November 20, 2019

GEOFF RABY. Beijings Winning Hand in Hong Kong

Far from Hong Kong being a negative and putting Xi under pressure, as is commonly believed by most foreign commentators, including myself, the ongoing disturbance and violence have achieved two things for the Communist Party: fatal damage within China to democracys brand and confirmation of the USs agenda of regime change within China.

November 11, 2018

ANTHONY PUN: A Response to Prof John Fitzgerald article How Bob Carr became Chinas Pawn.

Political debate on foreign policy between Australia-China in conjunction with Australia-US relations is an important issue for the 1.2 million Chinese Australian community. It is also an important issue for Australia as this will dictate our future prosperity and leadership role in the Asia Pacific. It should not be trivialised by name calling and political posturing. In the current vernacular, we should put Australia First.

June 13, 2016

PETER DAY. Despite alcohol and gambling in sport, let us never forget 'the backyard'.

Sport is a majestic thing.

Just like our imaginations, it takes us to so many good places.The backyard: where gran and grandson become batting partners in a fiercely fought family Test Match.The beach: where sand and water gently accommodate the thrills and spills of diving and catching and tackling and throwing.The family home: where mums and dads bed becomes a make-shift trampoline; a safe place in which we learn how to fall.The oval: where the football and the netball and the tennis ball connect us to team mates for the first time.

December 4, 2019

KELLIE MERRITT. Wannabe Spy.

Kellie Merritt first met Bernard Collaery in mid-2005. She had not long returned from England, with three young children, recently widowed from the war in Iraq. She was still in shock and anxious about returning to attend a coronial inquest into the circumstances of the shooting down of an RAF aircraft, her husband was flying in. Bernard flipped through the pages of a dense, extensively redacted folder she couldn’t make sense of. He put it aside and looking at her 2yr old he said, “I have a lot in common with your daughter, and I’m going to help you. I grew up not knowing my dad, my mum was a war widow, he was killed in action, flying an RAF plane, it was also shot down, its design diminished survivability too, and he was brave…”

April 16, 2019

MEGHAN SULLIVAN. Envisioning the Afterlife. The problem with Lazarus.

During Lent, Christians are asked to think much more concretely about our short, precarious lives. We swear off chocolate, alcohol, or, in my case, swearing itself.

August 1, 2018

'Matter of death and life': Espionage in East Timor and Australia's diplomatic bungle (Lateline, 26.11.15)

East Timor’s most senior leaders have accused Australia of committing a crime and acting immorally after a spying scandal that rocked the relationship between the two countries.

August 15, 2019

GREGG BRAZINSKY. How Japans failure to atone for past sins threatens the global economy (The Washington Post 11-8-19)

Escalating trade tensions could roil global tech market

October 24, 2018

BEN HILLMAN. Xinjiang and the "Chinese Dream".

Since ethnic riots broke out in Urumqi in 2009, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has steadily turned Xinjiang into a provincial police state. Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities are being closely surveilled and detained by security forces.

October 30, 2017

MARGARET BEAVIS. US militarism: what are the costs to Australia?

When it comes to the defence of Australia, much is made of the ANZUS treaty. Compared to other treaties, for example the NATO treaty, where an attack on one is explicitly regarded as an attack on all and consultation, assistance and the use of armed force all are clearly referred to, the ANZUS treaty is rather pallid. It promises consultation and the rather vague act to meet the common danger in accordance with constitutional processes.

May 30, 2019

GEOFF DAVIES. Hawke and Keating set Australia, and Labor, up for failure

Labor failed, again. It took on the most riven, brutal and monumentally incompetent rabble since Federation and still could not manage to beat them. This is a profound failure that requires a profound explanation. There is one, though it goes against decades of received wisdom.

January 7, 2018

DOUGLAS NEWTON. Beersheba - the Scramble for the Ottoman Empire- A REPOST From November 2, 2017

The centenary of the bloodshed at Beersheba this month is being used to bolster a narrow nationalist understanding of Australias First World War. Vital truths about the worldwide catastrophe that had enveloped countless millions by October 1917 are being obscured in a flood of media material that focuses almost entirely upon deeds of gallantry and dash.(Because of technical problems on Tuesday, I decided to repost this important article as some readers may have missed it.)

January 2, 2020

ANDREW SALMON.-Gruesome find may shed light on Koreas Tiananmen(ASIA TIMES 21.12.2019)

Gwangju Uprising and its brutal suppression still hugely contentious; discovery of 40 more bodies fuels fire

October 24, 2019

ALLAN PATIENCE. Getting Morrison's boot off Labor's throat.

