November 30, 2014

Stephen King. The ABC's "me too" strategy puts it on track for redundancy.

Is the ABC trying to make itself redundant? Because that appears to be its strategy. Heres why.

The ABC is expensive. In 2013 it was allocated more than A$1 billion of taxpayer funds. The ABC claims, however, that its real funding since 1985-86 has dropped by about one quarter. And the current federal government has cut further A$120 million in the May budget and a further A$207 million over four years.

The ABC has responded with cutbacks in niche areas such as womens sport and rural services and a renewed focus on internet-based services.

November 11, 2015

John Taylor. Investing in Hedge Funds in Tax Havens: Legal? Ethical?

If the aim of Labors attack on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his wife Lucy for using hedge funds domiciled in the Cayman Islands was to damage his credibility with the public, it appears to have missed the political mark.

This article considers whether investing in hedge funds in tax havens is both legal and ethical.

Advantages of offshore funds in tax havens

Investing in US companies via a hedge fund enables Australian individuals and organisations to make investments over a much larger, more diverse, and more frequently changed portfolio than would be possible by directly investing in shares in US companies.

October 22, 2018

The three structural dead weights of IndiaPakistan relations

On 2 September, ahead of Secretary of State Mike Pompeos visit, the Pentagon announced the cancellation of US$300 million in aid to Pakistan for its alleged failure to take effective action against terrorist networks operating from its soil, including the Haqqani network and the Afghan Taliban. This was part of a broader cut announced on 4 January. Meanwhile, the history of unsettled borders, periodic wars and continual armed clashes, combined with growing nuclear arsenals in both countries, makes IndiaPakistan relations a highly critical question for Asia and world security.

December 7, 2017

LARRY JAGAN. Suu Kyi should heed Pope's suggestion on UN role

Pope Francis’ visit to Myanmar last week was an overwhelming success and may provide the much needed spark to ignite the government’s peace process and its efforts to bring reconciliation to the country’s violence-torn western region of Rakhine. The Pope’s message was loud and clear: the only way forward for Myanmar was “love and peace”, the title used for his visit.

May 14, 2019

CAMERON LECKIE. The global war of terror and the demise of the empire

As a young Army officer, watching Prime Minister John Howards announcement of the deployment of Australian military forces to Afghanistan in late 2001, I remember the extreme disappointment from both my soldiers and I that we would not be going to fight what would become known as the Global War on Terror.

November 10, 2015

Bob Kinnaird. The high price of Labor's capitulation on ChAFTA

Labor’s capitulation in supporting the treaty-status ChAFTA has profound ramifications that go far beyond the China deal.

Labors support for ChAFTA has all but guaranteed the permanent surrender of Australian sovereignty over key parts of our migration program and laws, and the permanent loss of rights of Australian citizens and permanent residents to jobs in Australia.

The Labor and Coalition leaderships both know this but have not told the Australian people or the Australian Parliament.

July 13, 2018

ELIZABETH HLAVINKA. High Opioid-Use Counties Voted Trump in 2016 (Medpage Today 22/6/2018)

Opioids are symptom, symbol of ’larger social and economic problems’.Counties with the highest rates of chronic prescription opioid use were far more likely to back Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, a new study of Medicare claims data found.

July 24, 2014

Tony Smith. Dubious celebrations of war.

On 28 July 1914, the world was thrown into a terrible conflict. On that day, a Serbian nationalist assassinated an Austrian archduke and his wife. Because European states belonged to alliances which were heavily armed and many countries on other continents belonged to their empires, the war spread until it had consumed over a million lives. Between 2014 and 2018 those terrible events will be remembered in various ways. Some of those commemorations might be regarded as neutral, but inevitably, many will be matters of controversy. While Australias events will start in earnest around the centenary of the Gallipoli landing next year on 25 April, the screening of a television series on Anzac nurses suggests that one theme will be the evocation of sentimental responses in admiration of those who enlisted.

July 12, 2016

JOHN TULLOH. Olympics and oil - a tale of two South American countries.

