Politics
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Melbourne’s Formula 1 Grand Prix: What price public accountability?
The Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix has already cost Victorians in excess of one billion dollars and will have cost us an estimated $3 billion by the time the contract ends in 2037. Continue reading »
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Jimmy Carter: An exemplary Christian, exceptional American, and a voice of conscience
An exemplary Christian and an exceptional American, President Jimmy Carter, who passed on last month, embodied the moral conscience of the world. His enduring legacy will continue to inspire generations to come. Continue reading »
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Sudan: Beyond pessimism
In numerous journals and newspapers, death and destruction in Sudan is described as probably the greatest, certainly the most neglected, humanitarian catastrophe in existence. Continue reading »
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Israel’s total destruction of a whole healthcare system threatens us all
In December 2023, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, warned in relation to the situation in Gaza that “the practice of medicine is under attack” and “we are in the darkest time for the right to health in our lifetimes”. More than a year later, and with the killing Continue reading »
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Clive Palmer’s foreign investor claims against Australia now $420b
Clive Palmer’s latest claims as a Singaporean coal mine investor using foreign investor state dispute settlement rights in trade agreements to claim billions from the Australian Government join a growing global list of ISDS claims by fossil fuel companies defined by the UN and the OECD as threats to the global climate transition. Labor should Continue reading »
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Awake O Sleeper
“Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God: But only he who sees takes off his shoes. The rest sit around and eat blackberries”. (Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Aurora Leigh) Continue reading »
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Watch CN Live!: Nuked: The submarine fiasco that sank Australia’s sovereignty
In September 2021 the US, UK and Australia announced a joint project to build eight nuclear submarines for Australia at a cost of AU$368 billion. To conclude the deal, Australia had to scrap an already concluded agreement with France to build 12 conventional submarines for the Royal Australian Navy at a cost of AU$50 billion. Continue reading »
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How to protest against the atrocities in Gaza
Remember the Vietnam War? The barbarism there cannot be compared with what we see almost daily in Gaza. But just looking on impotently will not solve the problem. Continue reading »
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Setting ASEAN glue
ASEAN preference for resolute neutrality will attract increasing pushback from major foreign players who have less respect for the concept. Continue reading »
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Trump pressures Panama Canal and Greenland to secure UNSC votes
Many people have been understandably astonished by Donald Trump’s recently proclaimed desires to “take back” the Panama Canal “in full, quickly and without question” and to take over the self-governing Danish territory of Greenland. Continue reading »
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Will 2025 bring the world a G3?
The year 2025 promises to be a tumultuous one in many parts of the world. But will the status quo remain? Will it be a case of the more things change, the more they remain the same? Will we see changes for a better or worse world? And how will Australia cope with or help Continue reading »
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Dreyfus’ trip to Israel makes a mockery of Labor’s foreign policy
“The role of the attorney-general in Australia, even in these partisan times, is to uphold the rule of law,” as the former Chief Justice Sir Anthony Mason said. So how can it be in any way compatible with that duty for Mark Dreyfus, the current holder of the office, to head to Israel and meet Continue reading »
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Australian minister to fly to Israel to mend fractured relationship?
When I read the Sydney Morning Herald headline about this development, I assumed it must be a typical January “silly season” political beat-up. Continue reading »
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American-Israeli bombs destroy Australian food aid in Gaza
Last Sunday, (5 January) an American-Israeli guided missile deliberately attacked and destroyed an Australian-funded food aid storage facility in the area of Deir al-Balah in Gaza. It is, in effect, an attack on Australia. Where is the government’s condemnation? Continue reading »
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Australian broadcaster targeted by pro-Israel group, charged with ‘hate speech’
Yet another journalist — this one the prominent Australian broadcaster @MaryKostakidis — is formally charged with “hate speech” crimes. She was targeted by a pro-Israel group, led by a dual citizen of Israel and Australia, for the crime of reporting on Nasrallah’s speeches, writes Glenn Greenwald. Continue reading »
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The silent crisis killing public education
The exodus from Australia’s public schools is not a quiet migration – it’s an outright stampede. This dramatic shift, particularly in secondary education, reveals a deep crisis that policymakers, academics, and unions acknowledge superficially but lack the courage to confront head-on. At the heart of this issue lies the unspoken truth: public schools are increasingly Continue reading »
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Peter Dutton: not a monster?
When Peter Dutton was voted into the leadership of the Liberal Party by his federal colleagues in 2022, they did so on the understanding that he was the pre-eminent hard man so revered by the hard men who now prevail in the party of Robert Menzies. Continue reading »
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The Varghese review of funding for strategic policy work: the triumph of the poverty of imagination
The Independent Review of Commonwealth funding for strategic policy work, conducted and authored by Peter Varghese is now published. It almost sparkles in places, but overall, it disappoints. Sadly, it delivers what was minimally anticipated. Continue reading »
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Summing up
The world and its people are facing very serious local and global emergencies. Climate change, economic instability, limits to free speech, threats to independent media and increasing social inequality all signal the breakdown of democratic systems across the world. The genocide in Gaza and the war in Ukraine are ongoing. Our political institutions and leaders Continue reading »
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Tobacco prohibition by stealth?
Over the past five decades, drug policy in Australia has been contested between two main groups: the prohibitionists, who aim to ban social drugs by criminalising users and consumers, and the Harm-Reductionists, practitioners in the field who take a less censorious line on drug use and aim to educate users on how to minimise the Continue reading »
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Marching blindfolded into the new Cold War
Just before Christmas, the Albanese Government released the findings of a report into how much funding the federal government contributes to those institutions around the country that research and report on the contemporary challenges facing Australian strategic policy. Continue reading »
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Weaponising antisemitism – BDS, antisemitism and the silencing of criticism of Israel
To be Jewish does not mean an automatic identification with the rogue state of Israel. Nor does it mean that Jews are automatically threatened by criticism of Israel, yet our media and Labor and Liberal politicians would have you believe this is the case. Continue reading »
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The rule of the Oligarchs and Machines is here
Ordinary humanity faces an emerging threat from the combined might of the Human Elites (billionaires and the military-political class) working with perhaps the greatest power the planet has ever seen: artificial intelligence. Their combined might has the potential to totally screw us. Happy New Year everyone. Continue reading »
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Selective outrage won’t kill the death penalty
The world, thankfully, has come a long way from the time when animals as well as humans were put to death for unacceptable behaviour. Regrettably, Australia, a self-proclaimed abolitionist, is only really serious about capital punishment when the lives of its citizens are at stake. Continue reading »
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Debunking deforestation
Indonesia’s new president, former disgraced general Prabowo Subianto, is making an awkward discovery: gaining respect in the international community as head of a nation of 280 million civilians is not the same as ordering a special squad to intimidate. Continue reading »
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If only… 22 reasons to regret Australia’s missed opportunities
Everyone has the odd “if only” thought from time to time. If only you had made a different career choice, if only you had not said the things you have said, or if only you had not done some of the things you have done. All those done and not done moments – those decisions Continue reading »
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Will bail in Victoria get a battering under Battin?
Our annual trip to Queenscliff is a quaint step back in time: ye olde shoppes and seaside fun from a simpler time. Continue reading »
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“Fading Light” – Dementia
How handsome, deft and strong you were in daring youth. How clear and clever you thought and ably spoke. You walked with grace and poise amidst all other folk; Your person brought a sense of thoughtful, stolid truth. Continue reading »
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An Islamist regime takes shape in Damascus
On a winter night in 2014 I stood by the side of a highway outside Damascus as a Syrian army officer shone a torch over the contents of my suitcase he had ordered me to empty onto the grey dirt. Continue reading »
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China and America in 2050
In early December, 2024, The University of Hong Kong (HKU) hosted a lucid dialogue entitled: “China in 2050 – Two Perspectives”. The presenters were recognised China scholars, Professor Rana Mitter of Harvard University and Professor Daniel Bell from HKU. “What might be a realistic and desirable future for China” was a primary question addressed. Although Continue reading »
