Government
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‘Little Crappy Ship’: report excoriates ship building program behind USS Canberra
A new US investigative report has excoriated the controversial Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program which included the USS Canberra – commissioned in very unusual circumstances with great fanfare by the US Navy recently in Sydney. Should its revelations about the manifest failures in the USN’s procurement performance – with former officers describing the LCS class Continue reading »
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Environment Minister resorts to ‘drug dealer’s defence’ for coal mine approvals
The Environment Council of Central Queensland (ECoCeQ) has been in the Federal Court this week arguing that the Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek has acted irrationally and unlawfully in her risk assessment of the expansion of 2 very large coal mines in NSW. The proponents of these mines, the Mount Pleasant Optimisation coal mine expansion and Continue reading »
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The West attempts to downplay India assassination allegations
India appears to have taken a leaf out of Saudi Arabia’s book in dealing with its critics abroad, with the alleged killing by Indian agents of a prominent Khalistan activist in Canada recently. Continue reading »
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Assange: Is the modern day US empire capable of mercy?
‘I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice’ ~ Abraham Lincoln Continue reading »
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Conjuring up panic about teaching reading
Magicians regularly use distraction to trick us into perceiving one thing while another is happening. Politicians use similar tricks to signal concern about public policy problems. Recently there has been an organised campaign to get us to believe that NAPLAN literacy results can all be explained by differences in the methods used to teach reading. Continue reading »
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War profiteers are a sign of a profoundly sick society
“War is good for business.” So reads a quote from an arms industry executive in a recent Reuters article titled “At London arms fair, global war fears are good for business” about Europe’s biggest arms show, the biennial Defence and Security Equipment International. You will probably be unsurprised to learn that Reuters does not name Continue reading »
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The Richard Boyle case: Lots of persecution, no sign of humanity
The Australian public needs to know why persecution of the principled, courageous ATO whistle blower Richard Boyle has dragged on for six years. He blew the whistle on the ATO in October 2017, the AFP raided his home in April 2018, in March 2023 a judge in South Australia decided he was not immune from Continue reading »
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Remember Brexit? Australians will regret voting No on the Indigenous Voice
Australians have been able to witness the voter remorse that can arise when a nation votes on a specific question of policy in a referendum that has the potential to set their country on a new course. Referendum questions with that level of significance don’t come along very often for democratic nations but when they Continue reading »
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64 Australian parliamentarians endorse diplomatic trip to free Assange
We believe the right and best course of action would be for the United States’ Department of Justice to cease its pursuit and prosecution of Julian Assange.” Continue reading »
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Assimilation re-emerges
In her recent address to the National Press Club, Jacinta Price resuscitated the seventy years old policy of assimilation constructed by Minister for Territories Paul Hasluck. Continue reading »
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Singapore censors ANU’s East Asia Forum website
Growing touchiness as scandals mount. Continue reading »
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Why The Voice will lead to better government decision-making
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to parliament will result in systemic and sustainable change in government decision-making and policy formulation affecting First Nations peoples. Here are four reasons why. Continue reading »
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Revolution is needed to save the dying River Murray
Many rivers around the world are dying from overuse, pollution, the effects of dams, river barriers and global warming; governmental failures and political squabbles are often paramount. How then do we save the Murray? Continue reading »
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Australia’s secretive defence establishment: the real enemies of truth and freedom
Australia, with fewer secrets to hide, is more compulsively secretive than the US, China or NATO. Continue reading »
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Avoid the damage of NO: A plea to all women
This is a PLEA to all sensible women (and men) to vote Yes in the referendum because the damages of a No win will move us backward, not forward. We will still need ways of remedying the serious mess of inequities initiated in 1788. The failure of Yes will show the lack of sufficient trust Continue reading »
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Asleep at the wheel of public service reform
The rehabilitation of the federal public service is a slow waltz – one step forward, one sideways and a couple backwards. To stretch the metaphors and with apologies to Don Gibson’s fine 1961 hit song, while the administrative ship of state is adrift in a sea of heartbreak, its principal stewards seem half asleep at Continue reading »
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Weighing the significance of Labor’s social housing investment fund
After more than six months of Parliamentary wrangling, the ALP’s flagship housing future fund bill finally cleared the Senate last week. For Australia’s neglected social housing sector, this presages a welcome revival of federally-supported capital investment, absent for most of the past quarter century. But, in a longer-term perspective, the resulting program will be significant Continue reading »
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Earth Systems Treaty: The emerging cross-cultural commitment
“The evidence is compelling that human exceptionalism is a deeply-flawed construct – a grand cultural illusion – that has led modern techno-industrial societies into a potentially fatal ecological trap.” William Rees, Author, The Human Ecology of Overshoot. Continue reading »
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Smothered indigenous voices
This is a story of what a voice can achieve and how easily it is undone by external forces. Continue reading »
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Refugee goes on long walk to take Australia on a journey
On 10 September 2023, at the end of refugee Neil Para’s marathon 1014 kilometre walk from Ballarat to Sydney, it was made public that Neil, his wife, Sugaa, and two daughters, Nivash and Kartie, had been granted permanent visas (his youngest, Nive, was born in Australia, and she was made a citizen when she turned Continue reading »
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Australia: Made for free trade and a tax on rent
There is no more important issue in Australian taxation reform than replacing current arrangements by efficient mineral rent taxation. That requires large analytic effort and effective political leadership. Success would bring high rewards to the Australian polity, and I expect electoral rewards to the Government that is seen as being responsible for a good outcome. Continue reading »
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About The Voice!
If you don’t know about the voice, dont just say No! Continue reading »
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Tenure and its troubles
Discussion of the tenure of senior officials in the Australian public service continues in P&I, with some former officials recently pointing to the difficulty of giving the fabled “frank and fearless” advice when contracts may not be renewed. Continue reading »
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Korean Catholics continue fight against coal power
South Korea is among the nations with the highest coal power generation. Continue reading »
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From America’s IRA to China’s eco-civilisation, a new global consensus is emerging. Globalisation and growth are out, redesigning society is in
This summer saw the hottest average global temperatures in the last 125,000 years. Europe is embroiled in war, with other conflicts raging around the world. The global economy is still reeling from the impacts of the first global pandemic since 1919. Experts are warning against the threat posed by our most advanced technological creation–artificial intelligence (AI). Continue reading »
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Group think: Paralysis and the missing ONI climate security report
On assuming office, one of Prime Minister Albanese’s first actions was to task the Office of National Intelligence (ONI) to review the security threats posed by climate change. The report was finalised in late 2022 but not made public. Accordingly, a “release the ONI report” campaign has dominated climate-security discourse over much of 2023. Foreign Continue reading »
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“Yes” will say “No” to Trumpism and US-like social disintegration
I’m voting “Yes” as a proud Australian of Aboriginal, European and Middle-eastern ancestry. Australia’s Constitution needs to catch up with the nation we are today. We’re a multicultural superpower and Asia-Pacific democracy, founded on 65,000 years of heritage and culture. Our Constitution needs to reflect that. Continue reading »
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With Universities in crisis, democracy is under threat
Gratifying it may be to see three of our top performing universities outranking Columbia and Johns Hopkins (with Melbourne even outranking Caltech and Yale (QS World University Rankings)), but as a sector our universities are in crisis. And such a crisis has dangerous implications for our democracy. Continue reading »
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Chinese voters’ disillusionment over Labor and AUKUS
When Labor and the Liberals share similar strategies regarding China and national defence, why should Chinese-Australian voters stay loyal? Continue reading »
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Crossing the William Barak Bridge
The woman with the Yes pamphlets outside the MCG on Saturday was unwavering. Continue reading »