Back in 2009, the International Olympic Committee made a bold decision. It decided the 2016 Games would be held for the first time in South America, a continent not noted for its political, economic or social stability. Rio de Janeiro in Brazil would be the host city even though the evaluation of three others - Tokyo, Madrid and Chicago - was superior. At the time, Brazils economy was thundering along, overtaking Russia in strength and sitting comfortably in the worlds top 10. It was boom time in Rio. Today it is more like gloom time as Brazils economy contracts and suffers its worst recession since the 1930s. This should have come as no surprise in a continent synonymous with volatility. Nor is it a surprise that another South American country, Venezuela, once awash in oil revenue and wealth, should implode and now be mixing it with the worlds most hopeless economic cases.

July 24, 2018

Australia: Dont Prosecute for Exposure of Misconduct (Human Rights Watch)

Whistleblowing Former Spy, Lawyer Face Hearing for Revealing Bugging Operation

July 22, 2014

Michael Keating. An alternative budget strategy - part 3

Part 3. An Alternative Budget Strategy

The previous comment in this series showed that there are alternatives to the Governments particular strategy for restoring a Budget surplus over the next four years. In particular, it was shown that action to protect the revenue could raise around $42 billion in 2017-18. That is about 2 per cent of 2017-18 GDP and meets the Governments Budget targets. Furthermore this objective is achieved without relying on bracket creep that would move a full-time male worker on average earnings into the 37 per cent tax bracket from 2015-16.

December 10, 2018

CAVAN and ALEX HOGUE. Cyber legislation the oldest trick in the book.

The proposed legislation on cyber powers raises some questions that need to be answered. The debate has been rhetorical and has not addressed the technical or legal aspects of the legislation in any detail. Has the implementation been thought through by all concerned? We dont have all the answers but wonder if the Government does either. The political debate is on the level of kindergarten abuse instead of dispassionate discussion of the issues. There are serious problems in implementing the legislation and it may well fail because it is impractical.

July 6, 2018

ROSEMARY O'GRADY. Remembering Stars.

Some ninety-odd years ago this week was born in the bush in the rugged far north-west of Western Australia a child given the Christian name of David.

November 6, 2019

GEOFF DAVIES. A central dysfunction: house price inflation, stagnant economy

The problem with the housing bubble is not a shortage of housing, the problem is an excess of money. The solution is to restrict the amounts banks can loan. The solution is a credit squeeze. But it would have to be done carefully and the government would have to be willing to spend.

October 26, 2019

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 27 October 2019

A report on levels of peace around the world demonstrates that climate change is associated with conflict and forced migration. On-demand bus services and electric vehicles are proving popular, economical and good for the environment. Is social collapse arising from inaction on climate change inevitable and if so how do we prepare for it? Deforestation continues to rise despite declarations of intent to the contrary.

April 2, 2019

JOHN MENADUE. The Australian Pharmacy Guild continues to dud taxpayers and patients.

In last night’s budget the Government had been proposing to deliver cheaper medicines by doubling the number of medications that could be dispensed from a single prescription for conditions such as high blood pressure and cholesterol. Taxpayers and patients would have benefitted but true to form the Pharmacy Guild lobbied the government and Minister Hunt ran for cover. It happens time and time again with the public interest ignored.

April 1, 2019

DANIELLE WOOD. Intergenerational theft. (The Conversation).

The tens of thousands of young people who were protesting at the school climate strike two weeks ago know that they are being left a stinking great environmental mess to clean up.

But I suspect that many are yet to appreciate that this is not the only mess theyll be left with.

November 19, 2019

ANDREW GLIKSON. Portents of continental-scale fires

The effects of encroaching deserts and of fire storms on terrestrial forests, originally developed under moderate conditions distinct from those emerging under rapid global warming and extreme weather events, may have been underestimated. Average global temperatures do not tell the story it is the increasingly frequent weather anomalies which do. Powerful psychological factors prevent many scientists from expressing theirworst fears, a phenomenon dubbed as scientific reticence.

November 24, 2019

SAM JACOBS. Vaclav Havel: The Forgotten History of the Political Dissident Who Founded the Czech Republic

Our historical unsung heroes are generally impressive figures. But there are very few one might accurately call cool. This is an exception. Vclav Havel, the founder of the modern-day Czech Republic (also known as Czechia) is undoubtedly cool by any definition of the word.

February 27, 2021

Sunday environmental round up, 28 February 2021

Australias rooftop solar is burying coal while chilly Texas provides lessons about the energy transition. Four storey buildings with a courtyard provide the most energy efficient homes. Extinction in six minutes (the facts not the event), and native snails coming back from near extinction on Lord Howe.

