Government
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Thank goodness for Lidia Thorpe
Calling Lidia Thorpe “un-Australian”, as occurred in Canberra on 22 October, is to be reminded that being “Australian” is to grovel to British royalty, to curtsy, genuflect and pay homage and allegiance to an anti-democratic institution, to a man who has wealth, position, entitlement and power due to birth, and birth only. Continue reading »
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The price of poverty
Those who work in the social service sector in Alice Springs, as I do, know this fact intimately: there is an incredible amount of money funding our response to a community who have incredibly little. Continue reading »
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Thorpe unmasks the coloniser who visited genocide on Australia’s First Nations
Both Charles and Camilla are having their gilt edged fault lines exposed on their Australian tour. We should be thankful for Lidia Thorpe’s courage and outspokenness. Continue reading »
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The big con on climate action
The Labor government was elected on a platform of integrity and “real” action on climate. We’ve been duped. Continue reading »
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On the gravy train: Venality and a misplaced sense of entitlement are corrupting democratic institutions in contemporary Australia
Crikey’s recent revelation that some 170 politicians and media commentators have had overseas trips fully or partly funded by particular interest groups, shines a spotlight on a deeply embedded problem in our political and media institutions. Coalition figures appear to be the most frequent beneficiaries of this duchessing. Continue reading »
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ACT Labor holds on, but are wheels coming off the Albanese re-election campaign?
Albanese once said his purpose in life was to “fight Tories.” In government he has done little more than surrender to them. Continue reading »
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Etiquette tips for awed commoners
Being vital deportment behavioral protocols in the face of British flapdoodle Continue reading »
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Could Albanese do better with less help?
Senior political office is a hazardous place where job security can be fortuitous. Continue reading »
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The hollowing-out of governance in contemporary Australia
Despite claims to the contrary, Australia is not a well governed country. At all levels of politics, in businesses large and small, and in the wider society, governance systems right across the country have been hollowed-out. Continue reading »
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Monetary policy: The Australian Government must stop acting in the interests of US shareholders
Since the dawn of neoliberal policy time, at the start of the 1980s, the idea that the population must suffer short-term pain for the sake of longer-term gain has been frequently stated by government and senior public servants. Continue reading »
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International students in Australia raise their voice in NSW politics
International Student activists succeeded in passing anti-transport discrimination motions at Transport Minister Jo Haylen’s Summer Hill Branch. Continue reading »
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Absence of care: AMC prison a drug “supermarket”; force applied with “regularity”, report staff
The ACT’s prison is run by a clique, with detainee bashings covered up, staff bullied into silence and the library better labelled “a supermarket” where any drug desired was freely available. Continue reading »
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A campaign to raise awareness of aged care star ratings is wasting public money
Last week the government launched a media campaign to “build awareness, trust, and use” of the system of aged care star ratings. Continue reading »
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Dutton thuggery, coalition compliance
Coalition leader Dutton’s inability to think beyond a thuggish use of power becomes more divisive, more cancer like because his colleagues comply with every pose and point he makes. Continue reading »
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Singing from the same hymn sheet – solutions for mental health care in Australia
At a time when there is a surge in mental health disorders in young Australians of 47 per cent over 15 years and the health system is struggling to cope with the growing complexity and demand, multidisciplinary solutions are being proposed between the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Australian College of Continue reading »
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Australia’s school system: Entitlement vs need
While government rhetoric about the school system favours need, the way the system works tips the balance in favour of entitlement. Continue reading »
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Australia’s shame
Open Letter to Antonio Guterres on the Australian Government’s failure to publicly defend the office of the United Nations Secretary General. Continue reading »
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The deafening silence in the eye of the hurricane
In the eye of the hurricane is a moment of calm and silence, before wild chaos and destruction resume. Symbolically, the world now stands in such a place. Continue reading »
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Anthony Albanese has yet to grow into the prime minister’s job
The prime minister is a political operator rather than a visionary. His inability to persuade and sustain arguments is beginning to show. Continue reading »
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ACT’s Barr will struggle to overcome belief he has been in power too long
This ACT election is not an election about policies. Nor, by itself, about significant changes to the style of government. Continue reading »
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Myths of the Referendum
One year on from the defeat of the ‘Indigenous Voice’ referendum of 14 October 2023, some myths have arisen about the process and the outcome. These deserve further discussion. Continue reading »
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What will follow the referendum?
It is not surprising that so many of us believed that after the Voice Referendum 2023 Indigenous people would be recognised in the Australian Constitution and their voices valued. Continue reading »
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The forthcoming Queensland state election
In the forthcoming October 26 state elections, my prediction is that Labor in Queensland will get hammered. Continue reading »
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Israel does not have a right to defend itself, as our PM keeps saying
Israel has no right of self-defence against resistance to the illegal occupation. Israel cannot both occupy Palestinian lands, and then launch an attack on those lands by citing ‘self-defence’ when occupied populations resist. Neither can Israel treat those resisting in occupied territories as enemy combatants. Continue reading »
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As high-rise developments boom, overhaul of strata committees of management long overdue
Owner corporations have recently come under attack for their dodgy practices. An overhaul of strata committees of management is also long overdue. Continue reading »
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East Timor is not Palestine
Peter Job’s article in P&I, ‘Palestine – The Lessons of East Timor’, is an interesting foray into the link between international law and moral condemnation as offering a possible insight into the future of Palestine. As Job argues, one generally does need international law to be on one’s side if a just resolution is to Continue reading »
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Productivity growth has slowed: will it recover?
Restoring the rate of productivity growth is critical to future living standards, but unless technological change accelerates living standards may not increase as fast as we are used to in future. Continue reading »
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Australia should endorse and promote the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
Scientists overwhelmingly agree that climate change is threatening life on this planet and that the root cause is the burning of fossil fuels. But what are we doing about it? More importantly, what are our so-called Leaders doing to address the threat? Continue reading »
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Both personal and political: Productivity and Childcare
The federal government recently released a Productivity Commission’s Report on children’s services. It found too many changes were needed for the government to say more than that they were “looking at it”. The report is significant and was passed to the Government to guide possible reforms to its role in funding of services to deliver Continue reading »
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Symbolic politics and ‘terrorist’ symbols
Until recent events, many Australians would not have realised that it could be a criminal offence to display the symbol of a terrorist organisation in public. Continue reading »