World Affairs
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RAMESH THAKUR. APLN Group Statement on Nuclear Threats
On Tuesday 26 September 2017, 55 Asia–Pacific political, diplomatic, military and civil society leadership figures, who are members of the Asia–Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (APLN), signed a statement urging that nuclear crises are best resolved diplomatically, not militarily; and that internationally negotiated deals to resolve nuclear crises should be respected by Continue reading »
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HENRY REYNOLDS. Thinking about memory and monuments.
The controversy about confederate monuments in the southern states erupted in May this year while I was in the United States. I was impressed by the extent and the vigour of the debate. In the back of my mind I wondered if a similar controversy would eventually emerge in Australia. It did and with a Continue reading »
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MICHAEL MULLINS. Proper scrutiny will expose ‘traditional marriage’ as dangerous.
Pope Francis has confirmed his resolve to dump Pope John Paul II’s legacy regarding marriage and the family. He will replace it with his own more inclusive vision, which he outlined in a speech in October last year. This suggestion of openness has obvious implications for Australia’s Marriage Law Postal Survey ‘no’ campaign, which presents Continue reading »
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MACK WILLIAMS. Muslim Mindanao: once more into a quagmire?
We need to be very careful in not overhyping the IS activity in Marawi and soliciting an invitation to military involvement without a comprehensive Australian review of the complex issues at stake in Mindanao and our wider relationship with the Philippines and the US. Continue reading »
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ANDREW FARRAN. Not the time to deny natural justice to the Kurds.
Will the revived march of the Kurds for an independent homeland be the time when the Sykes-Picot agreement, which amidst the chaos of the First World War divided the Arab world between British and French influence and control, becomes finally unstuck? Continue reading »
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ELAINE PEARSON and JOHN BLAXLAND. Myanmar Rohingya crisis: Australia needs to stand up and help as the situation worsens
The world seems to be sitting on its hands as the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar descends into what the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has described as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”. Continue reading »
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KIERAN TAPSELL. University report lifts the lid on child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church
Researchers from RMIT University in Melbourne have produced a landmark report on the systemic reasons for child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Continue reading »
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SRIPRAPHA PETCHARAMESREE. The Rohingya exodus.
The most recent Rohingya exodus has been making headlines during the past few weeks. But just a week ago Daw Aung San Suu Kyi broke her silence. In her more than 30 minute speech addressing the Myanmar Parliament and diplomats on 19 September, the term Rohingya was not used. Rohingya continues to be “forbidden to Continue reading »
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CAVAN HOGUE. Mindanao and terrorism.
The situation in Mindanao is complicated by historical, ethnic, religious, criminal and social factors that are not easily unravelled. The introduction of Saudi Wahabism and foreign fighters complicates the mix even further. Separatism is not new but the arrival of foreign fighters which led to the taking of Marawi is a new factor. The Philippine Continue reading »
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RAMESH THAKUR. Mr President, the United Nations is not a New York sub-office of the State Department
On Tuesday, Hurricane Trump made landfall at UN Headquarters in Turtle Bay. What had been feared as a category 5 storm had weakened to category 3 – which can still cause considerable destruction. Trump invoked Biblical language in justification for the harsh rhetoric against the ‘scourge of our planet’ today: ‘If the righteous many do Continue reading »
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GEOFF MILLER. North Korea: see you, and raise.
Trump’s apocalyptic speech to the UN, combined with Mattis’s comments, are designed both to daunt Kim Jong Un and to alarm China and Russia into putting more pressure on him. Continue reading »
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HENRY REYNOLDS. Citizenship and English proficiency and indigenous people.
So we have the anomalous situation of a projected citizenship test which large numbers of indigenous people could not pass. Continue reading »
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FRANK BRENNAN. Same sex marriage and freedom of religion.
NZ Prime Minister Bill English was being interviewed by Fran Kelly on ABC RN Breakfast on Monday morning. Fran asked him about same sex marriage which is now law in New Zealand. He stressed that freedom of religion is important. She observed: “You voted ‘No’ in 2013 but you’ve said if the vote was held Continue reading »
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TONY SMITH. The farcical appeal to ‘family values’
Some opponents of marriage equality have resorted to spurious arguments about ‘family values’. The record of arch-conservatives on war, overseas aid, asylum seekers, Indigenous affairs, the social safety net, free market capitalism, the working poor and the monarchy suggests that the reference to family values is a hollow and hypocritical rhetorical device. Continue reading »
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JEAN PIERRE-LEHMANN. The Clouds of Imminent Trade War Are Looming
In the conclusion of her outstanding book on the First World War (The War That Ended Peace) historian Margaret MacMillan asks whether, as many have argued, war in 1914 was inevitable. She refutes this view; the final sentence of the book contains these four words: “There are always choices.” Continue reading »
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RICHARD BUTLER. The Alliance: The Facts and the Furphies
A review of how we conduct our alliance relationship with the US is urgently required, not simply because it has elected a President who is unfit for his job, but because of the US’ attachment to war. Continue reading »
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JAMES O’NEILL. The South China Sea and the risk of war: a summary.
