Politics
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Japanese amnesia and the contrast with Germany. Guest blogger: Susan Menadue Chun
Our four Australian/Korean children were educated in Japanese primary schools. Every summer holiday we struggled through the prescribed homework text- Natsu no Tomo (Summer’s friend). In the early August segment, there were assignments regarding WWII. They stated, “talk to your parents about WWII and write a composition about the importance of peace”. So, we talked Continue reading »
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Jesuit students rebuke Tony Abbott and other old boys. John Menadue
For many years, I have been concerned that the Jesuits at St Ignatius College Sydney seem to be producing mainly conservative politicians and merchant bankers. I don’t think St Ignatius would have expected that. My confidence in the Jesuits at St Ignatius has been at least partially restored by action by senior students at St Continue reading »
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Government failure in health care. John Menadue and guest blogger Ian McAuley
We have little to see for six years of “reform” under the Rudd/Gillard Governments. What was that about ending the blame game in health? It has been mainly muddling through with hopes dashed for significant reform in many key areas Health costs are rising rapidly, through lack of coordination and waste. Doctors provide too many Continue reading »
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Hitting rock-bottom! John Menadue
Today Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison have announced draconian measures that will inflict enormous punishment on over 30,000 asylum seekers who have arrived in Australia over recent years by boat. These draconian policies will apply not just to future boat arrivals but will be applied retrospectively to over 30,000 asylum seekers who are already legally Continue reading »
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Foxing with the News, Japan style. Guest blogger: Walter Hamilton
On Wednesday 7 August 2013, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe acknowledged that the clean up of the devastated Fukushima nuclear power reactors was beyond the capacity of the operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). It followed the revelation that heavily contaminated groundwater is flowing into the Pacific Ocean at an estimated rate of 300 Continue reading »
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Is something significant happening in our alignment to our region? John Menadue
It may be early days, but I sense that some significant change might be afoot. So much of our political dialogue historically has been about Australia’s relationship with the UK and then the US. John Howard spoke of Australia being the deputy sheriff for the Americans in our region. Tony Abbott talks about an Anglo Continue reading »
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The election: economy and deficits. John Menadue
In the run-up to the September 7 elections, we will hear a lot of misleading stories about the economy and deficits. My contention is that with the good luck of the China boom, the government has managed the Australian economy well. Our economic performance is amongst the best in the world. But the public debate Continue reading »
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Japan’s Deputy PM: ‘Let’s learn from the Nazis’. Guest blogger: Walter Hamilton
Taro Aso, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Japan, has a clumsy tongue; it’s always getting him into trouble. He’s so malapropic (remember the one about people becoming so affluent ‘even the homeless are getting diabetes’), we can only shake our heads and say, ‘Japan’s a funny place,’ before changing the channel on our Continue reading »
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Japan: Where to now? Guest blogger: Walter Hamilton
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won a resounding victory in last weekend’s Upper House election. It now has sufficient seats in both houses of parliament to dominate the important Diet committees and ensure passage of key legislation. The LDP, however, has fallen short of obtaining enough votes to push through constitutional change on its Continue reading »
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Japanese whaling – bad faith, bad science. Guest blogger: Walter Hamilton
Australia and Japan are at loggerheads before the International Court of Justice not because they disagree over whaling but because they disagree and are both members of the International Whaling Commission. What may at first seem a fussy distinction is fundamental and important. It is only because of their mutual commitments under an international convention Continue reading »
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The Regional Settlement Arrangement with Papua New Guinea. John Menadue
With some reservations I support the general thrust of the RSA with PNG. I do that largely for the same reasons that I supported the earlier proposed agreement with Malaysia. The RSA is in PM Rudd’s words ‘a hard line’ but I see it as the least worst option given the present intractable political impasse Continue reading »
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Joining the dots on Asia. John Menadue
The advocates of stronger ties with Asia spend a great deal of time with seminars and press statements about the importance of the region to our future. They are correct but they refuse to join the dots and advocate the changes on the really important issues impeding our relations with our region. Some of those Continue reading »
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Regional cooperation is the key. Guest blogger: Rt Hon Malcolm Fraser
Australia’s problems with asylum seekers and refugees are not unique. We are not the only point of destination. There are around 30,000 in Australia, over 160,000 in Canada, 51,000 in Austria, 22,000 in Belgium, 74,000 in Netherlands with a population much less than ours, nearly 150,000 in the United Kingdom and 589,000 in Germany. There Continue reading »
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Tony Abbott – one-liners won’t work. John Menadue
Sorry if I keep repeating myself, but Tony Abbott keeps repeating his one-liners about stopping the boats. He provides little explanation about how or why his policies will work today. He tells us that John Howard’s policy stopped the boats and he will do the same. But John Howard’s approach was over a decade ago. Continue reading »
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Tony Abbott looks badly shaken. John Menadue
Tony Abbott is obviously shaken by Kevin Rudd’s return. The coalition had been expecting to win by default and chose quite deliberately to provide as small a target as possible and release few policies. What “policies” there were were usually reduced to one liners. Tony Abbott left the dead wood in his shadow cabinet. He Continue reading »
