May 8, 2018

MICHELLE SOWEY. The NAPLAN persuasive writing test subverts critical thinking

The capacity to persuade is a vital currency: it fosters active civic participation and affords access to power in a democracy. Developing persuasiveness therefore has an important place in education. Yet not all forms of persuasion are equally commendable. Reasoned argument promotes integrity in a way that manipulative tactics like cajolery or disparagement do not. The NAPLAN persuasive writing test fails to give due weight to cogent argument, critical engagement with ideas or even meaningful use of language. In this regard, the NAPLAN persuasive writing test is gravely misaligned with worthy educational goals.

December 28, 2017

FRANCIS SULLIVAN. Australian Catholic Church must take abuse commission report seriously or risk irrelevance A REPOST

After five intense years of inquiry and more than 400 recommendations with 20 new recommendations specifically relating to the Catholic Church the report of Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is due a considered response.

August 10, 2016

SPENCER ZIFCAK. Counter-terrorism and human rights.

I am presently in Paris. Along with many other countries, France faces a terrorism threat. France is grappling with the problem of how democracies can best handle threats of terrorism. In light of that I am reposting an earlier article from the Policy Series, by Spencer Zifcak, on human rights and combatting terrorism. John Menadue

Do Human Rights Fit or Should We Just Forget About Them?

Hard upon the ascent of violent terrorism in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere, and Australias first experience of terrorist crime in Martin Place, the Australian Government has been active in bringing forward new legislation designed to prevent and punish terrorist crime. There can be no quarrel with that. Nevertheless, the draconian nature of the new laws has caused alarm amongst many concerned with the protection of individual rights and freedoms.

August 2, 2018

AMITENDU PALIT. Does Australia need a lesson in Indian economic strategy?

The recently releasedIndian Economic Strategy to 2035report outlines three core objectives for improving the AustraliaIndia economic relationship. These include making India one of Australias top three export markets by 2035, making India the third-largest Asian recipient of Australian foreign direct investment by the same year andbringing Indiainto the inner circle of Australias strategic partnerships and with people-to-people ties as close as any in Asia.Recommendations for achieving these objectives are driven largely by the choice of states and sectors, 10 each respectively, that the report considers top priority for Australia.

October 22, 2018

LYNDSAY CONNORS. Morality, marketing or a strange convergence of both?

In the final weeks of the run-up to the Wentworth by-election, the Prime Minister promised rapid amendments to anti-discrimination law to remove the freedom of private schools to expel students on the basis of their sexuality, his own fears of gender whispering in public schools that he claimed had driven him to enrol his children in a private religious school being cast aside with such haste that it took some sections of the private school sector by surprise.

January 2, 2016

Pope Francis' frightening invitation to freedom.

I found this article very good reading for Christmas and the holiday season. It gives a very good account of where Pope Francis is heading. The article highlights the often-quoted comment from the Scriptures that the Sabbath is made for man and not man for the Sabbath. The author Tom Roberts is Editor at Large of the National Catholic Reporter in the US. John Menadue

http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/francis-frightening-inviation-freedom

October 20, 2019

Clever politics is not the answer - nor is party politics

We live in a particracy - the party-room rules and we are run by clever politicians, not leaders with courage and the fortitude to make tough decisions. Or as Charlie Chaplin put it in The Great Dictator - we are run by machine men, yet we need kindness more than cleverness.

August 17, 2020

The economic outlook and taxation Part 1

The Covid-induced recession has turned out to be worse than we initially hoped writes Michael Keating. Part 1 of this article discusses the additional fiscal stimulus that will be necessary and why it should not include bringing forward the Governments legislated tax cuts. Part 2, tomorrow, will discuss the key requirements for revenue raising.

April 30, 2019

ANDREW FARRAN. ASPI - a house divided?

It is heartening to observe that the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a body heavily subsidised by the Commonwealth Government to provide objective strategic advice, is beginning to open itself up to contestable thinking on critical strategic issues. Perhaps the government, of whatever persuasion, may be about to get its moneys worth.

October 3, 2019

MASSIMO FAGGIOLI. The emergence of synodality and the inadequacy of canon law. Historically the Church has never been regulated exclusively by legal codes, says Massimo Faggioli

Catholic bishops around the world are responding in various ways to the crisis the Church is currently facing. Some have tried to show that the bishops in the United States and Germany are doing so in a similar fashion.

