Politics
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More drainage for a more polluted Washington swamp
President-elect Joe Biden has a golden opportunity over the next 10 weeks to reduce the handicap of a bad campaign that cost him a senate majority, and a mandate against Trumpism. Continue reading »
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Porter’s integrity commission is designed to trick the public into thinking the Coalition is serious about tackling corruption
Mr Porter’s proposed Commonwealth Integrity Commission, in the public sector division, will not be able to investigate supposed corruption, won’t discover any corruption, and will certainly not expose any. Continue reading »
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Defence legislation re call-out of Reserves should not proceed
As currently drafted, the legislation to facilitate the call-out of the ADF Reserves contains too many risks for too little benefit. It should not proceed in its current form. Continue reading »
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Many of Trump’s supporters feel disempowered by the elites
We’ve all been doing quite a deal of waiting of late – whether it be for the lifting of lockdown restrictions at a time of pandemic, or for the outcome of this week’s US presidential election. And all the time, we believers are waiting for the coming of the Kingdom with signs of its breaking Continue reading »
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The High Court and Section 92 again
David Solomon’s item on the above – https://johnmenadue.com/palmer-loses-border-war/ – is headed ‘Palmer loses border war’. It is not just Palmer that lost the war; in one way or another, as Australians, we all have. Continue reading »
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Facing Conservative Commentators Up to the Truth About Trump
The damage to convention, the rule of law, honesty, integrity and decency that Trump has wreaked – and is still wreaking – will be harder to repair. Continue reading »
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Australian foreign interference laws.Rupert Murdoch and Duong Di Sanh
Murdoch is an American, but he has a major impact on our elections, and works insidiously, for example, to sabotage efforts to get Australian Governments to act effectively against climate change. His empire also works surreptitiously at undermining that most important Australian democratic institution, the ABC. We all know that nothing will be done about Continue reading »
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A lament for the passing of the Trump era
Turning on the ABC radio news each morning over the past four years was one of anticipation. While we slept, what had President Trump been up to? Would the latest be something daring, unusual, unorthodox, audacious, provocative, laudable, outrageous, nasty, hilarious, sensible, absurd, ignorant or a combination of all of them? Continue reading »
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No winners in Clive Palmer’s border war with WA
Clive Palmer had a spectacular loss in his High Court challenge to Western Australia’s border restrictions – but he has probably helped influence the easing of those restrictions, beginning from the middle of this month. Continue reading »
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Hotel quarantine interim report on outsourcing recommends changes but accountability questions remain (Kristen Rundle, The Conversation 6.11.20)
If the front line of the hotel quarantine system was simply too important a responsibility to be outsourced, it is time to get to the bottom of why this was the case, and why it might also be the case for other high-stakes government functions that carry serious consequences for public health or safety. Continue reading »
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Sunday environmental round up, 8 November 2020
Wind and solar are getting cheaper and cheaper and financial institutions and countries are increasingly turning away from fossil fuels, but 100% renewable energy is a long way off. Protecting wild places and returning agricultural land to nature can prevent biodiversity loss and help tackle climate change. Continue reading »
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Paralysis by analysis: Extravagance clots Michael Pezzullo’s security sermon (Canberra Times, Nov 3)
Pezzullo’s 2020 list tries to cover everything, a serious failure. As pointed out by US scholars, if policy makers try to address all imaginable threats, security will paralyse government. Continue reading »
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The ethical advantage: the economic and social benefits of ethics to Australia (The Ethics Centre Oct 2020)
We know what ethical failure costs – look at the billions of dollars paid by financial institutions in penalties and customer remediation since Hayne. But what are the economic benefits of ethical best practice? What can we gain economically by being more ethical as a nation? Continue reading »
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Biden’s Most Daunting Adversary (NYBooks Oct 31, 2020)
If Joe Biden wins the presidency, he will be faced with a hundred pressing problems and a thousand things to repair from the Trump years. Nevertheless, he will have little choice but to concentrate on the climate crisis. Continue reading »
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Do the mainstream media have much influence?
