Top 5
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Australia – a lucky country run by second rate people
“Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck. It lives on other people’s ideas, and, although its ordinary people are adaptable, most of its leaders (in all fields) so lack curiosity about the events that surround them that they are often taken by surprise.” That is a quote Continue reading »
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Why we shouldn’t race to mandate vaccination
When governments and health experts call for mandatory vaccination we should be wary. While it is potentially the optimal way to get society moving again and particularly to end the frequency and severity of harmful lockdowns, the requirement for every citizen to have their individual rights trumped by the community interest is a drastic measure Continue reading »
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Morrison worries real conservatives even as he pleases business
It is not in the ordinary business community — among those with whom the coalition normally measures its stocks — that a strong sense of urgency about getting rid of the Morrison government runs strong. Many of these have done well under the Morrison government– and the Turnbull and Abbott governments which preceded it. Even Continue reading »
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Why Morrison’s culture of secrecy is so damaging
As has been widely observed, Prime Minister Morrison is obsessed with secrecy. This obsession with secrecy damages both the policy capability of government and the integrity of public administration. Continue reading »
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Pandemic paranoia – the penal colony strikes back at those pesky Australians who left
Ever since the pandemic started, Australia has restricted the ability of its citizens to travel overseas in ways few other countries outside of North Korea have done. It is now using the biosecurity laws to also deter those who live overseas from coming back. Continue reading »
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Barry Jones speech for the Monash Medal at the Rotary Club of Melbourne 4.8.2021
The soldiers had to have a representative hero who was a volunteer; he was acceptable to the community as a seemingly unpretentious outsider, not really part of the Establishment. His commanding intellect was sensed as well as his basic honesty and decency. He was one tall poppy who was never cut down. 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 price of primacy: Can the United States stop China becoming the dominant regional power?
In this episode of Democracy Sausage, eminent strategic studies expert Hugh White joins Mark Kenny to examine Australia’s strategy for dealing with rising tensions between the United States and China and the prospects for armed conflict in the region. Continue reading »
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Our Democracy Needs Serious Reform
The Australian Government may be right to express concerns about China’s recent domestic and international behaviour under President Xi Jinping. But claims of having superior democratic values might have more credibility if the Government understood and genuinely upheld them. Continue reading »
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Premiers, not Albanese, are throwing Morrison out the window
It has long been a fundamental article of Labor belief that the federal structure of the Australian nation, along with bicameral legislatures, were put into Australian constitutions to slow or frustrate radical change and Labor agendas.The Commonwealth system is increasingly sclerotic, the politicians less brave, or less focused on good policy, good government and the Continue reading »
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What does Labor offer? Part 1
Labor’s repudiation of its previous opposition to the Government’s Stage 3 income tax cuts, and its decision to drop its reforms covering the taxation of capital gains and negative gearing raises two major concerns. Continue reading »
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Labor’s plan for an anti-corruption body
The ALP this week released an outline of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) it would introduce if it were to come to power at the next federal election, a body based on the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) that has operated (mostly) successfully in New South Wales for more than three decades. 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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China grievances conflated into demands.
Peter Hartcher on the ABC presented China’s list of grievances as if they were some kind of official demarche made on the Australian Government. He intones repeatedly about these ‘demands’ as if they had the status of Martin Luther’s 95 theses nailed to the chapel door at Wittenberg University which started the Reformation. That is Continue reading »
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The ABC continues to deny right-wing bias by The Drum.
It is was with some sadness that I penned an article indicating what I saw as a right-winged bias by The Drum in its selection of some panellists. Since that article, I have continued to exchange correspondence with the ABC and I believe that the thread of responses mirrors the same tactics the Government uses Continue reading »
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John Barilaro is privatising Kosciuszko National Park
John Barilaro’s Snowy Mountains Special Activation Zone Precinct effectively wrests the control of developments in Kosciuszko National Park from the Minister for the Environment into the hands of the Minister for Regional NSW, John Barilaro. The plan is to heavily develop Jindabyne and surrounding areas for tourism, with little thought for the environment. Continue reading »
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Did we all over-estimate what Scott Morrison had to offer?
The prime minister is acquiring a reputation as a liar and a deceiver. Worse, his agenda is usually suspect. Continue reading »
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Dutton’s and Pezzullo’s citizenship hypocrisy
The in-coming minister’s briefing prepared by long-standing Departmental Secretary Mike Pezzullo was inevitably going to be more significant for what it didn’t highlight than what it did. Continue reading »
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Possibilities for the next federal election
Now that the redistributions in Victoria and WA are completed we can begin to assess the possibilities for the next federal election. Imperfect as it is polling offers some interesting insights. Continue reading »
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Gareth Evans versus the Surveillance State: application of the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme
See below a letter exchange between Assistant Secretary, Integrity and Security Division Attorney-General’s Department and ANU Professor Gareth Evans and former Foreign Minister regarding the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme. Gareth Evans did not give his response to the media but did copy his reply to a number of former Cabinet, diplomatic and ANU colleagues, from Continue reading »
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The idiocracy of America. It is perilously close to becoming a failed state
The hilarious 2006 film “Idiocracy” offers a vivid depiction of American politics. The movie is classified as a sci-fi comedy, but it is more like a searing documentary. It almost perfectly describes America’s crisis of survival today. The American people, and the people of the world, deserve better than an American idiocracy. Continue reading »
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Poor leadership, irresponsible media and a clever virus
Despite this being the most scientific of all ages, capable of producing highly effective vaccines a year after the SARS-COV-2 virus was identified ( Russian scientists actually achieved this in six months), poor leadership, ignorance, stubbornness and irresponsible media, (broadcast and social), are making this pandemic much worse than it needs to be. Continue reading »
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Scott Morrison-No compassion, and no marketing skill either?
When Scott Morrison became prime minister, two dimensions of his persona seemed potentially positive: a Christian faith that might have illuminated his leadership with kindness and compassion, to say nothing of integrity, and a widely-touted marketing background (‘Scotty from Marketing’) that might have lifted the standard of political communication and inspired some brilliance in government Continue reading »
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The harmful myths we live by about the US.
Defence Minister Dutton has upped the ante in some interesting comments on China and Afghanistan. He reinforces some myths we accept and states unequivocally our dependence on the US to protect us from evil for Thou art with us, Thy nukes and Thy military they comfort us. Continue reading »
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Making atheists and doubters count in the next Census
While fundamentalist Christians are busy infiltrating the Liberal Party the Rationalist Society of Australia (RSA) and other groups have launched a campaign – the Census 21 Campaign – to encourage people to tick the no religion box in the August 10 2021 Australian Census. 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 Drum shows continued right-wing bias in its panelist selections
Like many Australians who take an active interest in our country’s politics I have been an avid follower of the ABC’s week-day current affairs program The Drum. I find the other news outlets have a right-wing preference in their reporting and so I have relied on the ABC for a balanced interpretation of each day’s Continue reading »
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Afghanistan visa issue shows what Australia really is
The current debate about visas for Afghans poses questions about the sort of people we are. Continue reading »
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It’s time for Labor to capitalise on Morrison’s inadequacies
We are not yet in election mode and can assume that both parties are reserving their campaign strategies and tactics for the end. But at the moment, Morrison and the coalition will have defeated themselves. Continue reading »
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We have seen Morrison’s best, and it wasn’t much
The prime minister Scott Morrison is in a lot of trouble again. He will probably get out of it, with just a few more bruises and scratches, but the clock is running down on his leadership. Continue reading »