December 10, 2019

DAVID SHEARMAN. I have a Dream; Resurrection of Westpac as a Sustainability Bank

I have a dream that the outrageous performance of Westpac could lead to fundamental reform and the genetic engineering of one of the identical quads, the BIG4 banks which do not fulfil community needs or financial stability.

May 11, 2020

MUNGO MACCALLUM. The false promise of a COVIDSafe economy

The latest catchphrase from our government spin doctors is a COVIDSafe economy optimistic and reassuring. And, unfortunately, a cruel hoax, a contradiction in terms.

March 16, 2018

GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND ...

Remember Daniel Ellsberg, author of The Pentagon Papers? Peter Hannan, Environment Editor at the Sydney Morning Herald has written a review of his new book The DoomsDay Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner. Ellsberg recounts the occasions during the Cold War when the world came close to a catastrophic all-out nuclear war, triggered not by politicians but by technical errors and misinterpreted signals. Attention has been focussed on North Korea, but there are at least seven other states with nuclear weapon capability France, India, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

March 24, 2019

JACK WATERFORD. Prime Minister's ever-diminishing credibility. (Canberra Times 23.3.2019)

“How do you know when a politician is lying?” the old joke went. “You see his lips are moving.”

December 28, 2014

Rodney Tiffen. Murdoch - The tabloid tweeter tangles the truth.

With two glaring exceptions, Australian public figures and media outlets generally rose to the challenge during the long siege at Martin Place this week. Mike Baird and Tony Abbott spoke with calmness and compassion, careful not to inflame the situation or do anything to encourage bigoted and unjustified reactions. The media especially theABC, Nine, Seven and Sky News reported the long hours of uncertainty, when very little was happening, with restraint, generally resisting the temptation to speculate in the absence of verified facts. While some false reports and rumours were broadcast, a sense of professional responsibility prevailed.

April 9, 2020

PAUL COLLINS. Meditating with J.S. Bach

There is no better way to meditate this week leading up to Easter than with J.S. Bach

September 23, 2020

Assange: Still waiting for your right to know

Were all still waiting for your right to know. The right of the public in our democracies to know whats really going on is being tested at this very moment at the Old Bailey in Merry England.

September 15, 2020

ASIO is a Mickey Mouse outfit compromising 50 years of diplomacy with China

When head of the Australian Signals Directorate, Mike Burgess was the main adviser recommending against Huawei being allowed into the 5G network. There is no doubt about his intelligence background, or his technical talents. He has, however, yet to demonstrate in public that he has that first quality of the counter-intelligence officer and adviser – judgment.

August 31, 2020

PART 2: Review of the Medicare Benefits scheme

The Medical Benefits Schedule [MBS ] Review Taskforce was established in June 2015 by Sussan Ley, then Federal Minister for Health. It followed feedback from clinicians and the broader community that certain items on the MBS did not reflect clinical best practice and in some cases were creating distortions in services provided.

June 9, 2020

MUNGO MACCALLUM. The patience of our first nation, while remarkable, is not inexhaustible.

Whether we like it or not, it doesnt take much for racism to come out of the underbelly of this country. We only have to think back to Cronulla in 2005. And of course the Adam Goodes story just last year.

April 24, 2019

DIRK DE BRUYN. Re-visiting Gallipoli

I am talking with Turkish filmmaker Kken Ergun at the Rotterdam International Film Festival about a documentary that all Australian and New Zealand audiences should see. Heroes is about the mythologizing of trauma, of the First World War campaign on the Gallipoli Peninsula (or anakkale). Ergun includes interviews at the monuments with the April 25 pilgrims and tourists that reveal shared moments and differences.

September 19, 2020

Scott Morrison's gas plan is an arrogant, irresponsible disaster (Canberra Times Sep 17, 2020)

The only rival to the arrogance of Morrison’s gas-led recovery strategy is its irresponsibility.

February 28, 2019

ROBERTO SAVIANO. The migrant caravan: made in USA.

The migrant caravan that left Honduras and headed north toward the US last October is the largest flight from drug trafficking in history. Though the phenomenon of Central American caravans isnt new, never before have thousands of people decided to flee from criminal organizations in such numbers. It is, in a sense, the biggest anti-mafia march the world has ever seen.

August 3, 2020

Uncle Sam grabs CCP playbook (APAC News, 3 August 2020)

The US State Department is quietly funding a Chinese-language news service in Australia, a move more typically associated with Chinas state media propagandists.

April 27, 2020

NICHOLAS WHITLAM. Malcolm Turnbull, A Bigger Picture (Hardy Grant Books, 2020)

When Malcolm Turnbull was dumped as Prime Minister he joined his namesake Captain William Bligh in having been twice removed by his subordinates. Turnbull spends much of this book telling us who betrayed him on both occasions, but he gets the reasons for their insubordination wrong.

September 4, 2018

MICHAEL SAINSBURY. Tim Murray, Labors best chance in Wentworth since Jessie Street?

If you thought that Australian politics could not get more bizarre, its time to think again. The race is on for one of the Liberal Partys blue chip seats with the official retirement of Malcolm Turnbull, the Member for Wentworth.

July 2, 2020

National Cabinet fractures

There is a serious split in the national cabinet manifest in the current border wars. It has been apparent for a few weeks now but the decisions by a number of states to deny Victorians (or some of them) access through their re-opened borders has brought it to a head.

April 13, 2020

MICHAEL KEATING. Covid-19 and Future Fiscal Policy

Covid-19 will have a big impact on fiscal policy over the next few years. The Budget balance is estimated here to show a deficit equivalent to 4 per cent of GDP this year and as much as 10 per cent next year. But overall the size of the Governments fiscal response seems appropriate, and it should be manageable in the future.

January 14, 2020

RODNEY TIFFEN. The Murdoch Press and the Bushfires

The disastrous summer of bushfires has not been easy for Scott Morrison, but the News Corp newspapers have also had trouble rising to the challenge.

July 1, 2020

NBN Debacle. Wherefore art thou, minister?

What has been described as the countrys all-time biggest infrastructure debacle - the National Broadband Network - is a financial and technological mess.

April 7, 2020

GEOFF RABY supports Pearls and Irritations.

Pearls & Irritations has become indispensable reading for those with a serious interest in public policy and commentary.

September 27, 2020

Remember the Stasi who ran East Germany's government

The question taxing many, and one to be answered, is why are our security services and not the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade running our relationship with China?

August 14, 2020

The Unraveling of America (Rolling Stone August 6, 2020)

Anthropologist Wade Davis on how COVID-19 signals the end of the American era.

April 29, 2019

RON WITTON. Zionism and Terra Nullius: a haunting parallel between Israel and Australia

When I was growing up in Sydney in the 1950s, I knew that I came from a Jewish family and I was aware of the little blue and white Jewish National Fund money boxes collecting funds for Israel. Recently I have remembered a phrase from my childhood, A land without a people for a people without a land which I had unquestioningly accepted as justification for the establishment of Israel.

October 22, 2018

JOHN STAPLETON. The fiasco of Australia's telecommunications.

Complaints against the troubled broadband network have risen yet again with the latest Telecommunications Ombudsmans Report, released this week, showing significant increases in complaints over the last year.

April 29, 2020

JOHN DWYER. Trump, Xi and the WHO.

President Trump, always blaming someone to hide his own inadequacies, has vented his fury on both China and the WHO. The WHO, for one precious week, had accepted Chinas advice that the novel respiratory infections were not transmitted from human to human.

October 17, 2019

MARK BUCKLEY. Circling the Drain

At the risk of beating the same old drum, this current Government seems to be heading steadily down the ethical and moral drain, ever since the unexpected election win. So much of the countrys malaise, however, can be traced back to the ascension of one Tony Abbott, firstly as Opposition Leader, and then, unbelievably, as Prime Minister.

July 16, 2020

John Kerr, Martin Charteris and the Palace Letters.

In his grovelling and voluminous letters to the Palace and Martin Charteris, John Kerr had time to comment on some of the minor players. The letters from the loyal and obedient servant of Her Majesty, reminded me of my discussions with him before the Dismissal and the events in the year afterwards.

April 5, 2020

QUENTIN DEMPSTER supports Pearls and Irritations.

Pearls & Irritations has become an exploratory platform for thinkers and analysts out to both share their insights and knowledge and test themselves against an informed peer group.

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