Top 5
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Susan Ryan: a forgiving politician
It is difficult to exaggerate the significance of the movements, legislation and offices shaped or led by the late Susan Maree Ryan (Oct 10, 1942 – September 27, 2020). Continue reading »
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Tamed Estate: Low Emissions, Insolvency Reforms, Responsible Lending and NBN Privatisation
Following on from the opener to the Tamed Estate released in both Michael West Media and Pearls and Irritations, we will be conducting a rolling watch for media failures and manipulations. Continue reading »
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The Foreign Interference law is more a political stunt. But what about Rupert Murdoch’s foreign interference?
Rupert Murdoch and NewsCorp are currently campaigning to have the ABC neutered. Murdoch is a foreigner, as NewsCorp would seem to be. Australians and others are allegedly doing Murdoch’s bidding, with the intention to “influence a political or governmental process”; or “to influence the exercise … of an Australian democratic or political right or duty”. Continue reading »
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A white flag moment on the NBN was inevitable.
This week’s capitulation – that’s what it is – by communications minister Paul Fletcher sets us on a course that hopefully will see Australia start moving in the right direction again as we head further into a digitally-enabled future. It’s a welcomed move, but we’d be wise to take a close look at the detail Continue reading »
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Feeding the Chooks: Scott Morrison’s marketing triumph over mainstream media complete
Scott Morrison has perfected the art of media manipulation by briefing a select club of Canberra correspondents together, rather than leaking to individual media outlets. Callum Foote and Michael West report on the marketing genius of the Prime Minister and the increasingly meek mainstream media. Continue reading »
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Morrison’s choice: blimps and gas-fired power
If Scott Morrison ever went back to his old job of promoting tourism and needed to ramp up the travel industry, he would put his money on blimps. So gas is obviously the go. A sensible middle course, obviously the best option, even if it is the wrong one. Continue reading »
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Neoclassical economics I: farcical global warming analyses
Analyses of the economic effects of global warming by prominent economists are based on patently invalid arguments, profound ignorance of the global response to solar energy and basic misrepresentation of scientific sources. Their conclusion that the effects are minor is egregiously in error and use of their analyses to advise governments has placed the world Continue reading »
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Father Glen Walsh paid a heavy price
The revelations never end about priests and brothers, of monsignors and bishops with their secret sexual lives, masturbating, buggerizing, sodomizing and raping boys and girls – protected by an amoral hierarchy and a few corrupt members of the upper-echelons of various police forces. Continue reading »
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Aged care should not be ‘pre-palliative care’ as Scott Morrison suggests
In Question Time, Prime Minister Scott Morrison made an unfortunate but revealing statement about our attitudes to aged care. He said: “For those of us who have had to make decisions about putting our own family, our own parents, into aged care, we have known that when we’ve done that we are putting them into Continue reading »
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The atrocious foreign interference law – It doesn’t add up
When, for example, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) receives grants from the US State Department to undertake research projects it is an admission that it is engaging in conduct on behalf of a foreign principal. Continue reading »
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China policy – the children are in charge
Is the Australian Government serious about restoring the relationship with China? There are disturbing indications that it is not. Continue reading »
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Australia’s fathers day shame
On this coming Father’s Day I want to salute three fathers whose sons, who have not broken Australian law, were and are betrayed by the Australian government: Terry Hicks, John Shipton and Khalil El-Halabi. Continue reading »
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US: Grand Theft Election
Trump is working on stealing the result of the election in November. His main contention of political substance – that it is a “law and order” election – is shadowed by the actions he is taking to prevent an unhindered, fair vote, from taking place. Continue reading »
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The Australian Government is pursuing economic suicide
The prime objective of a country is to maximise the interests of its inhabitants. That objective is met in trade by selling its goods at the best possible price. What the countries leaders may think of the politics of their trading partners is an irrelevant consideration. Continue reading »
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How market forces are failing us in opting out to private and for-profit child care
It is extraordinary that about 70% of our long day care services are now run by for-profit operators when we know that the for-profit sector generally delivers lower quality education care. Continue reading »
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It was a mistake to privatise aged care
We are trying to care for our elderly on the cheap. What an indictment that we seem willing to spend more on defence than we do on the elderly. Continue reading »
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Your ABC is turning into their ABC
The combined savagery of the Murdoch media, the jejune fogies in the Young Liberals, their fogy elders on the extreme right, as well as their urgers in reactionary organisations like the Institute of Public Affairs, is culminating in an unhappy deterioration in the ABC’s programming and in the quality of its presenters. Continue reading »
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The perils of privatisation and private greed
The pandemic has starkly shown us the importance of good government, good public policies and good public institutions. It has also shown us the failure of private institutions, private markets and outsourcing to private providers. If the wholesale arm of Telstra had been kept in public hands we would have had a modern NBN long Continue reading »
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The militarisation of Australia
The military in Australia has been played into a key role in the national narrative. Its achievements have been woven into myth. External threat has long been part of the political fabric. Continue reading »
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Superannuation: how much do we need to save?
A hot political issue is whether to proceed with the legislated increase in superannuation contributions from 9.5 to 10 per cent next July. There are pros and cons but if the superannuation increase is further postponed, there should be an offsetting increase in the minimum wage. Continue reading »
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The world cannot afford a war between US and China
It is so obvious that the world cannot afford a war between US and China. We have a very serious COVID pandemic with us. We have to try to feed the 7-8 billions global citizens around the world affected by this pandemic and keep them safe from illnesses and dying. We could be facing even Continue reading »
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Securitisation: How to magnify problems rather than solve them
When governments have little idea of what constitutes a wicked problem, and even less idea of how to deal with it, their default position is to ‘securitise’ a problem – turning it into a problem to be solved by law enforcement, military and para-military methods. Continue reading »
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The Palace Letters – in conversation with Jenny Hocking (video)
What do The Palace Letters tell us about our history, Gough Whitlam’s dismissal and our system of Government? Continue reading »
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Bernard Collaery, East Timor and Governmental Duplicity
The extent of the outrage and the reason the government is desperate to keep hidden its unlawful behaviour through the prosecution of Bernard Collaery and Witness K has now had a little further light shone upon it. Continue reading »
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The perils of pedagogy
The government hates social scientists and our views often do little to improve the mental well-being of students. Should we shut up to protect our self-interest and keep our version of the truth from our students to protect them? Continue reading »
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Morrison’s government has tried ditch the rules… to no avail
The problem with this government is that it doesn’t seem to learn from its mistakes. Perhaps that is because it fears that any change in approach will be seen as an admission of wrongdoing — even maladministration, as with the sports rorts affair. Continue reading »
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Do we need state-owned enterprises?
Per Capita’s recently released paper on Auspost becoming a bank begs the question of state-owned enterprises helping economic growth and create jobs? The Simandou mining project in West Africa may offer an answer. Continue reading »
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Are the ‘big four’ accounting firms above the law?
In 2004, the federal parliament passed the Age Discrimination Act, making age discrimination in employment, education and the provision of goods and services unlawful. But the major accounting firms seem to think it doesn’t apply to them. Continue reading »
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What went wrong with Aged Care?
The definite turning point in the quality and the humanity of Australia’s care of the elderly was the Aged Care Bill 1997 (Cth), introduced as part of the Howard Government’s 1996 Budget measures. It was a huge failure. Continue reading »
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John Menadue talks with Friendlyjordies
Jordan chats with Pearls and Irritations publisher and editor John Menadue about his time working for Rupert Murdoch and Gough Whitlam. The topics of China and the Palace Papers also gets a run. Continue reading »