by acclamation as much as by the weight of the evidence so far available the chief bureaucratic victim of the Robodebt affair. Continue reading »
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Seeing university reform through an ethical lens
The current review of Australia’s higher education sector, the Australian Universities Accord (the Accord), aims ‘to drive lasting and transformative reform in Australia’s higher education system’. We propose that this review be undertaken through an ethical lens. Continue reading »
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SSNs: a second-best solution for defence?
Defence’s defeat on the French Submarine was an extraordinary victory for a small group of dedicated professionals. Defence’s counterattack with the nuclear submarines under the aegis of AUKUS reeks of the same old problems. Continue reading »
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The sin of Robodebt
What appears to be absent from the politicians and public servants appearing in the Robodebt Royal Commission is an understanding that it was a moral failure – a sin. Finding the sinners to punish in atonement might make us feel better for a moment, but it might not fix the sin. Continue reading »
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Brexit over; now for common sense
The Brexit saga has played itself to death with much relief all round except perhaps at Britain’s political margins. Continue reading »
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Democracy-Autocracy divide will not serve global – or even Western – interests
Taking on autocratic powers has given the West a new-found sense of purpose, but it risks alienating emerging global players with its simplistic world view. A narrative that focuses on the clash between world orders does not resonate with countries more concerned about economic struggle and the climate crisis. Continue reading »
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Superannuation tax changes and budget repair
The very modest superannuation changes have been well received by most people, but the worry is the unwillingness of the Government to acknowledge, let alone tackle, the much bigger fiscal challenges that lie ahead. Continue reading »
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The Windsor framework: oven-ready fudge
More than three years after Boris Johnson got Brexit done with his ‘excellent’ and ‘oven-ready’ deal, his second successor Rishi Sunak may have actually baked it, but only after changing the recipe from cake to fudge. But is there enough fudge to go around? Continue reading »
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The cost of the nation’s endless wars
“Autocrats only understand one word: no, no, no. No you will not take my country, no you will not take my freedom, no you will not take my future… A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never be able to ease the people’s love of liberty. Brutality will never grind down the will of Continue reading »
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China’s recovery key to Australia’s economic success
As China leaves its zero-covid policy behind and reopens to the world, its policy focus has shifted to driving economic growth and re-engagement with key economies. Continue reading »
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Aukus fallout: as US-China tensions grow, Australians reveal mixed feelings about nuclear submarine pact
Surveys reveal concerns that Aukus won’t make Australia safer, while fears grow of ‘secretive policymaking and little government accountability’. Some observers have also questioned the high cost of Aukus to taxpayers, suggesting there are other, less expensive ways to ‘deter China’. Continue reading »
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Ukraine: Is it almost over?
Despite celebrating 12 months of surviving the Russian onslaught, promises of more money and military equipment (including tanks) from the West, and a chorus of support for the courage and resilience of the people, the war appears almost over for Ukraine. Continue reading »
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The lopsided distributional impacts of Australia’s profit-price inflation
With excess corporate profits accounting for 69% of additional inflation beyond the RBA’s target, current anti-inflation policy blames the victims of inflation, while ignoring its perpetrators. Continue reading »
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British company found liable for Beirut Port blast
Savaro Ltd, a shell company reportedly operated by Ukrainian businesspeople, has been found responsible for the damages caused to over 200 victims. Continue reading »
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SSNs for the RAN: A response to Brian Toohey
Brian Toohey (Pearls and Irritations, 14 February 2023) makes a number of criticisms of the recent four-part series on national security by Michael Keating and myself that was published in Pearls and Irritations earlier this month. He contends that we have made “assertions that should not go unchallenged”, particularly in regard to our support for Continue reading »
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Australia needs to think beyond China about data security
The discussion on TikTok and Hikvision infiltration in Australian government departments has centred inarticulately and dogmatically on the country of origin. But there are other more realistic and probable security threats lurking in plain sight. Continue reading »
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Preventing civilisation collapse: Australia should lead the way
Can we avoid, what a growing number of researchers and writers, consider, will be the likely collapse of human civilisation in the not-too-distant future, if we do not quickly and radically change direction? Continue reading »
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The “little Americans” that populate Australia
Greg Sheridan, in his opinion piece of Tuesday 21 February, provides yet another display of his spiteful, vacuous journalism – his erroneous claims that I am not the progenitor of the APEC Leaders’ Meeting, and that my views on Australian strategic policy are eccentric and at odds with the US alliance. Continue reading »
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Thinking differently about sovereignty and economy
While Governments often promote consensus views that disguise racism, domination of the less fortunate and an ages old acceptance that violence can sustain dominant interests, recent articles in P&I have begun to challenge this conformity. Continue reading »
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Lowe’s secret inflation fear: big companies’ price-setting power
Despite the grilling he got in two separate parliamentary hearings last week, Reserve Bank governor Dr Philip Lowe’s explanation of why he was preparing mortgage borrowers for yet further interest rate increases didn’t quite add up. There seemed to be something he wasn’t telling us – and I think I know what it was. Continue reading »
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Australia condemns brazen US blockade of Cuba in UNGA vote
Australia should be proud of its vote in the General Assembly in November last year to condemn the ongoing US blockade of Cuba. Continue reading »
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