The Guardians political editor, Katherine Murphy, recently observed that Scott Morrison and his band of merry ministers were recklessly ignoring the most pressing policy issues while making a pretence of being in opposition. Labor, the Morrisettes insist, is responsible for all the countrys woes, giving the impression that somehow Labor is still in power.

November 4, 2018

ANDREW GLIKSON. High sea level rise and the IPCC.

In a key paper titled Scientific reticence and sea level rise (https://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/abs/ha01210n.html) (2007) James Hansen, the renowned climate scientist, is critical of what he regards as major underestimates of the magnitude and pace of global warming, as further elaborated in the article How the IPCC Underestimated Climate Change: Here are just eight examples of where the IPCC missed predictions) (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-ipcc-underestimated-climate-change/) (Glen Scherer, 2012). It is only more recently that the IPCC has upgraded its climate projections, stating Human activities are estimated to have caused approximately 1.0C of global warming above pre-industrial levels, with a likely range of 0.8C to 1.2C. Global warming is likely to reach 1.5C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate, and Warming greater than the global annual average is being experienced in many land regions and seasons, including two to three times higher in the Arctic. Warming is generally higher over land than over the ocean.

December 21, 2015

John Menadue. Our innovation-averse business culture

Malcolm Turnbulls Innovation statement sounded new, but was it? So much of what he said used to be called industry policy-technology parks, offsets, defense technology, support for inventors, and quality assurance. But Malcolm Turnbull dwelt particularly on the need for cultural change in business.

I think that was new. He said that Australian businesses should be more willing to take risks and less fearful of failure. Many times he said that cultural change in business is essential. He is right.

June 6, 2019

KOICHI NAKANO. The Leader Who Was Trump Before Trump (The New York Times)

Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan has taken a decidedly authoritarian turn.

February 10, 2019

MUNGO MacCALLUM. Peter Dutton says doctors can't e trusted.

Kerryn Phelps is not just a doctor: according to Scott Morrison, Peter Dutton and their Murdoch mouthpieces, she is a shaker of worlds.

Her bill or rather her amendments to the governments own bill – to allow doctors rather than bureaucrats to assess sick asylum seekers for treatment in Australia will not only simply dismantle the entire apparatus of border security.

January 1, 2020

ROSS GITTINS Why I didn't donate to the Rural Fire Service this time around.(SMH 1.1. 2020)

As the cast were taking their bows at the end of a show before Christmas, one of them stepped forward to say that, as we left, wed be approached by people with buckets collecting for the NSW Rural Fire Service. Normally Id reach for my wallet Id done so a few weeks earlier when they were collecting for an actors charity but this time I declined.

April 4, 2019

JOHN MENADUE. The anti- China 'think tank' receives farewell largesse from the Coalition

In this week’s budget the Australian Strategic Policy Institute received an enormous increase in government funding from $3.528m in 2017/18 to $20m in 2018/19.( Budget Papers -3.1.2 Grants ,Tables 39 and 40) .If the grant is for more than one year why is it all lumped together in 2018/19. Is it because ASPI fears that a new government might reduce it’s funding,as well it should.?

The ASPI is not an ‘independent’ think tank that it claims to be. It is ‘joined at the hip’ to the US defence/arms and intelligence complex and an enthusiastic supporter of almost all things American . It it hostile to China and has become the ‘go to’ organisation for anti-Chinese commentary.

April 15, 2018

SCOTT BURCHILL. The attack on Syria

There are seven points to consider after the US, UK and French attacks on Syria last week.

October 16, 2017

KELLIE TRANTER. Pine Gap: Full Knowledge & Concurrence

Heavily redacted documents produced in accordance with Freedom of Information laws appear to imply that the Australian government has full knowledge of current and future operations taking place atPine Gap and that it is given the opportunity to approve or deny proposed future conduct carried out at the base. This may have serious ramifications for Australia, a signatory to the Rome Statute, in any future proceedings in the International Criminal Court.

October 11, 2018

ALISON ELLIOTT. Making the preschool promise a reality

The recently announced promise of preschool education funding for 3 year olds has the potential to improve developmental and education outcomes for young children, but with chronic teacher shortages in early learning centres, delivering new preschool programs will be a major challenge.

November 9, 2018

BENEDICT COSGROVE. Kicking Charismatic to the Curb.

Smart people have long argued among themselves about what language does, and doesnt do. But pretty much everyone agrees that, if nothing else, language evolves. Words and phrases that were perfectly serviceable for decades, or even centuries, take on fresh meaning or vanish altogether. Fifty years ago, boss meant cool. A hundred years ago, fantastic referred to what existed solely in the imagination. Five hundred years ago, jumble-gut lane was slang for a bumpy stretch of road.

