Government
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Sex, drugs and confusion: Sharia law in Bali?
Bali tourism is slowly picking up as Covid apparently retreats. The new threats are laws on drugs, religion and sex. Continue reading »
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Is the Pacific Engagement Visa Australia’s first climate change humanitarian visa?
The new Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV) has more similarities to a humanitarian visa than a labour supplementation visa – at 3,000 permanent resident places per annum, it could be Australia’s first climate change humanitarian visa. Continue reading »
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With nuke-capable B-52s coming, Albanese is now the new Deputy Sheriff for the US
Former Liberal prime minister John Howard used to be often contemptuously referred to as the deputy sheriff for the US in the Pacific region when George W. Bush was in power. Continue reading »
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NDIS: What do soaring costs tell us?
The budget has seen shock headlines about the increase in NDIS costs. The AFR screamed in its headline “…the NDIS will blow out to $50 billion”. It didn’t mention that this was in nominal terms – but the real increase of 17% over the next four years is serious enough. Continue reading »
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Employers say Labor’s new industrial relations bill threatens the economy. Denmark tells a different story
Labor’s proposed amendment to the Fair Work Act (subtitled its Secure Jobs, Better Pay bill) has drawn fire from Australia’s three leading employer groups: Continue reading »
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Australia must clarify Israel’s status as an Apartheid state
I refer to my earlier article on Israel and Apartheid. The article made the clear assertion that Israel is an apartheid state and has been found to be such by internationally respected bodies, including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International. Continue reading »
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Voters need collateral on the new Labor social contract
Even those who understand very well the whys and the wherefores of the bargain on offer from Treasurer Jim Chalmers would be wise to demand some collateral before they sign up to the bargain. Continue reading »
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The Strengthening Medicare Taskforce: Making everyone equal at the front door of the health system
Following the outcome of this year’s Federal Election, Health Minister Mark Butler convened the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce (SMT). Continue reading »
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The Storm is Here: can Australia prevent the conspiracy sphere metastasising into fatal disease?
Sometimes it takes a war correspondent to cast light on what is happening at home. Continue reading »
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On immigration integrity, the Labor government must not fail
The Australian Border Force was not created from a platform of honesty and transparency, quite the opposite. Double talk and trickery underlie the political slurs used to dehumanise and criminalise boat people resulting in needless deaths, agony and brokenness. Labor must return to truth. Continue reading »
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The Albanese Government’s first budget: so far so good
As best can be judged at this point of time, this Budget gets the balance right between the need to bring inflation down while avoiding a recession. But many difficult decisions lie ahead. Continue reading »
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Will the NACC expose corruption in major defence contracts?
If Australia is serious about detecting and exposing corruption in arms deals and other defence contracts, the National Anti-Corruption Commission bill needs to be significantly strengthened. Continue reading »
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Australia’s problem with torture
Casting a keen eye over the human rights obligations of a state is tantamount to rummaging through untended, mouldering laundry. Often, the promise to wash such neglected items has been delayed or postponed. The reasons are often many, and not always insensible. And whose right is it to go through such things anyway? Continue reading »
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Author of The Australian’s editorial on Jerusalem: Identify yourself and defend your views
The Editorial appearing in The Australian entitled “Labor’s Israel decision gets worse” on the 21st of October demands an answer. The author of the Editorial is not identified but I would invite that person to identify himself. Continue reading »
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Sharper focus on flood education and community engagement needed
The flooding in eastern Australia over recent weeks has been serious and in some areas it has seemed never-ending. Continue reading »
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Schools in crisis; solutions in disarray
The school year looks like ending with observations and commentary that smack of both the disparate and the desperate. In just a few days, we have seen reminders of worsening problems, suggestions that might narrow the focus of schools. Continue reading »
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Australia re-joins majority international position on the status of Jerusalem
In reversing the recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital the Albanese government has re-joined the majority international position which insists the status of Jerusalem can only be resolved in a final peace agreement between the two parties. Continue reading »
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“Sixty percent of all claims sent to Medicare for payment are fraudulent”!
Is $8 billion dollars a year being rorted from Medicare? This claim for almost universal fraudulent behaviour is a nonsense. The entire bill for Medicare funded GP services is only $12 billion. Continue reading »
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A mighty challenge: The national energy market and net zero greenhouse emissions
The Commonwealth should use its clear Constitutional capacity to seize sole control of the national energy market. Continue reading »
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Is Albanese up to the job of public service reform?
I have a terrible foreboding about public service reform under the Albanese government and am beginning to wonder whether it should set itself a simpler task and leave serious improvement to some future government more up to the job. My pick for the simpler tasks would be abolishing 1300 phone lines for Centrelink, all “customer” Continue reading »
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The Defence Strategic Review: AUKUS is the wrong submarine for Australian needs
Any new submarine for defending Australia should be built around our experience. Our needs are idiosyncratic. The Defence Strategic Review should find that Australia’s defence interests would be served only by a new submarine designed for Australia’s peculiar northern waters. If we cannot have submarines designed for our conditions, the platform should be removed from Continue reading »
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Truss misrepresentations on China
While the campaign for the UK prime ministership was more about domestic issues than foreign policy, China still made fleeting appearances. Prime Minister Liz Truss had long pushed for a more ‘hawkish’ approach to China, commenting in the past about the need for the United Kingdom to avoid ‘dependency’ on the People’s Republic. Continue reading »
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Non-believers, the timid and party rorters have got at corruption bill
Citizens who want an effective agency to weed out corruption and maladministration from Australian public life would do well to get involved in the National Anti-Corruption Commission debate. It is never going to be any better than the first model that goes through the parliament over the next few months. If history in state and Continue reading »
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War Memorial pressured into recognition of Frontier Wars
A watershed moment for Australia as the War Memorial, caught in a confluence of events, is pressured to announce its plans for recognition of Australia’s brutal Frontier Wars. Continue reading »
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The Queen is dead, the big questions aren’t
Will the Queen’s death prompt meaningful debate about Australia’s colonial past and its republican future? I fear not. Too often we do the talk much better than the walk. Continue reading »
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John Pilger’s 2014 warning about Ukraine
A silent coup has taken place in Washington and rampant militarism now rules. Continue reading »
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Britain’s opium era strategy to deal with China
THE DAOGUANG EMPEROR tasked Commissioner Lin Zexu with suppressing the opium trade bedeviling China in 1839. Lin initially tried diplomacy. Continue reading »
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The contrast between China and the US as the Covid debacle rolls on
“The U.S. represents 4% of the world’s population, 25% of global covid deaths, 23% of covid cases and 35% of all Monkeypox cases….The U.S. is a public health fiasco.” Continue reading »
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What drives the Chinese Party of China to success?
Editor’s note: Since its founding more than 100 years ago, the Communist Party of China has led the country in making remarkable achievements at home as well as contributing to global development and peace. Combining political theory and practice to make those remarkable achievements, the CPC has set a great example for the world. Three Continue reading »
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Vanguard behind the country’s achievements
The past century has witnessed the Communist Party of China leading a revolution, founding the People’s Republic and relentlessly pursuing economic development and social change for the better. The Chinese people have changed their fate, made great contributions to humankind, and are now on way to realising national rejuvenation. Continue reading »