Government
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Pine Gap supports nuclear war fighting, not monitoring arms control agreements
Richard Tanter stated in Pearls and Irritations on March 21 in regard to my piece on a former Defence Deputy Secretary, Paul Dibb on 14 February, that “Media self-censorship, and acceptance – if not cultivation – of a mystique of impenetrable opacity about Pine Gap has facilitated public acceptance of government silence, misdirection and mendacity Continue reading »
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Letter to Penny Wong – Australian Jewish Democratic Society: sanctions on Israel
Countless numbers of Gazans are facing or dying from famine, while Israel continues to make extreme statements and settler violence against Palestinians continues. There is outrage in the Australian community about Israel’s actions. It is time for Australia to act on its severe concerns. The AJDS calls for the Australian Government to ban the importation Continue reading »
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Australia’s AUKUS tributes
Of course, at this time of rising living costs, economic uncertainty, and impending climate disaster, subsidising the British and American submarine construction industrial bases is the obvious priority. At least it seems that way to the Albanese government. Continue reading »
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The Tasmanian election result is a challenge to improve democracy in Australia
The recent decision by PM Albanese not to proceed with an important ALP election promise unless the Opposition supports the proposal surely runs counter to the two-party culture often claimed to be a holy aspect of the Westminster political system. At issue is the ALP’s promise to protect the right of religious schools to practice Continue reading »
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A Republican victory in 2024 will be a climate disaster
After the Super Tuesday results signalled Trump would become the Republican presidential candidate in November, a first promise was that “We’re going to drill baby drill.” One of the most important reasons to watch American politics this year is that a Trump victory will push the world faster towards catastrophic climate heating. Continue reading »
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Why are Liberals trashing relations with WA’s biggest export customer?
Andrew Hastie and Tony Abbott are trying to install a candidate in WA who has written a fictional book to scare people about a Chinese invasion of Australia. Continue reading »
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South Australia’s world-leading renewable transition is attracting flood of new industry
Will a grid based around wind and solar kill manufacturing and industry? It’s what the naysayers – the Coalition and conservative agitators – want you to believe, but the experience in South Australia, which leads the world in the uptake of wind and solar, proves the opposite. Continue reading »
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Health professions urged to speak up on AUKUS and its threats to health and safety
At first sight there might not seem to be much connection between health and the AUKUS military alliance. But the threats posed by AUKUS to health are multiple and strong, at local, national, regional and global levels. A serious examination of those threats should form an important part of preventive healthcare. Continue reading »
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Human rights protections underpin safeguarding national security ordinance
Grenville Cross says new legislation incorporates guarantees lacking in other common-law jurisdictions’ similar laws. Continue reading »
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Australia entrapped in war against China for America
The Australian Government’s bipartisan planned war on China must dominate the next election. Australia’s democracy is currently dead to war, and to America. But the ballot box is the only recourse for Australians. Continue reading »
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On Syria, sanctions, terror and war – an open letter to Australian parliamentarians
When we choose not to show empathy for the people of Syria, it leads us to ignore their country’s ancient history and the rich fabric of Syrian society today. Continue reading »
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America is dumbing itself down. Banning TikTok won’t halt the slide
The US has created the conditions for the decline of its own society. Continue reading »
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Dead in the water: The AUKUS SSN delusion
The general theme of delusion and the particular theme of ‘dead in the water’ as they apply to the entire AUKUS arrangements are provocations worthy of taking further. Continue reading »
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ASIO’s version of Australian sovereignty
Obviously no Australian, much less an MP, should ever sell out his country to any foreign power. However, in recent times, some actions taken by certain MPs arguably amount to doing just that. Mike Burgess, chief of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) appointed by the previous Scott Morrison government, gave an example of this Continue reading »
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Gaza explosions expose Australian faultlines
Since the Hamas atrocities of October 7, through the following months of disproportionate and incomprehensible Israeli vengeance wreaked upon the Palestinian people, the seismic waves from Gaza have been felt near the surface of Australian democracy itself. Continue reading »
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How well is the Albanese Government communicating with Australians?
