Politics
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MARGARET REYNOLDS. Queensland – A Special Place?
I lived in Queensland for three decades and represented the sunshine state as a Labor Senator for sixteen years. I spent much of my time trying to convince my parliamentary colleagues and the media that Queenslanders are very much like the rest of us. They too are concerned about job prospects for themselves and their Continue reading »
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JERRY ROBERTS The Religious Right is wrong and dangerous
Israel Folau is arguing that he is entitled to act in an offensive manner because he adheres to a set of childish superstitions about heaven and hell that most of us grow out of when we work out the Tooth Fairy and begin to have doubts about Father Christmas. Continue reading »
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MUNGO MACCALLUM – What Bob Hawke meant by aspiration.
Bob Hawke’s widow Blanche d’Alpuget summed it up best: his was a life triumphantly well lived. The state memorial service last week sent the silver bodgie off in grand style. It was a fitting celebration of a remarkable leader. Continue reading »
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RICHARD BUTLER The Espionage Olympiad and the Art of “Plausible Deniability”.
If there was a competition between the key ways in which international relations is conducted, aside from the use of military force, then the area of intelligence gathering and the covert pursuit of national objectives – all-round spookery – would easily win gold. It is widespread, has been entrenched for centuries and, nothing matches its Continue reading »
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NOEL TURNBULL. Remember the Alamo, remember the Maine etc etc etc
Remember the Alamo, remember the Maine, remember the Gulf of Tonkin, remember the weapons of mass destruction and now remember the Kokuka Sangyo tanker. Continue reading »
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BERNARD KEANE. Corporations start to question Business Council’s climate denialism (Crikey)
With Westpac joining the growing list of corporations that are questioning the climate policy stance of the Business Council of Australia (BCA), it seems that major companies that take climate change seriously have sussed out the strategy of one of Australia’s most toxic denialist lobby groups. Continue reading »
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NIALL McLAREN IT’S TIME…. TO QUESTION THE US ALLIANCE.
Before entering any alliance, it’s better to be certain you have worked out what you hope to gain from it. Continue reading »
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Sunday environmental round up, 16 June 2019
A strong emphasis on economic, ethical and equity issues associated with climate change this week. Global warming has increased inequalities between rich and poor nations; tackling climate change and reducing inequalities must occur simultaneously but only rich and powerful nations and individuals have the resources required to do it; even low emitting nations have a 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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MACK WILLIAMS . North Korea : The tangled web becomes more so !
That the past few months have seen no real progress towards the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula is not all that surprising given the swirling global environment demanding priority attention for President Trump and other key stakeholders. Post mortems of the failed Hanoi Summit have revealed some significant divisions within both sides. Trump persists in Continue reading »
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MICHELLE PINI: AFP raids journalists: We need to talk about our Government
There is no doubt the AFP raids are an affront to our democracy. One in which the hand of a secretive and ruthless Government can be felt, if not seen or heard. Continue reading »
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MICHAEL JOHNSTON. Taming the beast – a challenging new initiative.
Corporations’ unbridled pursuit of self interest (aka ‘shareholder interest’) has plunged the planet into an existential crisis. It is no longer a radical proposition to suggest that the community should expect its corporations to pursue stakeholder interest on an equal footing with shareholder interest. “The law locks up the man or woman who steals the Continue reading »
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Liberal leadership change in WA shows conservative confidence
Liza Harvey’s unopposed ascension to leadership of the West Australian parliamentary Liberal Party points to growing confidence among conservatives in the West but Mike Nahan deserves high praise for holding the fort after the Liberals’ 2017 rout. Continue reading »
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ALEX MITCHELL. Unrepresentative Tory swill choosing the next British Prime Minister
All registered members of the British Conservative Party are currently voting to elect a new leader to replace Prime Minister Theresa May. Hailed as an exercise in party democracy, it’s more like a chook raffle. Continue reading »
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Modi vs who? The question needed a clear answer in a quasi-presidential contest (The Times of India)
No Bihari political scientist can possibly understate the importance of caste and religion in shaping the electoral contest. However, there is one other factor that is of growing importance. In all parliamentary democracies across the world, including Australia, power is being centralised in the office of the PM. PMs, including Narendra Modi, increasingly resemble and Continue reading »
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GREG JERICHO. Coalition’s lies, damned lies and election-winning strategies (The Guardian)
No, the government doesn’t care about reducing carbon emissions and no, the economy is not strong. Continue reading »
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BEN GRUBB. The CIA’s investment fund is stalking Australian tech startups and has opened a local office (Sydney Morning Herald, 11 June 2019)
A technology investment fund bankrolled by America’s foreign spy agency, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is stalking Australian companies for future investment opportunities. Continue reading »
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BEVAN RAMSDEN. The Anti-Terrorism Act and other Acts strip us of many civil liberties we thought we had.