August 17, 2019

Sunday environmental round up, 18 August 2019

A new report from the IPCC focusing on land and climate change draws together many threads from the environmental and social crises facing the world. CO2 emissions from fossil fuels are of course the major cause of global warming but methane from fracking and tipping points in earth systems also magnify the problem. Victorians send a very clear message to their government about how much they value and want to preserve their native public forests.

December 10, 2019

GEORGIA BEHRENS. Future doctors demand climate change action now (Insight Plus 18-11-19)

THE MJA-Lancet Countdown released its much-awaited 2019 report on climate change and health in Australia on 14 November 2019. This report provides a critical update on how Australia is managing climate change, which the World Health Organization has acknowledged as the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century. The reports message is clear: the time for action by individuals, local groups, and at all levels of government is now.

September 21, 2018

JOHN MENADUE How Murdoch extracted concessions from governments.

Rupert Murdoch claims, falsely, that he has never asked a Prime Minister for anything. Yet his whole business career in three countries has been founded on threatening or seducing politicians for privileged commercial access or opportunities.

I posted an article earlier this week on how he got favoured treatment from the Hawke Government for Ansett Airlines in which he was a major shareholder at the time.. Today I post extracts from an earlier article on how, with the help of the Keating Government, he got a foothold in Foxtel.in 1995.

December 10, 2019

LAURIE PATTON. Unintended consequences: How NSW planning laws have stolen democracy from ratepayers

One of the fundamental principles of the democratic system enjoyed in Australia for more than 200 years is the right to make representations to your local MP, or in the case of local government to your elected councillors. Regrettably, changes made last year to NSW planning laws have denied ratepayers this ability and effectively handed unbridled power to unelected council bureaucrats.

October 5, 2019

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 6 October 2019

Synopses of two books: why climate change is happening quicker than expected and why civilisation will look very different soon. Antibiotic resistance is a serious and growing problem, not helped by spraying antibiotics on citrus trees in the USA. Microplastics are in the water we drink but thats probably not a health problem, certainly not compared with what else is in the water many drink. Coal generated power is collapsing in the EU.

July 21, 2020

Big disasters need big government

_The continuing argument between the left and right in politics seems to be one which boils down to whether or not we believe in the power of big government to cushion the blows of nature, and to maintain our social fabric, in the face of steep odds.

August 11, 2020

The Philippine War, the American saviour syndrome and the manifest destiny. (REPOSTED from February 9, 2018)

The American war against the Philippine Republic which began in 1898 and its subsequent colonisation of the Philippines teaches us many things about perennial American beliefs and actions. The concept that the US is saving somebody from something is a constant in American foreign policy.

July 11, 2016

ROSS GARNAUT. China's new normal inches on.

China is undergoing profound changes in its economic policy and structure. These changes represent a new model of Chinese economic growth. The recent Five Year Plan (FYP) is an evolutionary document. Building on earlier official statements on the new model of growth, it provides the most elaborate statement to date on the models content and implementation.

June 24, 2018

LAURIE PATTON. The NBN wont be finished on time. Simple as that!

In my opinion, the NBN will not be a completed project until everyone has access to fast, reliable broadband. On that basis, the rollout will take us well beyond the currently projected deadline of 2020. Whats worse, it will end up having cost more than the original 2009 version and far more than then communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull, was told to expect when he adopted his so-called multi-technology mix model.

July 14, 2016

KATHY CHAPMAN & BRIDGET KELLY. Unhealthy sport sponsorship continues to target kids.

In the final month of the countdown to the Olympic Games, our sports stars are probably not eating and drinking the Games sponsors foods. Again, as in previous Olympics, the Olympic Games sponsors are Coca-Cola, McDonalds and Cadburys, whose foods and drinks are not good choices for athletes due to their lack of nutrition and high levels of salt, sugar and saturated fats.Unhealthy sponsorship of sport filters all the way down through sport from the elite level to Saturday morning kids clubs.

May 9, 2018

RAMESH THAKUR. The Long Road to Nuclear Disarmament

With Donald Trump in favor of abandoning the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the world has been reminded once again how fragile the nuclear non-proliferation regime is. For this reason, it is more important than ever that the international community upholds existing treaty obligations, starting with the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

December 12, 2018

ANDREW FARRAN. Brexit: Reenter the Grand Old Duke of York.

The Grand Old Duke of York was said to have marched his troops right up the hill and then marched them down again. At least he is supposed to have had some (loyal) supporters.

September 21, 2020

The Budget - possible additional measures

Yesterday I considered the economic outlook and concluded that on present policies the pace of the recovery post-Covid is likely to be too slow. Todays article discusses what extra stimulus should be incorporated in the Budget in two weeks, and what form that stimulus should take.

