Politics
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International Relations are foreign to Morrison
Prime Minister, Scott Morrison appears out of his depth with foreign policy. There is a readiness to follow Donald Trump. From the Middle East to China and the Pacific, Morrison gives the appearance of not having done his homework and of not much enjoying the subject. Continue reading »
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Trump/Kushner Deal of the Century: ‘Money, Money, Money, It’s A Rich Man’s World’
The Trump/Kushner Israeli/Palestinian Peace Plan, ‘the deal of the century’, was presented in a workshop held in the Manama Hotel, Bahrein on June 25. The authors emphasised economic proposals not political considerations, but their deal had a more sinister policy objective: the crafting of every conceivable cruelty towards Palestinians. Continue reading »
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MUNGO MACCALLUM. Morrison wants Wyatt to shut up on Indigenous Australians
Scott Morrison really likes quiet Australians – as quiet as possible. So it was really no surprise that his response to his minister, Ken Wyatt’s modest and tentative proposal to consider reviving an Indigenous Voice through the Uluru Statement from the Heart was simple and direct: bloody well shut up and do what you are Continue reading »
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MUNGO MACCALLUM. Supreme Court sets Albanese a real test.
The muffled roar of applause last week was coming from Scott Morrison and the coalition, cheering,, of all things, the Supreme Court of Victoria. Justice Peter Riordan reserved his decision over the maverick union leader John Setka’s appeal to block Anthony Albanese’s attempt to expel him from the Labor Party. Continue reading »
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TONY SMITH. Two ears, one mouth. Not quite enough listening yet.
While every Australian must wish Ken Wyatt well in the portfolio of Indigenous Australians, he still must operate in a system which has shown itself unsympathetic to the needs of first Australians. His intention to present a referendum on recognition might be a good one, but he will succeed only if political leadership on the Continue reading »
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PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 14 July 2019
The ALP supports the Adani mine in the Senate, assisting Australia’s exported carbon emissions to increase greatly. The USA’s coal industry continues to decline but not without first screwing the workers and the environment to maximise short term rewards at the top. Bill McKibben identifies three strategies for tackling the urgency of climate action, while Continue reading »
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SATURDAY’s GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND
A regular collection of links to writings and broadcasts in other media Continue reading »
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SPENCER ZIFCAK. Journalists, media freedom and the law.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) raids on journalists from News Corporation and the ABC have caused very considerable community consternation. The fact that these raids occurred in the immediate aftermath of the recent election and within a day of each other served only to animate public concern. These events have prompted a re-appraisal of the Continue reading »
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GREG BARNS AND TONY NAGY: The Troubling Irony: The UK Government Conference on Media Freedom and Julian Assange
On Wednesday and Thursday this week The UK and Canadian Governments are hosting a conference called Defend Media Freedom. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne is participating. Yet only a few miles away from the London conference venue Julian Assange, the publisher of WikiLeaks and journalist, languishes in Belmarsh Prison as he awaits a request Continue reading »
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KIM WINGEREI The Religion of Sports
Israel Folau is a sad case of a sports star failing to understand his own religion, his role and his contractual obligations all at once. Continue reading »
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NOEL TURNBULL. Where did it all start?
“From whence and whereof cometh yon Trump? From some distant time or world?” Well that’s how it might be put in cod Elizabethan dialogue. Continue reading »
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GEETA PANDEY. Indian MP Mahua Moitra’s ‘rising fascism’ speech wins plaudits (BBC News)
A spirited turn at the mic by a first-time female MP in India’s parliament, in which she listed the “signs of early fascism”, has been hailed as the “speech of the year” on social media. Continue reading »
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MUNGO MACCALLUM. Morrison climbs aboard Plan A
Last week Anthony Albanese passed his first test – at least the one the magisterial examiners of The Australian devised for him. He had retreated, gloated the paper – caved, rolled over to the majesty of the ScoMo mandate. By agreeing to pass the enormity of the coalition tax package, he had acknowledged the verdict Continue reading »
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JACK WATERFORD. Not quite Custer’s last stand, yet
Australia must have an independent defence policy as American power in Asia and the Pacific wanes. But there’s no reason to think us friendless. Hugh White is travelling the nation’s highways and byways trying to scare Australians out of their complacency about the nation’s security — not least by raising again the prospect of Australia’s Continue reading »
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MICHAEL KEATING. Can we trust Scott Morrison?
Scott Morrison is on record as saying that no programs or services will be cut to pay for the tax cuts. The evidence, however, suggests that real government outlays will decline on a per capita basis, which would seem to mean that services will contract. Continue reading »
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ALLAN PATIENCE and GARRY WOODARD. Morrison as a middle power statesman?
