Politics
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Scotty from marketing: A fact check
Trump is notorious for his lies, but it is time that a fact check was applied to Scotty from Marketing, too. Without it I doubt we can elevate the political debate from its present populism. Continue reading »
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See if budget creates a future, and beware of dirty tricks!
Close observers of Tuesday’s federal Budget will no doubt have their eyes out for evidence of the usual political chicanery towards political donors, lobbyists and friendly interests, as well as mates, cronies and relatives of senior members of government, this time in the alleged cause of stimulating demand and picking winners in the post-Covid economy. Continue reading »
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China diplomat urges end to ‘confrontation’ (AFR Oct 5, 2020)
One of China’s top diplomats has called for an end to ‘‘confrontation and abusive language’’ in increasingly hostile exchanges between Australia and China, saying the relationship can be salvaged through better communication by both countries. She blamed the Australian media for creating an ‘‘unfriendly atmosphere’’ and stirring up anti-China rhetoric. Continue reading »
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Smaller government has failed, but let’s cut taxes anyway (SMH Oct 5, 2020)
Think about this: despite a rocketing budget deficit, Scott Morrison is planning to press on with, and even bring forward, highly expensive tax cuts for high income-earners at just the time we’re realising that the 40-year pursuit of Smaller Government has been a disastrous failure. Continue reading »
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Lobbyland. Fixing corruption risks in lobbying
‘A lot of money can depend on the success or failure of a lobbyist’s representations to Government.’ That statement, in a report by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in 1990, was about lobbying by property developers, particularly in local government, but it is true of a great deal of lobbying at national, State Continue reading »
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The perils of outsourcing (privatisation) on many fronts
In Pearls and Irritations in recent weeks we have posted articles about the serious erosion in the quality of care and services in many fields – disability care, vocational education and training, child care and particularly aged care, where more than 650 older people have died in private, for-profit “homes”. All too often service quality Continue reading »
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Lobbyland: How the lobbies hijacked school education
In all areas of public policy there are groups that engage in advocacy and lobbying to influence public opinion and to advance their special interests. These groups have been obvious and successful over half a century of increasingly privatised school education. Continue reading »
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Susan Ryan
Susan Ryan was more than a feminist icon and achiever, Labor’s first woman cabinet minister and the model for all those who have followed her. Continue reading »
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Foreign Minister’s Tokyo claims Australia’s contribution to disinformation?
Australia’s Foreign Minister has announced she will travel to Tokyo to meet with other members of the Quad (the US, Japan and India) to jointly counter disinformation campaigns by authoritarian states and to ensure supplies of minerals and technology. Does this mean it is only authoritarian states that are not allowed to engage in disinformation? Continue reading »
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Clear-eyed responses as well as assessments needed on the PRC
Being clear-eyed about China under Xi Jinping is one thing. But managing the relationship effectively also requires Australia to be clear-eyed about the effectiveness of our policy options in response. Continue reading »
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Sunday environmental round up, 4 October 2020
Developing countries need help to avoid the clutches of the fossil fuel industry. Action is needed right now to combat climate change and the UK’s NHS is up for the challenge. 64 world leaders commit to ‘Living in Harmony with Nature’ to reverse biodiversity loss but Australia and Indonesia must have lost the invitation. China Continue reading »
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Rights in a time of pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has emphasised the civic split between those who accept that exceptional times demand exceptional measures and those who believe that nothing should trump individual rights. Bioethics should make clear whose argument should dominate, but the customs and beliefs of our pluralist time mean that ethical reasoning lacks authority. Continue reading »
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Colombia’s Strongman from Hero to Criminal
Today, violence in Colombia is once again spiralling out of control. Continue reading »
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A round up of the latest US polls
Whatever anyone thought of the first Presidential debate it doesn’t seem to have yet halted Joe Biden’s gradual increases in support as measured by a variety of US polls. Continue reading »
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COVID-19 and Poverty
That health and illness are close associates of wealth and poverty is well known. This dictum applies to covid-19 both within and among nations. Continue reading »
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Dromo(Klepto)cracy: The New Security World Order
Our society is opting out of debate through the machinations of a neoconservative credo that purports reason. Under the guise of the spectacle of freedom and democracy, such dogma exploits public disorientation following massive collective shocks to achieve control, by imposing economic shock therapy to affect change. Continue reading »
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Saturday’s good reading and listening for the weekend
What people in other forums are saying about public policy Continue reading »
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Lobbyland. Policy in a crisis: who makes the rules?