October 21, 2018

ROSS BURNS. Moving to Jerusalem

If you wanted to launch a thought bubble to see if there was any room for manoeuvre on Australia long-standing position on the central Middle East issues, would you do it the way chosen by PM Morrison this week? Certainly not if you wanted to justify it in the context of Australias commitment to a two state solution. A decision to follow Trumps move of the American embassy to Jerusalem would essentially ditch any outcome based on negotiations between the two parties, handing Israel in advance most of the key points of a final status outcome.

December 3, 2017

JOHN DWYER: When will we seriously tackle the Inequity associated with the delivery of health services to rural and remote Australians? Part 1 of 2.

Health outcomes for Australians living in rural or what are characterised as remote areas are far inferior to those of their city cousins. If you dont live in metropolitan Australia your life expectancy is reduced by about four years. You are four times more likely to die of a stroke. Rates of obesity, infant mortality, mental health disorders, and diabetes are all much higher than is the case for our urban population. There is nothing new here, we have known about these realities for decades as well as the strategies needed to address the problem. At least five major enquires have reached similar conclusions over the last decade yet hardly any of the recommendations have been implemented as needed policies are stymied by political wrangling and incompetence.This is particularly true for attempts to solve the biggest problem of all; the shortage of Australian trained doctors in the bush. (Part one of two contributions)

November 16, 2018

Australia's education system is nearly the most unequal in the developed world.

Australia prides itself on its egalitarian ethos, but it is a myth in education. Not only do we have one of the most segregated school systems in the OECD and the world, but a report just published by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) shows that Australias education system is nearly the most unequal in the developed world. There is a clear link between social segregation and education performance in Australia.

September 16, 2020

Sipping champagne with the arms dealers

The Australian War Memorial is mutating from the keeper of the flame to the hider of the shame.

March 20, 2019

CAMERON DOUGLAS. Thailand's military erect a democratic facade

Thailand is about to return to popular elections but the democratic facade will ensure the military remains the country’s fourth branch of government. New rules should confirm the 2014 coup leader as prime minister but will leave him relying on a coalition to govern

July 23, 2020

US, China, Australia: what are we getting into?

Next week our Foreign and Defence Ministers will visit the US to meet their US counterparts, at the latters invitation. Is the aim to recruit us to the United States anti-China campaign?

April 8, 2018

FRANK JOTZO. Chinas emissions trading takes steps towards big ambitions.

Chinas new emissions trading scheme will start small, but comes with big potential, Frank Jotzo writes.

China recently announced that it will begin to introduce a national emissions trading scheme for carbon dioxide this year. The promise for more market-oriented climate policy in the worlds largest greenhouse gas emitting country is enormous. But it will be a gradual start and many big obstacles need to be overcome for the scheme to become an effective part of Chinas climate policy portfolio.

January 28, 2019

MATTHEW O'NEILL. How the media's fixation with Trump was exported. (The Interpreter 23.1.2019)

The Trump administration has hurtled into its third year and the media circus thats trailed the 45th president continues apace. Australians who didnt tune out of the news over the summer holidays were fed a diet of chaos and controversy out of Washington, with the ongoing partial government shutdown featured prominently in bulletins nationwide.

August 11, 2019

MARTA KWASNICKA. Habits of the heart: the problems facing Polish Catholicism

Really, there is nothing to talk about, my mother said when I asked her about her conversion to Catholicism. When I did persuade her to tell her story, it had none of the tumult and drama of English nineteenth-century converts such as John Henry Newman or Gerard Manley Hopkins, who entered the Church in defiance of their roots and in the face of fierce disapproval.

October 22, 2018

MAX HAYTON. Democracies work despite flaws.

The electoral laws in New Zealand and Australia differ in significant ways. There are claims New Zealand may have the more democratic system.

June 20, 2019

PATRICK WINTOUR. US joins four rogue countries seen as likely forces for bad, poll finds (Guardian, 20 June 2019)

The United States has joined Russia, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iran in a rogues gallery of countries perceived as likely to use their influence for bad. All five countries are also seen as less likely to use their influence for good than they were 10 years ago.

July 7, 2020

The really big and tough issue is the environment says Ken Henry

In last weekends Sydney Morning Herald, Jessica Irvine quizzed Ken Henry on his preferences for tax reform. Ken emphasised the critical importance of a clear, settled allocation of roles between the Commonwealth and the States.