In attempting to predict how Scott Morrison will develop as a foreign policy Prime Minister, the obstacles in his way should first be noted. While his potential authority within the party room is considerable, he lacks the foreign policy experience of previous Prime Ministers such as Menzies, Whitlam, Hawke and Rudd. Continue reading »
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NOEL TURNBULL. The depths of hypocrisy
The defining characteristics of Australia’s right wing cultural warriors – whether in the Liberal Party, the Murdoch media or the usual think tank suspects – are their breathtaking hypocrisy and the very real threat they pose to the liberal values so many have fought to inculcate in society. Continue reading »
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MARK BUCKLEY. Tony Abbott Will Never Be Prime Minister (Again)
One of my daughters, a wise young head, when describing certain individuals of less than stellar intelligence, uses the phrase “he (or she) will never be Prime Minister”. It is a curiously descriptive phrase, because it says everything about limits, of intelligence, of ambition, of drive, of the ability to think conceptually, to radiate warmth, Continue reading »
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PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 7 July 2019
While the Australian government continues to obfuscate and avoid any real action on climate change, other nations are ignoring the ‘our emissions are too small to make a difference’ argument and demonstrating ambition and leadership. Asian countries could help their populations, economies and environments by investing in renewable energy rather than coal, while Turkey’s changing Continue reading »
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SATURDAY’s GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND
A regular collection of links to writings and broadcasts in other media Continue reading »
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China is not an enemy (Washington Post letter, 3 July 2019)
Dear President Trump and members of Congress: We are members of the scholarly, foreign policy, military and business communities, overwhelmingly from the United States, including many who have focused on Asia throughout our professional careers. We are deeply concerned about the growing deterioration in U.S. relations with China, which we believe does not serve American Continue reading »
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Christopher Pyne: Consultancy as government
The sudden elevation of Christopher Pyne – formerly Minister for Defence Industries – to defence consultant with Ernst & Young may have taken some people by surprise. Surely, though, it was always on the cards, especially since he retired from parliament at a relatively young age of 51 and with a pre-election likelihood of not Continue reading »
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ROB MAINWARING. Centre-left politics: dead, in crisis, or in transition? (The Conversation, 24 June 2019)
The ALP’s defeat at the 2019 federal election was a surprise. Shorten’s Labor fell short, against both wider commentariat predictions and unrepresentative polls. Yet, if we take a step back, the result is less surprising if we locate Labor’s defeat in the wider “crisis” of social democracy. Continue reading »
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JOCELYN PIXLEY. Morrison bows to monied men
Liberal UK Prime Minister Gladstone, 1868-94, grumbled that William III put the state in a position of ‘subservience’ to induce ‘monied men to be lenders’ in 1694. As Australia faces recession, the Government bows to every bank demand for low wages and flatter taxes, to foster more household debts, rather than a fair and cautious Continue reading »
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MIKE BRUCE. No jobs here: Penalty rate cuts fail to fire up employment growth (New Daily)
Jobs growth in the retail and hospitality sectors has more than halved since the introduction of Sunday penalty rates, a new study has revealed. Continue reading »
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NIALL McLAREN Times change. Fools never.
Times change, and people who refuse to change with them will be left behind. Continue reading »
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ABUL RIZVI: South Australia – Canary in the Ageing Coalmine
In terms of the impact of population ageing, South Australia provides a glimpse into Australia’s future. Over the next decade, ageing will impact Australia more significantly than at any time in our post World War II history. By 2030, all the 5.5 million baby boomers will be past age 65 and predominantly in retirement. Continue reading »
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STEPHEN KINZER. In an astonishing turn, George Soros and Charles Koch team up to end US ‘forever war’ policy (Boston Globe, 30 June 2019)
BESIDES BEING BILLIONAIRES and spending much of their fortunes to promote pet causes, the leftist financier George Soros and the right-wing Koch brothers have little in common. They could be seen as polar opposites. Soros is an old-fashioned New Deal liberal. The Koch brothers are fire-breathing right-wingers who dream of cutting taxes and dismantling government. Continue reading »
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RORY MCGUIRE. Middle East: Comedy or Tragedy?
It is increasingly difficult to decide whether the ongoing drama in the Middle East is a comedy or a tragedy. The actors are performing roles written for comedians but the consequences of their actions are tragic too often. Continue reading »
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JENNY HOCKING. The ‘Palace letters’ case heads to the High Court
Professor Jenny Hocking’s long-running case against the National Archives of Australia seeking the release of the secret ‘Palace letters’ about the 1975 dismissal of the Whitlam government by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, stepped up again this week with the announcement of a Special Leave hearing in the High Court of Australia on 16 August. Continue reading »