Politics
-
The Clayton’s but secret Covid national plan
Those hoping for clarification on the national COVID-19 plan from last week’s national cabinet meeting will be disappointed. The main outcome from the meeting was a statement about the importance of its discussions and documents remaining “cabinet in confidence”. Continue reading »
-
Saturday’s good reading and listening for the weekend
What people in other forums are saying about public policy Continue reading »
-
With US democracy under threat from within, AUKUS puts Australia in danger
With the AUKUS treaty, Australia may have hitched its fate to a nation soon to be led by people who make Trump seem competent. Britain and Australia’s democracies are under threat; America’s future is in dire peril. Continue reading »
-
Melbourne riots shake public trust in reliability of mainstream media
There is strong evidence that Melbourne’s four days of street riots by angry young men claiming to be construction workers were fomented by right-wing extremists who used social media to radicalise unemployed or locked-down young men. They look to have modelled themselves on Trump supporters storming the Capitol. Continue reading »
-
Paul Keating: Morrison is making an enemy of China and Labor is helping him
The Liberals, having no faith in the capacity of Australians and all we have created here, could not resist falling back, yet again, to do the bidding of another great power, the United States of America. Continue reading »
-
What does the ALP stand for?
Apart from Paul Keating and a few others I do not know what the Australian Labor Party (ALP) now stands for on key issues. Continue reading »
-
Star spangled propaganda: ASPI to open office in the US so as to be close to the military and business complex.
O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light? It’s a new dawn for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) as it succumbs to the irrefutable truth it is nothing more than a vassal for American interests, opening a US office. Continue reading »
-
Scott Morrison’s giant nuclear election ploy that will put us in the front line against China
Australia’s decision to join with the United States and the United Kingdom to build Australian long-range nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) has little to do with the defence of Australia. Continue reading »
-
The quest for small government comes at a cost to good government
The Coalition preaches that small government is best. But the reality is that government is not actually smaller under the Coalition — and what voters really want and need is good government. Continue reading »
-
An Australian Story of Cruelty: the Biloela family
On Monday, former immigration minister Amanda Vanstone was wringing her hands on ABC TV. Not on behalf of the persecuted Biloela family, though. She was crying crocodile tears to defend a powerful, inflexible government. Continue reading »
-
Ministerial standards exposed by Christian Porter’s ‘blind trust’
Until last week, “blind trust” seemed to mean the faith that many Australians put in their political leaders. However we have been better educated by the revelations that Christian Porter was given money by a blind trust. Continue reading »
-
AUSMIN and AUKUS: It’s even worse than you think
Nothing exemplifies the loss of national sovereignty, and the abandonment of strategic autonomy, like handing the war decision over to the US. The submarine issue is simply a blind. AUKUS just a distraction. Continue reading »
-
AUKUS security pact: a story of recklessness and delusion
The AUKUS security pact is another provocative alliance that can only end in blood and tears. And for no good reason other than a nostalgic addiction to imperial power. Continue reading »
-
History is repeating itself: Billy Hughes on Japan and now Scott Morrison on China
In today’s Australia, our leaders are uneducated on the history of Australia’s foreign and defence policies. They’re repeating mistakes that had catastrophic consequences for Australia in the Pacific in the 20th century. Continue reading »
-
Three unjustified problems with the Queensland euthanasia bill
The Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill goes too far in trampling on the rights of those who want nothing to do with it in the last stages of their own life or in their long term relationships with their patients and residents. Continue reading »
-
Russian Duma elections mark a watershed moment in Russia-West relations
Russia, confident that it has seen off major US challenges to its sovereign independence, looks forward to its growing world role following significant elections on Sunday. Continue reading »
-
Sunday environmental round up.
China could close all its coal-fired power stations by 2045. North Atlantic right whales facing climate change threats quicker than humans are moving to protect them. More than 200 environmental activists murdered in 2020. Continue reading »
-
There are much greater threats to Australian security than the Chinese military
As a middle power, Australia should be strengthening international organisations and a global community, rather than treating our alliance with the US as the foundation of our foreign policy. Continue reading »
-
Mike Scrafton: Nuclear-powered submarines are just bad defence policy
Australian governments are now certain to be bedevilled by submarines for generations. Continue reading »
-
Kim Chen: Catholic leaders’ ‘irresponsible’ vaccine statements put vulnerable at risk
The Australasian Catholic Coalition for Church Reform is very concerned at the confusing vaccination leadership from the Catholic Church in Australia. Continue reading »
-
The Norwegian election was fought and won on climate policy. Are there lessons for Australia?
Despite its lowest polling in 20 years, the Norwegian Labour Party will form a coalition government after a campaign largely focussed on the environment and renewable energy. Is this a sign of things to come for our federal election? Continue reading »
-
Saturday’s good reading and listening for the weekend
What people in other forums are saying about public policy Continue reading »
-
Think tanks have put British democracy at risk. We have the same problem.
It’s arguable that Britain’s path to this point — where it is at risk of decaying into a ‘competitive authoritarian’ regime — can be traced back to the first of the ‘conservative’ think tanks. Continue reading »
-
Vale the Doherty Model: Unloved by many and misunderstood by most
It is with great relief and pleasure that we announce the passing of DM, the Doherty Model. Continue reading »
-
‘Everybody did it’: wealthy doctors’ lobbies ride JobKeeper gravy train
JobKeeper for dentists? Fair enough. But more public subsidies for doctors’ lobby groups? Callum Foote reports on Australia’s medical colleges refusing to pay back millions in JobKeeper payments. Continue reading »
-
Obsessing over confrontation with China leads to arid policy grounds
Shaping Australia’s China policy is complex enough without chasing impractical outcomes. Peter Hartcher and Geoffrey Barker are concerned about the threat from China but pursuing a confrontational strategy has shortcomings. Continue reading »
-
John Menadue: Our democracy is decaying from within
We need a summit of community leaders to help chart democratic renewal. Continue reading »
-
Changes to federal government film funding could cripple production of historical documentaries
Without government support, some iconic Australian films would never have been made. But less glamorous documentaries are often forgotten. They, perhaps even more than their feature film cousins, need investment to survive. Continue reading »
-
The ‘accidental prime minister’ is making it up as he goes
When a politician rises to the top of his profession we expect that he or she has always wanted the job, and that he or she has meticulously planned every step along the way. Continue reading »
-
What Scott Morrison’s really saying by aligning with Pentecostals
We have every reason to expect that Scott Morrison, as a professing Christian in a Bible-believing church, should exemplify the moral teachings of Jesus Christ, but that’s not the way the church game is played. Continue reading »
Top 5 most read
- What crackdown? Life in the Hong Kong…
The predictions by many Western pundits of tyranny and repression… - News Corp’s climate pivot perpetrates a new fraud…
Not only does News Corp's new climate change campaign come… - Mirage man Morrison continues to defeat the common good
The Coalition government remains in thrall to a tiny rump… - Will we ever get those nuclear submarines?
Chronic problems in US Navy shipyards and questions over the… - Wealthy schools pocket millions in JobKeeper funds…
Blessed are the rich! The payments to elite schools despite…