June 26, 2019

GEORGE BROWNING Former Middle East diplomats urge PM to reject Trump Middle East plan.

In response to the Kushner announcement about an economic plan for Palestine, 18 former Australian diplomats have written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison calling on him not to support the plan. The signatories include two former Australian Ambassadors to Israel and many Ambassadors to other Middle Eastern countries.

December 20, 2015

To solve the Syrian Crisis, we need to overcome these three obstacles.

In the Huffington Post on 9 December, Seyed Hossein Mousavian describes the three issues that need to be addressed in order to solve the Syrian crisis. For link to this article, see below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seyed-hossein-mousavian/syria-crisis-obstacles_b_8740514.html?ir=World?ncid=newsltushpmg00000003

April 1, 2019

STUART REES Visa for Remi Kanazi, Poetry for Australia

In denying the American/Palestinian poet Remi Kanazi a visa to enter Australia, what on earth was the Australian government thinking? What stereotype assumptions about the word ‘Palestinian’ influenced that decision?

October 17, 2019

ERIC SIDOTI. Morrison's unsettling religiosity - Part 2

God bless Australia.

Scott Morrison chose these three words to close his acceptance speech on winning the miracle election. In doing so he has taken Australia into unchartered territory.

July 13, 2020

A second wave of economic stimulus

If this isnt the dreaded second wave of COVID-19, it will do until the real thing comes along.

December 7, 2017

KIERAN TAPSELL. The Royal Commission Report on the Melbourne Archdiocese

On 5 December 2017, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse released a redacted version of its Report of Case Study No. 35: the Archdiocese of Melbourne. It strongly criticized Church personnel for failure to protect children under its care. It blamed both the culture of secrecy and inadequate structures for the failure, and described those failures a number of times as appalling.

September 6, 2020

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.

October 2, 2019

ROBERT MICKENS. Pope Francis steps up his campaign for immigrants

“Xenophobia and aporophobia today are part of a populist mentality that leaves no sovereignty to the people. Xenophobia destroys the unity of a people, even that of the people of God.“No one who has been following the activities of Pope Francis these past six or so years will be surprised by this condemnation of distain for foreigners and the poor.

May 10, 2018

MARTIN WOLF. How the Beijing elite sees the world

How does the Chinese ruling elite view the world? Over the weekend, I participated in a dialogue between a handful of foreign scholars and journalists and top Chinese officials, academics and business people, organised by the Tsinghua University Academic Centre for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking. The discussion was franker than any I have participated in during the 25 years I have been visiting China. Here are seven propositions our interlocutors made to us.

October 30, 2019

SADHBH WALSHE. How Brexit Put a United Ireland Back on the Map (The New York Review of Books 22-10-19)

The Irish have long been said to have a way with wordsand there has been no shortage of them expended in the argument over the possibility of a Brexit-induced reinstatement of a border partitioning the island of Ireland. Since the 2016 referendum, numerous books have been published on the subject; thousands of newspaper articles have been written; famous Irish actors have taken to reciting poems to plea on the borders behalf; and the border itself has a popular Twitter account, providing daily commentarysometimes wry, sometimes ragingon the debate about its future.

January 29, 2018

JOHN TULLOH. Israels Manus/Nauru solution - Rwanda.

How incongruous that a country born of the worst genocide in history should want to deport asylum-seekers seeking shelter to a nation synonymous with another genocide. That is the intention of Israel - send their unwanted visitors to Rwanda. Virtually all of them are Eritreans and Sudanese, both their countries ruled by harsh despots. Israel says they are not genuine refugees, but infiltrators and mostly economic migrants. More to the point, the underlying rationale is that their numbers threaten Israels Jewish character.

September 6, 2020

PART 2: COVID controversies and vaccine shortcuts

The urgent need for a vaccine to protect us from COVID-19 is obvious. Scientists have produced some promising candidates but, as so often is the case in this pandemic perceived political imperatives are demanding shortcuts in the development process that may hinder essential studies of efficacy and safety.

May 10, 2018

TOM ENGELHARDT. The Caliphate of Trump, and a Planet in Ruins

Here is my six-category rundown of what I would call American extremity on a global scale: There is US violence at home and abroad.

September 19, 2020

Sunday environmental round up, 20 September 2020

One in four chance that global warming will exceed 1.5oC at least once in next five years, and floods, water scarcity and food insecurity are set to create more displaced persons. Climate change is one of seven factors increasing the likelihood of another pandemic. Killer cats!

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal