Politics
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If Penny Wong becomes foreign minister will she repeat the numerous blunders Australia and the US have made in the Pacific?
The discussion of foreign policy is one of the low points in the election. It is hard to be otherwise when both major parties are committed to integrating Australia’s military forces with those of the US. This severely curtails the scope for proposing independent policies and raises expectations ensuring the Government and Opposition contribute forces Continue reading »
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Election 2022: no education minister and an opposition without a school funding policy
Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek taunt Scott Morrison, calling on him to identify who is actually education minister – the disgraced Alan Tudge or the disgraceful Stuart Robert – but Labor has questions of its own to answer. Continue reading »
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Morrison: a more empathetic, consultative bulldozer? It is all about marketing
Only a super salesman like Scott Morrison would think of trying to convert a negative attribute – bully – into something that has perhaps a small positive connotation – bulldozer. But that’s at least partly what last Friday’s makeover was about. Continue reading »
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Christians and the Federal Election
Christianity and Christians cannot be neutral or disconnected from politics. Christianity is an incarnate faith. While it rightly gives central place to personal piety, Christianity is, at its roots, a way of life deeply immersed in the world for its justice, renewal and transformation. It is so because God, who took human likeness in Jesus, Continue reading »
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Peace scenarios for Ukraine via people’s tribunals
In November 1966, regarding the conduct of the Vietnam war, the philosopher, anti-war activist Bertrand Russell founded a People’s Tribunal to ‘inform public opinion and arouse opposition to war.’ Continue reading »
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Ending the war of attrition in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has degenerated into a savage war of attrition that each side believes it will win, but which in reality both sides will lose. Ukraine should intensify the search for a negotiated peace of the kind that was on the table in March, but which was abandoned following the Russian atrocities Continue reading »
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Melvin A. Goodman – U.S. Intelligence boasting intensifies Russian-American proxy war
The New York Times’s international affairs columnist Thomas Friedman is arguably the most influential editorial writer in the country. Last week, his editorial aptly warned the Biden administration of the “huge unintended consequences” of its unplanned and impromptu remarks regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin and the savagery of his tactics in Ukraine. Continue reading »
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Who does the White House want to win the election?
The Alliance is fully bipartisan in Canberra and Washington. It is not subject to which party occupies the White House or has a majority in the House of Representatives in Australia. Continue reading »
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Widening inequity in access to health care is curable but it may take the Teal Independents to write the script
There is a large and widening hole in the Medicare safety net of which Australians should be ashamed. Far too many people can no longer afford appropriate access to specialist care for serious disorders. The focus provided by the federal election provides an opportunity to explain the cause and start the repair process. Continue reading »
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Morrison loathes foreigners and foreign policy
Morrison dislikes any one and any thing he can’t control. It is very fortunate for him that News Corp’s hatreds, prejudices, intolerances and racism correspond to his own. Continue reading »
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The erosion of Medicare
Large out-of-pocket costs for specialist consultations driven by inadequate indexations are undermining Medicare. Continue reading »
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The drums of war refuse to stop beating down under
While the war over “invisible enemies” remains an imagination, another “war” is tearing through civil Australian society: that of discrimination, racism and unnecessary suspicion. Continue reading »
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David Morawetz-A hung parliament is chaotic”… or is it?