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, right? Australians are certainly living through extraordinary times. The Covid-19 crisis has put lives, jobs and businesses at stake, enormous government spending has been required, and the speed of the response mattered at least as much as the design of the policy. Continue reading »
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Lobbyland. The alcohol industry lobbies furiously in the pandemic.
Alcohol industry representatives have been furiously lobbying for concessions to the efforts by governments to restrict the movement of people – the primary tool in fighting the virus. Continue reading »
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US/China trade war blunted by WTO rules
Preventing trade wars is a key function of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rule-based system. But as the United States (U.S.) and China wage the largest trade war in history, the WTO finds itself on the sidelines unable to stop the fight. This is seen by many as further proof that the WTO has become Continue reading »
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We now need a ‘JobCreator’ rather then just ‘JobSaver’
My choice of four spending initiatives for next week’s Budget are: hiring credits; permanently boosting JobSeeker; funding for high quality aged care; and social housing. Continue reading »
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Social Housing: the social need and the economic opportunity
The unfairness of Joe Hockey’s first budget in 2014 presaged the end of his political career. If Josh Frydenberg fails to address the need and opportunity for action on social housing will it start his political decline? Continue reading »
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New Zealand National Party leader Judith Collins manages to smudge PM Ardern’s gloss.
With less than a month to go before the General Election on October 19 the latest polls in New Zealand show the Labour Government well ahead despite many commentators saying Prime Minister Ardern’s performance in the first TV election debate lacked lustre. Continue reading »
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LobbyLand. The scourge of powerful special interests and lobbyists.
A major reason for the loss of trust in governments and parliaments is the way powerful special interests with their lobbyists have come to dominate the public debate and skew decisions in their favour. The fossil fuel sector is the most obvious and recent example. Continue reading »
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Lobbyland. The gambling lobby and how to buy friends and influence governments
There is no shortage of post-political appointments to engage the talents of former politicians to lobby for the gambling industry. Continue reading »
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If crime is falling, why is imprisonment rising?
The Australian prison population has doubled since 2000 and recidivism is at 55%. Yet almost all categories of crime have fallen in the past decade. Why do we spend $3.6 billion a year (and rising) on a system across Australia that is clearly not serving us well or making us safer? There are alternatives available, Continue reading »
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Rafferty has taken charge of the ministerial decision making process.
While confusion over the supervision of quarantined returning travellers by private security firms in Victoria may have arisen from exceptional circumstances, a broader question concerning the unfettered exercise of Ministerial (Executive) power has come to the forefront of governing in this country.At stake, as seen, are due process and the liberty of the individual citizen. Continue reading »
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The bathtub is nearly full: Australia’s extraordinary energy plan
The Coalition government’s energy plan ensures the emissions tap will continue to flow. While economic recovery following the pandemic is an important objective, to ignore the consequences of persisting with fossil fuels is incomprehensible. Continue reading »
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A Bill to enable use of foreign troops or foreign police in Australian “emergencies”
A bill is before federal parliament to enable the ADF, Reserves and foreign military forces and police to be used in Australian emergencies. It gives them immunity from civil or criminal prosecution for actions arising from these emergency duties. Continue reading »
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Australia and VC Awards
Among the many memorial plaques in the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral is a small plaque and bust honouring Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse, VC & Bar, MC (9 November 1884 – 4 August 1917). Continue reading »