Politics
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JOSEPH ANTHONY CAMILLERI. Was this ‘the election we had to have’?
It is two weeks since Australia went to the polls, but are we any wiser as to what actually transpired at the ballot box and during the preceding weeks of mind numbing electioneering? Politicians and commentators alike have single-mindedly focused on the ‘surprising’ election result – shocking for some, miraculous for others. But few if Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. What should Labor stand for as the blue collar base declines? Part 1 of 3.
A concern expressed to me by many voters was that the recent ALP campaign lacked an over-riding narrative or framework and that, being very detailed, it was vulnerable to lies and scare tactics. There were many attractive big-ticket policies but was there a vision of where Labor wanted to take Australia? Continue reading »
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ANDREW GLIKSON. Greta Thunberg . ‘You lied to us’
“The first law of humanity is not to kill your children” (Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, EU chief climate scientist). Continue reading »
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JERRY ROBERTS Mining, taxation and Australia
Turning points in political history are few and far between. Election 2019 was not one of them but the failure to instal the mining tax in 2010 was just such a pivotal moment. One of the consequences of that failure was Labor’s fiddly set of tax polices rejected by voters on Saturday 18 May. Continue reading »
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MUNGO MACCALLUM. Albo has authenticity ScoMo can only fake.
It didn’t take long for the hubris to kick in. Before the dust was settled, an exultant Liberal was reported ass gloating: “We just campaigned on a strong economy – we’ve got a mandate to do anything!” Well, anything – or nothing. Continue reading »
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CHRIS WALLACE. How might Labor win in 2022? The answers can all be found in the lessons of 2019. (The Conversation 27.5.2019)
The high tide of analysis concerning the Australian Labor Party’s shock 2019 federal election loss has been reached. It looks like so much flotsam and jetsam with the odd big log – leadership popularity, Queensland – prominent among the debris. Sorting through it, making sense of it, and weighting the factors driving the result really Continue reading »
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DENNIS ARGALL: Australian strategic posture from here forward
There is no sign of political enthusiasm to grasp the need for coherent national strategy, but basic principles need to be put in place and three particulars need urgent attention. Continue reading »
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MICHAEL KEATING Labor and the economy: Future policy choices?
Labor went into the recent election with a comprehensive economic plan. Many commentators have blamed Labor’s election loss on this plan, and its support for modest redistribution, thus raising the question of where does Labor go from here?…Labor needs to sell the message that redistribution is essential to sustain economic growth. Continue reading »
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RICHARD BUTLER The Ostrich in the Room: The Alliance
The ostrich buries its head in the sand in the belief that what it can’t see isn’t there; won’t harm it. If perception is everything, the Ostrich has a point. But it isn’t and, the wilful exclusion from our recent election campaign of any debate about Australian foreign policy, especially the demands being placed on Continue reading »
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MUNGO MACCALLUM. Abbott waits for next ride on gravy train.
With his political death, Tony Abbott achieved something he had never managed or even attempted in his political life: bipartisanship. Continue reading »
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ALLAN PATIENCE Are we seeing the beginning of America’s fragmentation.
In his 2014 book Dangerous Allies, Malcolm Fraser issued Australians with a timely warning. He pointed out that the America with which Australia had signed the ANZUS treaty way back in 1951 is a very different country to the “great and powerful friend” we imagined it to be at the end of World War Continue reading »
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LIONEL ORCHARD. Centre Left Strategy in the face of Election 2019
The debate about the reasons for the result of election 2019 covers many issues including the coherence or otherwise of the Labor strategy. For social democrats, a key question is where to now. Third way thinking about wealth generation before redistribution threatens a return. A stronger social democratic response will be needed. Continue reading »
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JEFF WATERS. Authenticity sells – Albanese would be foolish to overlook Kearney.
A leader devoid of what the public regards as “authenticity” appears to have cost Labor the election. Anthony Albanese should keep this in mind when appointing his shadow cabinet and should look no further than one of his most prominent and altogether successful backbenchers – the former ACTU President, Ged Kearney. Continue reading »
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PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 26 May 2019
Some pieces this week relevant to the causes of Labor’s problems last Saturday. Was their environmental message wrong? – not according to a recent report suggesting sea level rise of up to two metres by 2100, or the forced migrations that will occur as temperatures rise, or the rapidly falling price of wind, solar power 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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JOHN MENADUE. Spare us the details!