Have you received recently in your mailbox a card headed “Voting ‘Independent’ risks a chaotic hung parliament with weak leadership”? I have. And it’s just plain wrong. Continue reading »
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If I were the Minister for…Guidance for the new government on important policies – a series of articles
Many of us have been very disappointed about the lack of serious policy discussion in the election campaign. Politicians and the media are more concerned about ‘small targets’, personality and ‘gotcha’ questions. Continue reading »
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Wages and the cost of living
An increase in the wages of the lowest paid employees, so that they can keep pace with the cost of living, is unlikely to lead to higher unemployment. Instead, it may well help improve overall economic outcomes. Continue reading »
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Weekly roundup Saturday 14 May
Weekly roundup of links to articles, reports, podcasts and other media on current political and economic issues in public policy. Continue reading »
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In Asia Media this week: New leaders and testing times in Seoul, Manilla and Hong Kong – and soon, perhaps, in troubled Colombo
In Asia Media this week: South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol took office, in Manilla Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos, son of the late ousted corrupt dictator, won the election in a landslide while in Hong Kong John Lee Ka-chiu, a former chief secretary and security minister, was the only candidate – and resignation of the leader in Continue reading »
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Morrison Government’s high risk visa switch for migrant meatworkers
We are on a very slippery slope with these visas towards the slavery-like conditions that have existed for migrant workers in North America and Europe for decades. Continue reading »
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The shadow of Barry Humphries and Morrison’s bid for the outer suburbs
For so long in the middle to latter half of the twentieth century the dwellers of the fringe suburbs of Australian cities were the forgotten people. These suburbs housed the people who clustered around outlying factories making the consumer goods that fed the long post-war boom. Continue reading »
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The not so great debate
There’s a scene in Fawlty Towers where Basil is so terrified of the anticipated reaction of his partner, Sybil, that he goes into a full-blown meltdown. “Mr Fawlty, don’t panic”, Polly the waitress intones. “What else is there to do?” Basil screams back. I know how he feels. Continue reading »
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Albanese and minimum wages. Should the government support a 5.1% increase ?
There has never been a better time to increase minimum wages than now. And there has never been a bigger need. Continue reading »
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Even if the Liberals win, Morrison won’t
Since television arrived (and probably a bit before) it has become commonplace to describe Australian federal elections as presidential. All the focus is on the party leader. We talk about the Morrison government, the Albanese opposition. And when people go to the polls they are urged to vote for one or other of the party Continue reading »
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If I were the Prime Minister – Taking the climate emergency seriously
The Black Summer bushfires, the Millennium Drought, the dying Great Barrier Reef, this year’s floods. Australia has experienced unprecedented environmental disasters in recent times. Each was amplified by global warming. Scientific reports indicate worse may still to come. Continue reading »
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If I were the Federal Minister for Health
I would introduce a new way of paying health providers, address the Commonwealth/State blame game and reform the health workforce. Continue reading »
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The destructive Rupert Murdoch
The grim news is that Rupert’s heir, Lachlan, is a less intelligent and harder right force in News Corp. The death of the old man can’t save us. Continue reading »
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The track record of Peter Dutton’s incompetence
Failing up is a common phenomenon in many organisations – not least those concerned with national defence and security. Continue reading »
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What I would do if I were the Minister for Health and Ageing in the next government
A new minister in any portfolio has two tasks: fix the past and fix the future. Continue reading »
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What Ministers in a new Government should do – climate change, China-US relations and our region
Foreign policy must be one of the areas where any government can find itself most constrained by the circumstances it has to deal with—“events, dear boy, events”, as former British Prime Minister Harold McMillan once said. But given that, even in the most pressing state of affairs a government can choose where it directs its Continue reading »
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Winning hearts and minds in the Pacific Islands
Suddenly the Pacific Islands have become a hot election issue. That is because the Solomon Islands agreed to China using its own security guards to safeguard Chinese businesses and projects from attack and looting in the wake of recognising China instead of Taiwan. Continue reading »
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Healthcare reform is not featuring in the current election
Australia’s public hospital system is having a hard time meeting the ever increasing demand for in-patient care. Continue reading »
Top 5 most read
- Strategists admit West is goading China into war
US military experts say a war over Taiwan is desirable,… - The destructive Rupert Murdoch
The grim news is that Rupert's heir, Lachlan, is a… - Even if the Liberals win, Morrison won’t
Since television arrived (and probably a bit before) it has… - The track record of Peter Dutton’s incompetence
Failing up is a common phenomenon in many organisations -… - Morrison Government’s high risk visa switch for…
We are on a very slippery slope with these visas…
