Top 5
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President Trump and Australia’s National Security
Australia needs to try and persuade the Trump Administration that no country can expect to dominate our region and the benefits of cooperation. But if, as is likely, Trump refuses to accept a multipolar region then Australia must be prepared to act on its own and seek its security within Asia. Continue reading »
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All at (sixes and) sevens and eights: Taiwan policy
The fate of the world may well rest on Taiwan but our policy is at sixes and sevens, or rather, according to recent statements in the Australian press, at sevens and eights. Continue reading »
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Entering the ‘Pyrocene’: Devastation in California is the harbinger of the apocalypse
Wildfires in California replicate the massive fire storms in the boreal forest in Canada and Siberia, the lungs of the earth. Our addiction to fossil fuel has ignited an age of fire. Continue reading »
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The fall of Israeli impunity: The world is starting to hold Tel Aviv accountable for the Gaza genocide
A dramatic escape was cited by Israeli media as the reason that Yuval Vagdani, a soldier in the Israeli army, managed to escape justice in Brazil. Continue reading »
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America preying on our universities
The US is exploiting a privileged position in our society with formalised access to powerful means for shaping Australians’ attitudes to security. It purports to be ally and friend, but where’s the respect? Continue reading »
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Climate and security risks? Shhh, says the Albanese Government
The Los Angeles fires have again demonstrated the need for a steely-eyed approach by governments to climate risks, ensuring that the assessment of those risks is up-to-date, considers the plausible worst-case scenarios, and is made widely available so the public understands what we are facing. Continue reading »
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Child support: a ‘wicked’ public policy problem
Two generations of children have grown up since the Child Support Scheme (CSS) was introduced in June 1988 with the promise of “putting children first” when their parents’ relationship breaks down. Yet, the CSS is beset with many of the same problems that led to and surrounded its establishment. Continue reading »
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Facts, alternative facts and Edward Said: Narrating a genocide
As Donald Trump is inaugurated as a second-term president, readers may recall the infamous expression “alternative facts” used by Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s senior counsellor, to defend the false statements of Sean Spicer, the White House Press Secretary. At the time, the media mocked Conway for describing Spicer’s falsehoods about attendance numbers at Trump’s 2017 inauguration Continue reading »
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Who can best manage Trump – Albanese or Dutton?
A week out from the presidential inauguration in Washington and what stands out is the sheer mischief and wildness of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, like two schoolboys running amok in the tuckshop of world politics. Continue reading »
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Judge threatens to break the UK’s wall of secrecy around Assange’s persecution
After nine years of legal battles, a British judge has finally challenged the wall of secrecy erected by British and Swedish authorities around the legal abuse of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Continue reading »
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Hotel California: Time to check out
The Eagles classic “Hotel California” could be considered an allegory for membership in the imperial system of the United States. At least to this point, that appears to be the mindset prevalent in Australia’s political, defence and security class, regardless of the harm that membership causes. It is time to check out. 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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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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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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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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In defence of free speech about genocide in Gaza
Early in the New Year, acclaimed journalist and former SBS news anchor Mary Kostakidis posted a statement on her X account in the hope it would bring to a close legal proceedings brought against her in the Australian Human Rights Commission by the CEO of the Zionist Federation of Australia, alleging that social media posts Continue reading »
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Which party is the more competent economic manager – Labor or Liberal?
Judgments about economic management will be critical in the next election. Examination of their respective records and policies suggests that contrary to popular opinion, Labor is better than the Coalition. Continue reading »
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The release of the 2003 Iraq War cabinet papers and what we were not told
We are constantly assured that our governments don’t lie. But in this case the enormity goes beyond a mere cover-up to protect deemed “national security”. That war was a lie from beginning to end. Continue reading »
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Best of 2024: ‘Disingenuous theatre dressed up as major news’: Why the ABC is losing credibility
ABC supporters across the country are dismayed and angry with the national broadcaster. The biggest threat to the ABC today is its craven and distorted performance in television current affairs reporting. Continue reading »
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Will the Cocos Islands become like Diego Garcia, hijacked by the US?
The 2000 residents of Diego Garcia were forcibly removed to make way for a giant US military base. Continue reading »
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Best of 2024: What makes Chinese students so successful by international standards?
There is a belief widely held across the Western world: Chinese students are schooled through rote, passive learning – and an educational system like this can only produce docile workers who lack innovation or creativity. We argue this is far from true. Continue reading »
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Best of 2024: Australian Prime Minister referred to ICC for complicity in genocide
“The Australian government and its most senior officials have both failed to prevent or respond to the genocide committed by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza and been complicit in the carrying out of this genocide in a manner which falls squarely within Article 25 (3)(c) and/or (d) of the Rome Statute of the ICC,” state Continue reading »
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The continual cover up – Jenny Hocking on the strange disappearance of Gough Whitlam’s ASIO file
And it is not just Gough Whitlam’s ASIO file that has been “culled” by the National Archives of Australia. The relevant Government House Guest Books at the time of the Dismissal have disappeared and the entire archive of Kerr’s prominent supporters, including Lord Mountbatten, was accidentally burnt in the Yarralumla incinerator. Continue reading »
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450 days of genocide: Israeli occupation burns hospitals, cold ravages the displaced
The Israeli occupation continues the genocide in Gaza in a frenzied manner, with the pace of assaults increasing daily. For 450 days, the occupation has persisted in killing civilians, displacing them, and attacking hospitals and civilian institutions protected by all international laws and regulations. Every new day in this genocide brings with it pain and Continue reading »
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White Man’s Media: The Washington consensus and legacy media frames and conditions our thinking and actions
In Gaza we have witnessed a litany of lies by Israel and America peddled by our media day after day.The lives of white Jews and Christians are clearly more valuable than the lives of brown Muslims. Continue reading »
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Best of 2024: Why do Chinese EVs meet so much resistance?
There was a time when the world looked to China to reduce its emissions. China was, they quite rightly pointed out, one of the globe’s worst polluters. Continue reading »
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Australian UN expert Chris Sidoti lashes out at Netanyahu, shuts up Israeli reporter
Chris Sidoti, an International human rights lawyer from Australia working as a UN investigator along with former International Criminal Court judge Navi Pillay, has slammed Benjamin Netanyahu for the Gaza conflict. He also shut up an Israeli reporter, who made a desperate attempt to question the latest findings on Israeli excesses by these two UN Continue reading »
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Best of 2024: AUKUS: The worst defence and foreign policy decision our country has made
Defence Minister Marles’s love for the the US is so dewy-eyed as to defy parody. Foreign Minister Wong is far more beady-eyed, and instinctively wary of over-commitment to America’s view of itself, but has been unwilling to rock the boat. Continue reading »
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2024 – a dire year for Human Survival
In 2024, humanity – as a whole – took a purposeful stride towards engineering the collapse of modern civilisation. Continue reading »