Policy
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Sulking over China
What the West wants from China is not often what China wants for China. They live in a special fairyland where they believe they know what is best for China. Continue reading »
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As US ally blows up the Mideast, China preserves Asia’s prosperity
Launching Cold War 2.0 against a reluctant Beijing while enabling Israel to set fire to an entire region is now official American foreign policy. Continue reading »
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Chinese economists were pleading for government action
Ren Zeping’s almost frantic call one week ahead of Beijing’s dramatic loosening of monetary policy. Continue reading »
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Dutton is unacceptable, but Labor under Albanese doesn’t deserve to be re-elected
Increasing numbers of political observers are arriving at the view that Anthony Albanese appears to be doing everything possible to assist Peter Dutton to look strong and visionary compared to his own hesitancy and timidity. Lost for an explanation, Jack Waterford wondered on these pages whether the Albanese strategy might be “part of some divinely Continue reading »
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Was the housing crisis caused by government policy?
A crisis in house prices and availability has been raging for years, particularly the dearth of low cost housing to rent, or buy. Is this housing crisis really a result of market forces, or is it created by previous government tax policies? [read more] Continue reading »
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Guess what? Tony Abbott got it wrong
Guess what? Science demonstrates Abbott got it totally wrong on carbon tax Continue reading »
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Albanese has a second chance with AUKUS
Australia is to spend mind-boggling money to weaken its own security. Minister RIchard Marles has released a National Defence Strategy which centres on what he calls “projection”. That is, Australian forces threatening China from China’s surrounding waters. The Albanese Government’s defence policy manufactures grievous risk for Australia. That risk must be understood by the government. Continue reading »
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For Australia to meet emissions reduction targets, we don’t need nuclear energy
The Federal Opposition’s energy policy includes the construction of nuclear power plants. Peter Dutton says that we need them because Australia’s emissions reduction target of 43 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030 is unachievable. Is this true? We argue that it is not – and especially if the Australian Government works with State and Continue reading »
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Record numbers of temporary graduates in immigration limbo
Temporary graduate visas are for overseas students who complete their study and wish to undertake work in Australia, often as a pathway to permanent residence. These visas work best when the bulk of temporary graduates seeking permanent residence are able to secure skilled work and eventually a permanent residence employer sponsored (or other) permanent visa. Continue reading »
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Ageing policy ignores the majority of older people
‘Old’ is defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as any person over the age of 65. This is a wildly outdated notion given our longer life expectancy and the fact that most of us will live many years beyond that arbitrary date in active service to the community. Continue reading »
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Beyond US hegemony: creating a visceral fear of China
Our understanding of the darker foundations of US thinking about the US China relationship is obscured by the public utterances of Presidents, politicians and public policy commentators. This is the froth and bubble of policy but it does little to reveal the foundations of this visceral fear of Ch Continue reading »
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A call to civil society: it’s time to reframe media policy
The health implications of media policy are wide-ranging but not usually front of mind in national debate, whether for governments, communities or even the health sector. Continue reading »
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A critique of ‘a world call to action’ on the multiple crises now enfolding humanity
This initiative is important in making a strenuous plea for urgent action on the global “poly crisis”. But it fails to make clear the fundamental cause of the problem, or the way out of it. Continue reading »
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‘Gas Trojan horse’: Coalition nuclear push slammed as fossil wedge aimed at renewables
The chair of Australia’s largest group of clean energy investors has described the federal Coalition’s push for nuclear power as a “gas Trojan horse,” and a political wedge intended to douse investment in renewables and prolong the use of fossil fuels. Continue reading »
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Escalation of national terrorism threat level misleads Australians
The announcement by ASIO Boss Mike Burgess that the National Terrorism Threat Level would be raised from ‘possible to probable’ has received massive mainstream publicity, a spike in talkback radio angst and widespread freelance interpretation about who presents the incipient threat. Continue reading »
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Good science has no bias
I do agree with Ken Russell that inaction on the climate crisis is indefensible and I understand why he believes that climate scientists should be at the forefront of the global campaign to take targeted and effective action. Continue reading »
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Urgent policy reform needed to fix fast track injustice affecting thousands of refugees
Refugee advocates are calling for the new Minister for Home Affairs, Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Tony Burke, to urgently provide victims of the flawed Fast Track process with permanent protection visas. Continue reading »
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Evan Gershkovitch and Krasikov is bad policy
The trading of Russian FSB assassin Vadim Krasikov for various Russian political prisoners, including US citizen Evan Gershkovitch and a number of Russian dissidents, illustrates the incompetence of US and German leaderships in foreign policy – and reflects the reason that Russia is winning the war in Ukraine! Continue reading »
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Social cohesion should not be used for political expediency
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland’s warning that the ballot box is ‘not a guide to Middle East policy’ (The Australian, 26 July 2024), coupled with her concerns about social cohesion, highlights federal Labor’s naivete and how out of touch it is with the electorate. Continue reading »
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A to do list for the incoming immigration minister
Cabinet reshuffle – policy and outcomes matter, not who is in charge, say refugees. Here is the pressing to do list for the incoming immigration minister: Continue reading »
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Silos are for grain, not for National policies
One of the characteristic features of modern western democracies is, as John Ralston Saul has pointed out, that it has focused on the development of narrow forms of expertise and then used reason to apply that narrow expertise to addressing specific social, cultural, economic and political issues. This is particularly true of the proliferating management Continue reading »
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Mega-thinktanks have one dangerous thing in common
With former secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Varghese undertaking a review of taxpayer dollars spent on strategic policy work, Australia’s China hawks have argued a Canberra-based thinktank, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), cannot be touched. Continue reading »
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Half hearted housing policies ignore key role of public housing: Michael Pascoe
The housing crisis will not be solved for those who are suffering the most by the mish mash of half hearted, small steps, and policy responses currently favoured by governments. They lack the courage to commit to direct government intervention on a sufficient scale in the failed housing market in the form of publicly funded, Continue reading »
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Superficial coverage of Dutton’s nuclear policy does Australia a disservice
Noel Turnbull correctly writes that media coverage of the federal opposition’s nuclear power proposal is superficial. There is a very wide range of as yet unanswered issues. Continue reading »