It is self-evident that the risk of war is not confined to the South China Sea. In fact, the risk of war there is probably less than in other significant flash points around the world. Continue reading »
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MAX HAYTON. Jacindamania in NZ
The New Zealand election campaign has produced a star but is it rising or setting or is it just a descending meteorite heading for early burnout? The polls on September 23 will give the answer. Current polls a week from Election Day are confused and confusing. Continue reading »
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JOHN BLAXLAND AND ELAINE PEARSON. Myanmar Rohingya crisis: Australia needs to stand up and help as the situation worsens.
The world seems to be sitting on its hands as the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar descends into what the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has described as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”. Continue reading »
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TRAVERS McLEOD. Opportunity for regional leadership on Rohingya refugees.
Australia and Indonesia, the Co‐Chairs of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime, have been asked by regional experts to fulfil a promise made after the 2015 Andaman Sea crisis by responding quickly to the refugee crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh. This is an historic opportunity for the Continue reading »
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MICHAEL SAINSBURY. In defence of the tragic, impotent silence of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Can Pope Francis help with her effective silence over the Rohingya crisis being perpetrated by Myanmar’s military that is a measure of her government’s helplessness? Continue reading »
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WARWICK ELSCHE. From as far away as Australia it is difficult to assess America’s Trump administration.
Reading as widely as possible and watching American news reports helps but does not altogether solve the problem. Indeed, many Americans, far closer to the action are finding themselves similarly baffled. The President of just eight months has, in his own words, given us a picture of a truly remarkable occupant of the world’s top office. Continue reading »
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ANDREW FARRAN. After North Korea: breakdown of regional non-proliferation?
“The existence of a nuclear threat is not sufficient reason to go nuclear; if it were [these Asian states] would have nuclear arms by now. In each case, the reliability of the US security commitment is the dominant variable”. Continue reading »
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RICHARD BUTLER. New Sanctions on North Korea: No substitute for direct political engagement
The new sanctions on DPRK will likely suffer the failure of so many such sanctions orders. DPRK policy and actions have their reasons. Those must be addressed directly, politically. Will the nuclear weapon states do it, or is it too close to their bones? Continue reading »
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KOMALA RAMACHANDRA. Australia’s ‘Modern Slavery’ Proposal Falls Short
In mid-August Australia’s justice minister proposed a new law requiring the country’s biggest companies to report on their practices and policies to prevent forced labour in their operations and supply chains. The government wants to ensure that consumer products like food, electronics, and clothing – whether they’re made abroad or domestically – are not produced by people Continue reading »
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RAMESH THAKUR. North Korea’s nuclear progress isn’t the only bad news
North Korea’s rapid advances are a game-changer, but the quality of strategic analysis and decision-making in Washington is highly suspect. This portends troubling times ahead. Continue reading »
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MICHAEL MULLINS. Civil and religious marriage are best kept separate.
By conflating the civil law with religious ritual, we create confusion that makes it easy for the Church to claim authority that rightfully belongs to the state. In other words, the Church makes demands regarding sacramental marriage, which of course is OK. But it often weighs in on civil marriage as well, which is different. Continue reading »
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PETER HAYES and DAVID VON HIPPEL. North Korea – How crucial are oil imports for its nuclear and missile programs?
A recent report by the Nautilus Institute by Peter Hayes and David von Hippel suggests that the impact of strong sanctions against oil imports by North Korea from China may not have a telling or early impact on its nuclear and missile development program. Continue reading »
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CAVAN HOGUE. Our news media need less hysteria and more history
Australian reporting on international affairs leaves much to be desired as recent comments on the Philippines and Russia show. While the situation in Mindanao must be taken seriously, it is important to understand that only 20% of the inhabitants are Moslems and that most of the island is inhabited by Christian migrants. This doesn’t seem Continue reading »
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FRANK BRENNAN. Developing an inclusive and sustainable economy (Speech launching the 2017 Social Justice Statement, 7 September 2017)
We’re here to launch Everyone’s Business: Developing an Inclusive and Sustainable Economy. 25 years ago, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference published Common Wealth for the Common Good: A Statement on the Distribution of Wealth in Australia. Michael Costigan and Sandie Cornish who are with us this morning laboured long and hard over four years to Continue reading »