This article was published by BLARB on the 7th of November 2018.

June 26, 2018

JOSHUA GILBERT. All the farms a stage

As the ever closing climate change frontier looms upon Australian Shores, with signs already evident in most parts of the country, the question remains- when will our politicians act? After the failure and promises of Governments of the past, impending reforms that never come and budgets that get built and then pulled out under the feet of hopeful scientists and activists, many cling to catastrophic weather events and foreign influence to encourage change. Yet as the drought sets in over most of the country, not even political tours and tourism hopes are enough to bring the rain where we need it the most. Perhaps, those that pray for rain in hope, can be the ones that encourage Government as it is needed.

February 12, 2018

BILL ROWLINGS. Secret committee wants more power, but what about ASIO?

The Australian Parliaments most secret committee is angling for more powers and the ability to conduct its affairs live on TV, just like in the USA.

November 15, 2017

RICHARD TANTER. The nuclear ban treaty, Pine Gap and the Nobel Peace Prize.

The world is worrying about nuclear weapons more than at any time since the frightening days of Reagan and Brezhnev, and with good reason. We are all hoping that Kim Jong-un is rational with no ambition for suicide. And at the same time, we are reduced to hoping that the American military will constrain Donald Trumps impulses to reach for the nuclear launch button. Leading politicians in South Korea and Japan are talking up the need for their own nuclear weapons, and Donald Trump is not saying no. So, its hardly surprising that 122 countries voted at the United Nations in July to pass the Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons. Rather more surprisingly, but gratifyingly, the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the Melbourne-born International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) for its work leading to the nuclear ban treaty.

December 11, 2018

PAUL DALEY. The moment that forever changed my perspective on Anzac mythology (The Guardian).

The Surafend massacre shows that the core business of good history must always be the preservation of memory.

October 12, 2018

JOHN INVERARITY. Do we have a higher priority as a society than the raising our children: We must end alcohol advertising in sport.

_As responsible adults we need to do all we can to ensure that our young are provided with the best opportunities to live purposeful, fulfilling lives and are encouraged to partake of these opportunities.__We need to strive to provide them with an optimum set of values and attitudes, and an environment in which they will make lifestyle choices that will enhance their physical, mental and social wellbeing._There is the question of alcohol and its place in our society.

August 10, 2019

Sunday environmental round up, 11 August 2019

Last week we were deep in the oceans. This week were high in the sky: the global warming effect of air travel and ways of reducing it: technology, government intervention, industry initiatives, personal behaviour change and buying carbon offsets. And if youre still keen to get on a plane, stories from Bangladesh and the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.

July 27, 2020

Payne and Reynold's collision course with China

Ministers Payne and Reynolds have presented their brief for the AUSMIN20 discussions in Washington for which the scene has been set by a series of aggressive anti-China speeches by Secretary of State Pompeo and other senior US ministers.

December 30, 2018

ALLAN PATIENCE. Saving some of the Liberal furniture.

Time is running out for the Liberal Party and the Coalition as the 2019 federal election looms. The change of Prime Minister from Malcolm Turnbull to Scott Morrison was a classic example of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Opinion polls have consistently shown that the Coalition is running significantly behind Labor. Can anything be done to save at least some of the furniture? Not much. But some face-saving possibilities hover in the background.

March 11, 2016

Sam Bateman. Defence White Paper and the China threat.

Australias flawed position on the South China Sea

Australias 2016 Defence White Paper says a lot about the South China Sea, both directly and indirectly. It expresses concern about land reclamation and construction activities by claimants in the sea and about the possible use of artificial structures for military purpose. It also makes much of the importance of a rules-based global order to Australias security, with a clear message that some countries are not following these rules.

April 25, 2019

PAUL ELIE. What do the Churchs victims deserve?

The Catholic Church is turning to outside arbiters to reckon with its history of sexual abuse. But skeptics argue that its legacy of evasion continues.

October 24, 2018

ROSS GITTINS. Tax reform is pushed by rich males, for rich males (SMH 24.10.2018)

_I know its a shocking thing for an economics writer to confess, but Ive lost my faith in the Search for the Golden Tax System. I no longer believe that reforming our tax system is the magic key to improving the nations economic and social wellbeing.

July 12, 2018

Being Muslim lifestyle sweeps Indonesia (La Croix International, 07/07/18)

Japanese electronics manufacturer Sharp is claiming a first in Indonesia halalrefrigerators after the IndonesianUlemaCouncil (MUI) granted the manufacturerhalalstatus.

