Politics
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Sunday environmental round up, 12 July 2020
A physical trip to the USA looks unlikely in the foreseeable future so I’m taking you on a virtual tour this week. Stories about the effects of warming on life in the largest and smallest states, the harmful effects of heat and air pollution on pregnant women and their foetuses, and, in better news for Continue reading »
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Australia and the United States: the opposed fantasies at the heart of the alliance relationship
One of the refrains among those defending Australia’s alliance with the United States is that arising out of their pasts, sharing a core set of moral and ethical values, political and economic arrangements, and visions of the desirable world order. Continue reading »
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Low-paid, young women: the grim truth about who this recession is hitting hardest (The Conversation 7.7.20)
When a recession hits, no group of workers is immune. But some are harder hit than others. The latest labour market figures are giving us a good idea of who is being hardest hit this time. Continue reading »
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‘Haunted’ Morrison adds more fuel to the Asia-Pacific fire
We now know a little more about the prime minister’s fleeting, but significant references to the 1930s in his speech launching the defence update last week. Continue reading »
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Afghanistan’s Progress Towards Reconciliation: Some Good and Bad News (AIIA 2.7.20)
Months of peace negotiations in Afghanistan bring good and bad news. Despite consolidation of a power sharing agreement between political rivals and the formation of a council for peace, the coronavirus and a contest for Taliban leadership will defer the commencement of peace talks. Continue reading »
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A smart Indian response to China (East Asia Forum 5.7.20)
The Indian government is under massive pressure to retaliate for the deaths of Indian soldiers in a border clash with China. While some bilateral measures may be unavoidable, India’s broader interest is not to reduce its engagement with China. Continue reading »
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‘The most ignorant and unfit’: What made America’s worst ever leader? (NYRB 3.7.20)
“Being president,” former First Lady Michelle Obama has said, “doesn’t change who you are, it reveals who you are.” In this moment, we may also need to acknowledge that presidents also reveal much about who we are. 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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The Australian Government regards China as a strategic competitor, a revisionist power, and one that must be resisted.
At last the contradiction that over the past four years has been at the heart of Australian foreign and security policy towards China has been resolved. In a series of important announcements, the Australian Government has now made it clear that it regards China as a strategic competitor, a revisionist power, and one that must Continue reading »
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Australia’s pro-Israel media fights facts and ends careers
The day after Scott Morrison set the date for the mid-May 2019 federal election, Labor lost one of its star women performers. International lawyer Melissa Parke, the Member for Fremantle, a shrewd “get” by Kevin Rudd back in 2007, announced her resignation from politics. Continue reading »
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The 2020 Defence Strategic Update: Finding coexistence with China
There is little to quarrel with in Hugh White’s assessment of the uncertainties in East Asia. His counsel to the government on the way forward for strategic policy, on the other hand, is less satisfactory. Continue reading »
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The structural and ideological foundations of Australia’s economic malaise: Can we avoid one crisis after another?
The dramatic and sudden shuttering of businesses following the imposition of coronavirus social-distancing rules has propelled the Australian economy into what is increasingly looking like a deep recession contradicting the rhetoric that the fundamentals are strong and provide a springboard for a speedy recovery. Continue reading »
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Smashing the Chinese golden goose egg
In the fragile recovery from mega-bushfires, floods, drought and the pandemic, Australians are looking for competent, trustworthy and decent political leadership. If the Eden-Monaro by-election was a leadership testing ground, both major parties failed. Continue reading »
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Increased military expenditure unjustified; social needs must be paramount.
The government’s $279 billion allocation over 10 years to military spending is not justified by fear-mongering and is at the expense of health and other urgent social needs. Continue reading »
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Coronanomics – We need good leadership in turbulent times.
As the world tackles the Coronavirus pandemic, there’s been a lot of talk about leadership and trust, not just between nations but within nations as well. Continue reading »
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Japan is handling relations with China better than Australia.
Scott Morrison is shortly to have a virtual meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Abe, to be followed by an official visit to Japan when COVID 19 permits. Morrison is taking Japan seriously. Good. Continue reading »
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Is our alliance with America worth it?
Almost eighty years ago Prime Minister John Curtin prepared a New Year’s Eve message for the Australian people. It was written three weeks after the war with Japan had begun. Continue reading »
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Marshall’s SA Government – Just like a duck
Moderate Marshall is calm on the surface – but paddling like mad underneath… Continue reading »
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Constitutional recognition, representation and affirmative action in India
Indigenous Australians have been seriously disadvantaged for far too long. It’s time for a treaty and a radical affirmative action program to close the gap in one or two generations. There are significant lessons to be drawn from India’s pioneering Constitution, the first to specifically commit to affirmative action. Continue reading »
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The really big and tough issue is the environment says Ken Henry
In last weekend’s Sydney Morning Herald, Jessica Irvine quizzed Ken Henry on his preferences for tax reform. Ken emphasised the critical importance of a clear, settled allocation of roles between the Commonwealth and the States. Continue reading »
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United States and Australia, so little in common ?
Australia identifies with and supports US democracy, yet values and dominant modes of thought in America have produced a form of governance so dysfunctional that Australians should question their assumptions about the two countries’ similarities. Continue reading »
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The Coalition is just following orders
To understand how and why Australia has ended up where it has, with a series of governments which seem to become more and more damaging to our way of life, year on year, we need only to look back to 2013. If you think they are waging a relentless war on the nation’s most vulnerable, Continue reading »
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Marshall’s SA Government – just like a duck
Moderate Marshall is calm on the surface – but paddling like mad underneath… Continue reading »
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Lincoln’s second assassination
And so, the statues topple. History is revised and historical figures, deserving of homage are lumped together with those who deserve condemnation. There is a madness upon the earth. Somehow, symbols of slave-owning society, and those who fought against slavery have been mixed, amalgamated, and history has been turned upon its head. Continue reading »
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What does the Eden-Monaro result mean?
The Eden-Monaro by-election status quo ante result raises two questions: why isn’t the Prime Minister’s high approval rating translating into an improved rating for the government; and, why do the media keep up the same old tired approaches to covering political events? Continue reading »
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Australia’s American dreaming is turning into a nightmare.
Since the signing of the ANZUS treaty in 1951, Australians have been living a dream that America shares their country’s cultural values, language and democratic institutions. They dream that they are safely cacooned in Tony Abbott’s beloved “anglosphere”, with the USA in the lead. As with all dreams, this fantasy has always had the flimsiest Continue reading »
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Morrison and Sebastian, exemplars of Australian art
I have nothing against pop singers, Some of them are very nice people, generous, tolerant, kind to children and dogs. And they give pleasure to many Australians. Continue reading »
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Communications bill will gnaw at privacy.
A few months ago, the federal government quietly began to clear a direct path between your private digital data and law enforcement agents. For the sake of your privacy, it’s time to wake up and pay attention. Continue reading »
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Will they be renamed ‘koala tears’?
Possible koala extinction in New South Wales is a symptom of a deeper malaise. The inability of this cherished herbivore to bounce back following the summer’s inferno shows that many species are threatened by cynical human activity. Continue reading »
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A win’s a win in Eden-Monaro
A messy and unedifying campaign – gaffes, sabotage and dirty tricks. And a pretty ordinary result in the Eden-Monaro by-election. Continue reading »