Since the 1980s I have been urged by my Labor Party colleagues to keep political messages simple and to listen to the local community. Continue reading »
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Aged Care funding taskforce fails to do its task
There is no argument that funding for aged care has to increase or that equitable funding requires that those with higher means pay more. The recommendations of the Aged Care Funding Taskforce fail to provide solutions on both counts, for older people needing care and their carers, providers, taxpayers, or government. Continue reading »
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Fully funding public schools is critical for the government’s education agenda
The recent announcement by the Federal Minister for Education, Jason Clare, that the government wants to raise the percentage of young people achieving a tertiary education to 80% points to the huge stakes at issue in the current negotiations between the Federal and state governments on the next school funding agreements. Continue reading »
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Australia’s middle power self-image is undermining the country’s security
Australian governments routinely assert that the country is respected as a “middle power” in regional and global forums. Meanwhile scholars increasingly agree that the middle power concept is more fantasy than reality. In Australia’s case, the uncritical assumption of the middle power self-image, by many politicians and commentators, is undermining the country’s security. Continue reading »
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Australia’s school system: OOPs!
“The quasi market-based nature of the Australian education system entrenches disadvantage.” The degree of socio-educational stratification among schools makes Australia an anomaly among comparable democracies. Inequity is at a level where an archaeologist delving in to the system might label it as Out-of-Place stuff! Continue reading »
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Australian housing crisis: We need a Ben Chifley
Having a comfortable place to live is a human right. It is enshrined in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Australia has signed. But it is clear from today’s housing crisis Australia has lost its way. Continue reading »
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The darkening prospect of mass destruction on earth
The ailing nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty requires ‘effective measures’ to regain its health, writes Dr Marianne Hanson, Co-Chair of ICAN Australia. Continue reading »
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Penny in Thunderland: Through the lurking glass
Like many APS officers I had dealings with ASIO on occasion. Following Mike Burgess’s playbook I cannot name specifics in the interest of National Security, but almost without exception I found ASIO activities to be conducted by a mob of arse-clowns; the old TV cartoon comedy of Spy-vs-Spy rang terrifyingly true. Continue reading »
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No slowing the ACT rape merry-go-round
Litigation about the alleged rape in a minister’s office at Parliament House in 2019 – more than five years ago – seems to continue to multiply, if with ever decreasing prospects of ever resolving any issues at the heart of the matter. This is something that is now, at law, unknowable in any sort of Continue reading »
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Tasmania’s new electoral quota: transitional or transformative?
When Tasmanians go to the polls on March 23rd 2024, the ballot paper will have a new look to many voters. Yet, others will experience a “back-to-the future” feel by the return to a ballot so familiar a quarter century earlier. The ballot will reflect the changes needed to fill ten newly created seats in Continue reading »
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Housing battle lines for election 2025 begin to emerge
With last week’s announcements from the Coalition and Australian Greens, the contours of next year’s election housing debate have begun to take shape. It’s pretty clear that, as in four of the past six national polls, this policy area will be a flashpoint of the coming contest. Continue reading »
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Peter Dutton sprinkles nuclear stardust into the climate policy vacuum
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is nailing nuclear energy for Australia to his economic renaissance mast. His earlier thought was that the electricity generating transition should be confined to SMRs (small modular reactors) conveniently placed in the basements of factories around Australia. He then expanded his concept to include the construction of large industrial reactors of Continue reading »
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Underestimating Albanese is a massive calamity for Australia
When Anthony Albanese said during 2022 he’d “always been underestimated… but here I am”, the message he was trying to convey was one of self-congratulation. He portrayed himself as a poor boy made good who deserved widespread public applause and appreciation for that achievement. Continue reading »
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Two cheeks of the same backside: Galloway’s UK victory foretells ALP spanking
The Albanese ALP (Australian Labor Party) has become a true people’s government in the sense that its timidity restricts it from doing just about anything that might cause a political ripple. Continue reading »
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PM Anwar Ibrahim rattles Australia’s cage on sinophobia and Gaza
Making the news in the mainstream western media around the world, but not in Australia which is hosting the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit 2024, was the forthright response from Malaysia PM Anwar Ibrahim during his press conference to a question from Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) journalist Stephen Dziedzic. Continue reading »