It’s the latest indication that Islam is beingcommoditizedin the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

February 25, 2018

RICHARD BROINOWSKI- Trump and Turnbull - Shared Values?

Fantasy and emotion were in free play at the White House on Friday 23 February 2018 when President Trump received Prime Minister Turnbull. Trump was well scripted, even getting Turnbull’s name right. He added that Australia was the United States’ closest friend, a claim successive US presidents have made, with variations, about many other countries when their leaders visit the White House. Turnbull gave a predictably gushing response, long on confections about shared values and mateship but short on historical accuracy - a good example of Canberra’s bipartisan delusions about the bilateral relationship.

December 9, 2019

PETER RODGERS: Australias silence over Israeli settlements

Following the Trump Administrations shift on the legality of Israeli settlements I wrote the following article for Plus61JMedia. The Morrison Governments silence on this issue is striking.

November 27, 2019

DAVID PEARSON. Ending homelessness - From charity to impact!

We have come to think of homelessness as something normal or an inevitable part of everyday life. It is anything but. In a country as prosperous, generous and as committed to the fair go as Australia, we ought not to accept it. For those who want to end homelessness, one of the most important things we can do is change the way we think about the problem.

May 27, 2019

DENNIS ARGALL: Australian strategic posture from here forward

There is no sign of political enthusiasm to grasp the need for coherent national strategy, but basic principles need to be put in place and three particulars need urgent attention.

April 29, 2019

DAVID SOLOMON. Who can be an MP?

I find it difficult to believe that there were people nominating for this election who had not made absolutely certain that they would not fall foul of the disqualification provisions of section 44 of the Constitution. It is even more astounding that the political party they sought to represent had not carried out an exhaustive check of their constitutional bona fides, even if the candidate had little chance of being elected. Accidents can happen.

August 29, 2019

TOM EMBURY-DENNIS. Trump promotes claim Jewish Israelis love him like he is King of Israel and second coming of God (Independent 22-8-19)

Outburst comes less than 24 hours after president usedantisemitic trope about Jewish loyalty

June 3, 2019

MAX HAYTON.New Zealands Wellbeing Budget.

The New Zealand Labour Governments first Wellbeing Budget is intentionally unconventional. It is the start of a process which the government of Jacinda Ardern hopes will continue to reposition New Zealands economy and society after decades of centre-right economics.

December 6, 2017

PETER GOSS. How to achieve excellence in Australian schools: a story from the classroom

A new Gonski review is examining how to achieve educational excellence for Australias 3.8 million school students. The success of the review will ultimately depend on whether its recommendations lead to better practice in the classroom. And the best way for policy makers to improve classroom practice is to develop a more adaptive education system.

November 20, 2019

ABUL RIZVI: Frydenbergs Population Ageing Backflip

After studiously ignoring population ageing in his ten year budget plan issued before the 2019 Election, Josh Frydenberg now says population ageing will be an economic and fiscal timebomb. So which of the two Frydenberg narratives are we to believe? The pre-election one or the post-election one?

June 5, 2019

DIRK VAN DER KLEY. What should Australia do about the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)?

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has grown so large that it has become difficult to separate from the international economic and technology policies of the Peoples Republic of Chinas (PRC). Policies crafted in the name of BRI are reshaping the economic order and technological landscape in Australias neighbourhood Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands (PI). The BRI also contributes to escalating tensions between the PRC and the United States.

July 4, 2019

MONIQUE ROSS. Why the Pharmacy Guild is the most powerful lobby group you've never heard of (ABC News)

It’s been called the most influential lobby group in Australia, and some believe it has the power to bring down a government if it really flexed its muscle.

October 10, 2019

BOB CARR. Abandoning the Kurds confirms Asia's view that US power is waning (SMH 9.10.2019)

The Syrian Kurds were more than allies. They were a US client, recruited by the Obama administration for house-to-house combat against the Islamic State caliphate. This America, however, cares little for core relationships and sweeps them aside. The decision shatters the US reputation in Arab states already doubting the reliability of Trumps pro-Sunni gestures.

_But this abandonment of a good friend will not go unnoticed in Asia.

December 17, 2019

JOHN CARLIN. England is a Country in Decline

H.L. Mencken said that democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard. The English are going to get it good and hard by electing Boris Johnson.

December 12, 2019

Morrison is perfecting the seal on his own personal Canberra bubble. (SMH 11.12.2019)

If you think Scott Morrisons been busy doing not very much since the election in May, you are much mistaken. In truth hes been very busy doing stuff of not much interest to you. But sometimes it pays to take an interest in things that dont seem of interest.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal