Top 5
Used for weekly email
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Saturday’s good reading and listening for the weekend
What people in other forums are saying about public policy Continue reading »
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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 »
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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 »
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Protracted timeline shows the folly of Australia’s nuclear submarine deal
Buying ludicrously expensive nuclear submarines upsets our neighbours, inflates the defence spending budget, unbalances our military forces and does nothing to address the bigger security threat of global warming and species extinction. Continue reading »
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Covid on the inside: A Sydney doctor’s perspective. I can face tomorrow
Caring for COVID-19 patients in a Sydney hospital through the city’s latest outbreak, a doctor reflects on the impact the pandemic is having on our healthcare system and the people who work in it. Continue reading »
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Mending a neighbourhood fence: Australia’s strategic partnership with France in the Pacific
There is more at stake for the French-Australian relationship in the Pacific than just money after Australia last week cancelled the $90 billion contract with France’s Naval Group to build new submarines. Continue reading »
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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 »
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Saturday’s good reading and listening for the weekend
What people in other forums are saying about public policy Continue reading »
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Australia should learn from Korea on managing a relationship with China
China was the elephant in the room for the discussions Marise Payne and Peter Dutton had with their Korean counterparts in Seoul. Korea’s extremely complex bilateral relationship with China is so different from our own. Continue reading »
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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 »
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John Menadue: Our democracy is decaying from within
We need a summit of community leaders to help chart democratic renewal. Continue reading »
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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 »
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When politics fail: The folly in under-funding the ABC’s international services
The ABC is under such constant pressure and threats from government (as well as relentless attacks from hostile media and other organisations such as the IPA), it’s not surprising that public attention is almost exclusively on the domestic service. Continue reading »
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Bruce Haigh: We have been used again by America, this time in Indonesia.
Indonesians wonder why we fear China so much, when they don’t? Continue reading »
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NSW’s reopening plan is risky, and signals an end to a national approach
By abandoning the national plan, NSW’s gamble to go it alone on easing restrictions for fully vaccinated people further fractures federalism… NSW initially locked down too little and too late. Continue reading »
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Saturday’s good reading and listening for the weekend
What people in other forums are saying about public policy Continue reading »
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Democracy in decline: Australia’s slide into ‘competitive authoritarianism’
Australia is at a critical point. A Coalition government that would cling to power to impose broadly unpopular policy threatens the very nature of our democracy. Continue reading »
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When should the lockdown end?
Suppressing the virus will require much lower caseloads before lockdowns can lift, even if we meet vaccination targets. Continue reading »
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Australia’s government scares me more than the Saudi government
I left Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s most oppressive regimes. But the Australian government’s recent draconian rules remind me so much of home. Continue reading »
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IPA’s pick for Human Rights Commissioner undermines independence
Lorraine Finlay’s appointment as Human Rights Commissioner is yet another attack from the Coalition on the commission’s independence. Continue reading »
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Provoking China to please the US.
The Morrison government is pushing Australia towards a confrontation with Beijing, mainly to be seen as a fawning acolyte in Washington. Continue reading »
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Will Clive Palmer’s money get Craig Kelly reelected?
With Craig Kelly joining the United Australia Party (UAP), what impact will he and Clive Palmer have on the next federal election? Continue reading »
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Saturday’s good reading and listening for the weekend
What people in other forums are saying about public policy. Continue reading »
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The Age demeans itself as well as the Victorian public health team
The most disturbing aspect of The Age’s disappointing editorial yesterday is its undermining of the state’s public health messaging and compliance efforts. Continue reading »
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Blessed are the rich in securing vaccines
Australia is among the rich, western countries siding with Big Pharma to thwart the widespread manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines. Continue reading »
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Mullah Morrison and his Christian Taliban
The problem with Scott Morrison is not that he uses his office to implement Christian values. The problem is that he doesn’t. Continue reading »
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Gladys Berejiklian, deep in farce yesterday, threatening chaos today
Faced with a Covid crisis, the NSW government has failed to lead when its people needed it the most. Continue reading »
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White Man’s Media: it’s the white person’s media
The media thunders forth from its citadel of truth against the infidels. Those chosen to comment on things Chinese are seldom people who have worked in China but hawks who spout the conservative line Continue reading »
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Crocodile tears by Morrison over plight of Afghans
The Taliban advance was swift; that was the point at which the Australian evacuation of at-risk personnel and their families should have begun. . Hiding behind ‘intelligence’ is a poor excuse. US intelligence relating to Afghanistan has been as bad as their intelligence on Vietnam. Continue reading »
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Easy Lies & Influence in the $90b submarine boondoggle
No-one knew what the evaluation process involved, but it was clear the decision was political, not driven by the obligation of government to spend public funds for the best product and the best price. Continue reading »
Top 5 most read
- History is repeating itself: Billy Hughes on Japan…
In today’s Australia, our leaders are uneducated on the history… - Distracted by the submarine bauble, Labor and the…
Australia is about to become home to American bases, and… - A Bill to enable use of foreign troops or foreign… A bill is before federal parliament to enable the ADF,…
- Paul Keating: Morrison is making an enemy of China…
The Liberals, having no faith in the capacity of Australians… - What does the ALP stand for?
Apart from Paul Keating and a few others I do…