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Ending the policy paralysis on refugees. John Menadue
In my blog of July 6, ‘Asylum seekers … good news at last’, I expressed concern that it had taken so long for the government to take action and really put effort into the development of a regional framework. It has been obvious for years that this was the path we had to take. We Continue reading »
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Kevin Rudd – the anti-politician. John Menadue
We often ponder why Kevin Rudd has remained so popular even through his three years in the wilderness. A blog ‘The Piping Strike’ explains to me the phenomenon better than others. It says ‘The uncomfortable answer is that Rudd is popular because he encapsulates the electorate’s distrust and even dislike of the political system’. The Continue reading »
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Asylum seekers – good news at last. John Menadue
The joint communique issued yesterday by President Yudhoyono and PM Rudd is the best news that I have read on asylum seekers for many years. A regional framework is the only viable policy for the future. Individual countries cannot do it alone. The communique said ‘As co-chairs of the Bali Process, the two Leaders reaffirmed Continue reading »
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The ‘C’ Team vs. the Shadow Cabinet. John Menadue
Tony Abbott has described the new Rudd Ministry as the ‘C’ team. He is very strong on one-liners, but is there much content behind them? Laura Tingle in the Australian Financial Review suggests that the new Rudd team could be a serious election contender because it focuses its strength on the likely key areas in Continue reading »
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Japanese Pacifist Constitution in Danger. Guest blogger: John Woodward
The Japanese pacifist constitution prohibits Japan from waging war. This restriction will be removed if the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has his way. And he is likely to succeed come the 21 July national election for the Upper House of the Japanese Diet (parliament). Abe’s government is riding high in polls since his Continue reading »
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Back from the brink of disaster. John Menadue
Many people and particularly women will be disappointed that our first female Prime Minister has been forced out. She has been most unfairly treated by the media. Things have been said about her by Tony Abbott and others that would not be said about a male Prime Minister. But my view is that a Continue reading »
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Taiwan shows the way in health insurance. John Menadue
I have spoken and written many times about the inefficiency and inequity of the taxpayer subsidy of $3.5 billion annually to the private health insurance funds in Australia. These funds favour the wealthy; enable some people to jump to the top of the hospital queue; they have administrative costs three times those of Medicare; they Continue reading »
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Julia Gillard’s greatest failure. John Menadue
The Prime Minister’s greatest failure is her refusal to lead the reform of the structure of the ALP. That structure is controlled by a handful of faction and union bosses like Paul Howes. In return for protecting their positions, they are now repaying their debt to her by shoring up her precarious position. The last Continue reading »
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Beware the debt and deficit trap and the European mistake. John Menadue
The Europeans may at last be breaking free of the debt and deficit trap that has caused so much social and economic damage across Europe. Even the IMF is at last challenging the austerity mindset that took hold in Europe. There is a lesson for Australia in this. The Australian Government has allowed itself Continue reading »
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The Vatican appeals in vain for decency towards refugees. John Menadue
On June 6, the Vatican emphasized that governments protect refugees. It said that the world’s governments must give ‘absolute priority’ to the fundamental rights of refugees. Cardinal Veglio who heads the Pontifical Council for Migrants said: ‘Protection must be guaranteed to all who live under conditions of forced migration, taking into account their specific Continue reading »
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Our Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, deserves respect. Guest blogger: Chris Geraghty
The leader of the opposition addressing a protest crowd in Canberra and a team of colleagues all standing in front of a large sign – “DITCH THE WITCH” Anthony Abbott continuing to grace the commercial radio station and be softly questioned by the commentator who refers to our prime minister as “JU-LIAR”, or who opined Continue reading »
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Doctors scared Maggie Thatcher. John Menadue
Excuse me for dropping names but at a round table discussion with Maggie Thatcher in the late 1980s that I attended in Sydney she was asked “Now that you have fixed the work practices of the miners and the printers in the United Kingdom what are you going to do about the restrictive work practices Continue reading »
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How about it Gina and Twiggy? John Menadue
Since 1904 the brightest and best of young Australians have been winning Rhodes Scholarships to study at Oxford. Winners have included prime ministers, political leaders, a governor general, a Nobel Prize winner and high court judges. How about funding a substantial foundation to provide for the brightest and best of young Australians to study at Continue reading »
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Walter Hamilton. Australia – still a colonial relic in Japan.
The two greatest calamities to befall the people of Tokyo in modern times were the September 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and the March 1945 firebombing by American B-29s. In each case, many tens of thousands perished within a matter of hours. In Sumida ward, a working class area in the east of the city Continue reading »
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The Miners’ Lament. John Menadue
It is only a matter of time before the miners start lamenting that they did not seriously negotiate with Kevin Rudd over his Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT). The mining industry has always favoured rent/profit taxes instead of royalties. What the mining industry really disagreed with was the rate of the Resources Super Profits Tax. Continue reading »
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