The other day Mungo McCallum remarked in passing that ‘the influence of the media on public opinion has always been greatly overrated’. I beg to differ, along with quite a few other commenters on his article. Here is a longer case for profound media influence. 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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It’s Arrived: Trump’s attempt to steal the election
Will Trump’s crazed attempt to steal the election wake up his enablers. They will need a plan to dispose of him if, as now seems likely, he loses the election. Continue reading »
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One Good Thing: Trump first president since Carter not to drag America into foreign wars
The seeds of civil war may be growing but one good thing to come out of Donald Trump’s four years in power is that he has not sent America into war overseas, joining the Democrats’ Jimmy Carter as the only other president since 1950 to show such restraint. Brian Toohey reports. Continue reading »
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The future of work is coming but it might not be what you think (The Mandarin 9 Oct, 2020)
Visions of the future of work, utopian and dystopian dot our popular culture. Thinkers behind these visions have often taken a Fukuyama-like plunge foreshadowing, if not the end of work, at least a radical re-working of the role work plays in our lives. Continue reading »
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A new dawn for international relations: Joe Biden and the Asia Pacific
Most of the leaders of the myriad of democracies in the Asia Pacific region slept easily in their beds on Wednesday night as Joe Biden came from behind to win first, the largest number of votes in any American presidential election and, second, what appeared to be a decisive lead in the number of electoral Continue reading »
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Difference between state and federal ALP in Queensland.
After the unexpectedly strong showing by the State ALP, this question has been posed: “Why is there such a dramatic difference between federal and state election results?” Continue reading »
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Let’s have a proper review of public sector remuneration
In calling for a review of Australia Post in light of its decision to reward some executives with Cartier watches, the PM stated that ‘there wouldn’t be a board member of a government agency or a CEO of a government agency that didn’t get my message’. Continue reading »
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Net-zero emissions by 2050: leadership or climate colonialism? (Canberra Times Nov 2, 2020)
How fast does Australia need to reduce greenhouse emissions to play its fair part in responding to the global climate emergency? Continue reading »
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Senator Eric Abetz: A career of negativity and division
Wouldn’t it be nice if Sarah Cooper did a lip-sync covering the career of Tasmanian Senator Eric Abetz? Continue reading »
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Open letter to the Prime Minister from more than 70 Australians opposing the $498m redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial development project will have major heritage impacts on the Memorial, a place that has deep meaning for all Australians. The intervention by the Australian Heritage Council, the government’s principal adviser on heritage matters, shows that reconsideration of the project is imperative. Continue reading »
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Edward Said Memorial Lecture 2020 Video – Melissa Parke
The Israeli lobbies in Australia, Europe and the USA are attempting to silence those who speak the truth about Israel’s abuse of Palestinians’ human rights. Continue reading »
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Charlie Hebdo: free speech or provocation?
Terrible events in France – a teacher beheaded, stabbings of innocent bystanders, and the shooting of a Greek orthodox priest – are recent examples of a clash of cultural identity systems that remain stubbornly alien to each other. It appears that hopes for a cosmopolitan world in which cultures converse amicably and learn from each Continue reading »
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A Clayton’s Integrity Commission?
Some readers will recall the major marketing campaign in the 1970s and 1980s for a non-alcoholic drink called Claytons, which looked like and was packaged to resemble whisky: “the drink you have when you’re not having a drink” was the slogan. The term Clayton’s caught on to mean anything which is not the real thing, Continue reading »
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Virus a political vaccine for the incumbent premiers?
Most of the commentators seem to expect that Annastacia Palaszczuk, the Labor premier of Queensland will be comfortably returned to power on Saturday night. Continue reading »
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Abetz committee shuts down critics
A top Chinese community leader Dr Tony Pun, who was highly critical of Eric Abetz was silenced by the Senate committee looking into diaspora communities, while a pro-Trump Chinese media outlet was welcomed to make public comment. Editor’s note: After publication of this article on the APAC.News website yesterday, the Senate released a transcript of evidence Continue reading »