The recent intimidatory police raids on the ABC and a journalist’s home for making public, matters of community concern, is a wake-up call that press freedoms can no longer be taken for granted. But looking wider, personal freedoms we thought we enjoyed are also fast disappearing thanks to the anti-terrorism act and other laws passed Continue reading »
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MICHAEL KEATING Budget Deficits: Good or Bad
Returning the Budget to surplus has been an article of faith in most Australian political dialogue for the last decade. However, with stagnant economic growth and the Government’s proposed tax cuts, there is a real risk that Budget surpluses cannot be sustained. On the other hand, some people who are concerned that more public Continue reading »
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GEOFF RABY. What a Morrison Government could do on China.
The Accidental Morrison Government needs now to face up to Australia’s most important foreign policy challenge: how to restore relations with China. Under Turnbull/Bishop’s mismanagement, the relationship plumbed its lowest depth since diplomatic relations were established 47 years ago. Doing so won’t be easy and will require substantive policy changes, not merely a re-packaging of Continue reading »
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NOEL TURNBULL. When you think of Twitter what at do you think of first?
The automatic response when you hear the word Tweet is to associate it with Trump. Yet some recent Pew Research Center suggests the Tweeter in chief is out of step with most other Tweeters. Continue reading »
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PAUL MASON. Donald Trump’s embrace is a death grip for the Conservative Party (New Statesman, 5 June 2019)
Mainstream conservatism has lost its ideological defences against the far right. All over the world, mainstream conservatism has reached the moment of its psychological surrender to the authoritarian right. In the US, the Republican Party is using control of state legislatures to roll back 50 years of abortion liberalisation. In Austria, the conservative People’s Party Continue reading »
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WILLIAM PESEK Abe-Trump smiles mask the coming anger. (Nikkei Asian Review 30.5.2019)
Donald Trump visited Tokyo for four days (25-28 May) intending to cement his “unshakable bond” with Shinzo Abe. Instead, the visit showcased why their unlikely bromance is headed for trouble. Continue reading »
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MUNGO MacCALLUM. Our freedom is at risk.
Our Prime Minister assures us that the AFP raids of last week had absolutely nothing to do with him. Well, of course not – he and his government are never responsible for anything. Continue reading »
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DUNCAN GRAHAM – Past their use-by date but still current
They ignore the local statistics, but hang on to the exceptional example, Mahathir bin Mohamad. Next month the Malaysian Prime Minister will turn 94 and although he promised to hand over to Anwar Ibrahim, 71, that has yet to occur. Continue reading »
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JOCELYN CHEY Hongkongers deserve support.
Sunday’s march on Hong Kong’s Legislative Council brought an estimated million people onto the streets, which if true would make it the largest demonstration in the history of the Special Administrative Region. The reason for the demonstration was the proposed Extradition Treaty, which will be debated on Tuesday 11thJune. Legislators will do well to Continue reading »
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JOHN STAPLETON Australia’s Vicious Assault on Freedom of Speech…
World’s most secretive democracy. Absurd overreach of power. Secretive, ruthless and vindictive executive government. Continue reading »
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ERNST WILLHEIM. Cover up of Illegal government activities continue with the AFP raids. They follow the Witness K and Bernard Collaery travesty.
This is a talk (on 27 February 2019 at Manning ClarkHouse, ANU )about some shameful events in Australia’s recent history.And I very much fear the shameful saga is about to continue.It is about Australian commercial espionage, bugging of the cabinet office of a friendly neighbour by an Australian intelligence agency, a raid by another Australian Continue reading »
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MUNGO MacCALLUM. Israel Folau and the problem with fundamentalist religion.
The Israel Folau saga is finally moving to the tribunals – first to the Fair Work Commission, and if that does not produce a result, on the Federal Court and perhaps beyond. Continue reading »
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MURRAY SAYLE. On Tiananmen Square – June 1989
On May 13, with Gorbachev’s visit imminent, the students began a hunger strike in seven-day relays. How did the regime react? The People’s Liberation Army sent one thousand quilts; the Chinese Red Cross brought water, salt, and sugar for the hunger-strikers; and Mayor Chen’s own Beijing municipality set up portable toilets. Students were taken to Continue reading »