In the last election campaign I agreed with almost all of the ALP program, but clearly not enough of the public did. There was just too much to explain and communicate. The ALP did not succeed in telling it’s story or a ‘narrative’ as it is often called. As a result the program was prone Continue reading »
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India’s 2019 elections
In the most polarising, toxic elections in India’s history, the voter turnout of (67.1% (604 million) was the highest ever. Fierce social media wars contributed to the nastiness. It is hard to say whether political discourse was coarsened more by PM Narendra Modi or his opponents. Continue reading »
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ALLAN PATIENCE Labor must broaden its base
Like all mainstream, once-reforming parties in the liberal democracies, the ALP’s base has shrunk, mainly to inner-city dwellers with progressive views on issues like same-sex marriage and climate change. These people – many with university degrees and professional careers – incline to supercilious indifference, even hostility, when confronted by the resentful prejudices, religious fundamentalisms, Continue reading »
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China, Hong Kong & Australia’s Love of Authoritarianism
In relations with China, Australia’s support for human rights faces a demanding test. Human Rights Watch reports that in areas of free expression and political participation, oppression in Hong Kong has increased to the worst level since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Continue reading »
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JOHN DWYER An open letter to Minister Greg Hunt
The majority of Labor’s plans for our health system were greeted with enthusiasm herein and elsewhere as they addressed major current inadequacies that diminish the equity and cost effectiveness of the health care available to Australians. Labor did seek and act upon advise re health reform priorities provided by health professionals and informed consumers. Continue reading »
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MARIAN SAWER. After Clive Palmer’s $60 million campaign, limits on political advertising are more important than ever (The Conversation)
Can billionaires buy elections in Australia? In the 2019 election, Clive Palmer demonstrated they can certainly flood the print media, airwaves, social media and billboards with advertising and have an impact on the results through their preferences and negative advertising. Continue reading »
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SCOTT BURCHILL: Class and the onus of proof after the 2019 election
If he had been voted in as prime minister on 18 May 2019, Bill Shorten proposed to pay for increased government spending with a crackdown on franking credits, future limitations on negatively geared property assets (that were grandfathered) and new measures to limit multinational company tax avoidance. Amongst other significant campaign shortcomings, Shorten failed to Continue reading »
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KIM WINGEREI The Climate Election That Wasn’t
This was supposed to be the election about climate action. It was the most important issue for voters, yet official government policy remains climate inaction as the opposition was once again divided on the issue and failed to make sufficient impact. It could have been so different… Continue reading »
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ROY GREEN. Labor’s unloseable election
Was it the message or the messenger? Or a bit of both? This question will occupy the minds of political strategists for years to come. The federal election was a setback to Australia’s labour movement, not least because it came as a shock, but there is no reason for despair once put into perspective. The Continue reading »
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TRACEY WEST. 3 lessons from behavioural economics Bill Shorten’s Labor Party forgot about (The Conversation)
The Australian Labor Party’s 2019 election campaign showed a depth and breadth of economic policies rare for an opposition party to present. Its policy agenda was boldly extensive. But in developing these policies over the past five years, it seems Labor’s economic minds overlooked some fundamental principles of behavioural economics. Continue reading »
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PAUL BARRY. With pollsters and pundits getting the election result so wrong, how fair and balanced was Australia’s media this election? (Media Watch ABC 20.5.2019)
So how did the Coalition make it happen? And what effect if any did a partisan media have on the result? News Corp’s army of right-wing commentators barracked tirelessly for the Coalition throughout the campaign, warning the nation would be destroyed if Labor won. News Corp’s news, meanwhile — meant to be opinion free — was often Continue reading »
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IAN McAULEY. No wonder the real-estate agents went against Labor
A glance at movements in share prices since the election shows who expects to do well out of the Coalition’s win. (Spoiler – it’s the finance sector.) Continue reading »
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MILES LITTLE – Israel Folau. Free speech and its limits?
The skilled and charismatic Rugby player Israel Folau has caused a stir at many levels by posting the unambiguous message that certain categories of sinner will go to Hell. His attitudes to gay people have surfaced before and since, but this time the response has been sharp and censorious at official levels. His contract with Continue reading »
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BERNARD MOYLAN A bold but courageous platform.
I have been wondering why last weekend’s election result has affected me so deeply. I suppose that the many polls led me to think that the Coalition Government had been so discredited after three prime ministers in six years , constant internal bickering , inaction over energy policy and climate change and an almost policy-free Continue reading »
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WALEED ALY. Australia Isn’t Right-Wing. It’s Cautious. (New York Times 21.5.2019)
Ahead of Australia’s general election on Saturday, one party had campaigned on the idea that politics and the economy were rigged in favor of the elites. It attacked its opponent relentlessly for siding with the “top end of town.” It insisted that things needed to be shaken up to stop serving multinational corporations and vested Continue reading »
