Politics
-
Witness K and Bernard Collaery: An Unjust Prosecution Gets Even Worse
The prosecution of former ACT Attorney-General, Bernard Collaery, and his client, Witness K, continues to play itself out before the ACT Supreme Court. This is a legal fiasco of the first order. The prosecution should never have commenced. Continue reading »
-
Is the Foreign Interference Law just about China?
Having on the statute books a very serious crime, committed by dozens of people every day but which is only enforced selectively, is a grave breach of the Rule of Law. It gives the government the power to criminalise the actions of a few and not those of the majority. Continue reading »
-
US prison labour, foreign weapons-makers finance Australian government think tank ASPI
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a think tank owned by the Commonwealth and funded by the Defence Department, also receives millions from foreign governments, weapons manufacturers, and US corporations that have used or are using prison workers paid as little as 23 cents an hour. Continue reading »
-
Lobby Land. The retiree lobby, the poor dears
Lobbyists can be pretty shameless – from hyperbole about the ‘unintended consequences’ of some legislative or policy change they don’t like – to arguments which would shame a beginner debater. Continue reading »
-
The Federal Budget: Return to Normal or Reform?
The budget delivered this week by the Federal government aims to get the economy ‘back to normal’. Is this the right goal? What if the old ‘normal’ was deeply flawed, as its political economic critics have argued? Continue reading »
-
Uncivil society: women’s contributions grossly undervalued
Judging by last week’s budget, the federal government grossly undervalues the contributions made by female workers, both unpaid and paid. Given the huge contribution of women in care jobs during the worst of the pandemic, the absence of support is seen as deeply offensive. Continue reading »
-
Sunday environmental round up, 11 October 2020
A look at current figures to see if China going carbon-free will destroy Australia’s coal industry. COVID is bad enough but some people have had COVID and extreme weather events to deal with. Governments have an opportunity to use the COVID recovery to clean up international trade’s supply chains and emissions. How to buy sustainable Continue reading »
-
Biden at Gettysburg
Donald Trump thought about giving his campaign speech at Gettysburg but opted for the safety of the Rose Garden instead. Continue reading »
-
Is this the least meaningful crisis defence?-This is not who we are!
When a crisis strikes it’s very natural to try and hide behind some sort of a defensive statement. Yet that statement needs to be meaningful and not just a fashionable cliché posing as a moral fig-leaf. Continue reading »
-
Charity regulator is failing us.
Charity scams are on a rocket trajectory. Since 2019 they have risen by a massive 70%. There have been more than 1000 charity scam reports since the beginning of this year. Continue reading »
-
Olive branches dampens the sound of distant war drums
With the hospitalization of Trump, the world went into temporary recess from the Cold War and China sends an olive branch to Australia to dampen the sound of distant war drums. As the SCMP suggests, there is still hope for peace and mutual understanding. Continue reading »
-
Saturday’s good reading and listening for the weekend
What people in other forums are saying about public policy Continue reading »
-
Australian media in the Asian century
Pompeo and circumstance Our foreign minister, Marise Payne, flew off to Tokyo for a rare meeting of the “Quad” on Tuesday with counterparts including the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo. Continue reading »
-
Morrison governing from the rear
At the end of all the announcements in the budget of tax cuts and give-aways to the private sector to promote an industry-led recovery, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg had a somewhat unsettling (though it was not intended as such) rallying call: ‘The road to recovery will be hard – but there is hope. The Morrison government’s Continue reading »
-
Lobby Land: the Pharmacy Guild’s powerful influence over health policy
The Pharmacy Guild has been called the ‘most powerful lobby group you’ve never heard of’ and for three decades has had a stranglehold on funding for community pharmacy in Australia. Continue reading »
-
Short-termism is the enemy of good governance
Deeper thinking, even during this critical impasse we are facing, must underlie the monumental decisions being made about where to splash the cash, where to invest in skills development, which industries to encourage and which to phase out. Continue reading »
-
Media failure again on alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria
Two new reports from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons challenge claims that chemical weapons were used in two alleged attacks in Syria. Continue reading »
-
“Disgraceful” Tudge puts him self above the law
Late last month, the Federal Court’s found that Minister, Alan Tudge engaged in criminal conduct by keeping an asylum-seeker in detention and depriving of his liberty for five days in defiance of an order by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal that the man be released. Continue reading »
-
Lobby Land. “Doubt is their product”: The difference between research and academic lobbying (Pro Market Sep 28, 2020)
Research on market power, its causes, and its consequences has received a welcome revival in the past few years. A group of excellent scholars has managed to make progress on rather hot competition policy topics. What’s more, this research was accepted for publication in journals considered to be at the very top of the profession. Continue reading »
-
Science integrity revisited
In our partisan and damaged society scientific integrity is important and a part of the public discourse. For example, prominent scientists have critiqued the use of Chief Scientist Alan Finkel to support extracting more gas for Australian energy. Continue reading »
-
Baptizing White Supremacy. An interview with Robert P. Jones
White Christians are not simply complicit in racism and white supremacy, argues scholar Robert P. Jones. They’re actually culpable. Without their deliberate consent, white supremacy in America could never have been built. Continue reading »
-
How does the 2020-21 Budget stack up?
The budget deserves a “pass”, but the government is favouring tax cuts which may not all be spent. Also much of the assistance appears to be poorly targeted to the areas which have most suffered a loss of jobs. Continue reading »
-
The government sees itself as an agent of the private sector.
Frydenberg’s budget, based on discredited “trickle down” economics, misses an opportunity to restructure our economy, weakened by seven years of Coalition mismanagement. Continue reading »
-
LobbyLand: Democracy on life support as the revolving door keeps swinging
Australian public policy is now routinely moulded to suit the interests of the highest corporate bidders and the lobbyists who represent their interests. Continue reading »
-
LobbyLand: An Analysis of Australian Industry Associations’ Influence on Climate Policy
This analysis identified five lobbying organisations that stood out as the ‘most obstructive, negative and influential’ in refusing to address climate change. They were the Minerals Council of Australia, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, NSW Minerals Council, the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Petroleum Producers and Exploration Association. Continue reading »
-
China is opening the door. Will Australia walk through it? (AFR Oct 7, 2020)
The Financial Review’s interview with a top Chinese diplomat would have been approved at the top. The Morrison government is obdurate if it does not take up the gesture. Continue reading »
-
Sports rorts and muddy waters
Last summer, just like much of the country, the federal political landscape was ablaze. Scott Morrison was caught out taking a secret holiday in Hawaii; and those who weren’t evacuating from bushfires were very angry about sports rorts. Continue reading »
-
The Liberals Quietly Removed That Budget Surplus Mug From Its Store & We Can All Sip The Tea (Pedestrian March 10, 2020)
The Liberal Party has quietly removed a mug promoting a return to federal budget surplus from its official merchandise range, amid mounting speculation the Federal Government won’t put the 2019-2020 budget “Back In Black” after all. Continue reading »
-
It is time for a political solution to the Julian Assange persecution.
A travesty that passes for British justice has now run its course at the Old Bailey. Continue reading »
-
LobbyLand: Unhealthy Business? Health sector lobbyists
In contrast to the United States, where businesses spend billions lobbying, we have weak civil society oversight of what businesses are up to and independent policy development. It’s time for our entrepreneurs to give back to society by funding civil society bodies. We need a Soros and a Gates or two. Continue reading »