March 25, 2019

DAVID STEPHENS. This is why the $498m extensions to the Australian War Memorial should not go ahead

Saturdays Nine (Fairfax) newspapers carried a story about 83 distinguished Australians signing a letter opposing the plan to expand the Australian War Memorial in Canberra at a cost of $498m. The letter says the extensions cannot be justified, they show the Memorial is being given preference over other national institutions, and the money could be better spent. The letter and the full list of signatories.

January 28, 2018

We have to change capitalism to beat climate change, says worlds biggest asset manager

Capitalismmustchange to avertclimate change, according to thevice-chair of the worlds largest asset manager, Blackrock.

August 30, 2020

PART 1: Review of the Medicare Benefits scheme

The first part of this piece describes the blockages in the past that choked debate on some fundamental issues. The second part outlines some of the important achievements of the current Medical Benefits Scheme Review Taskforce and set up the basis for sustainable debate about the future of Medicare.

December 19, 2019

KIERAN TAPSELL. Pope Francis Abolishes the Pontifical Secret Over Child Sexual Abuse.

On 17 December 2019, Pope Francis abolished the pontifical secret over child sexual abuse by clergy. This was the first step in returning the Catholic Church to its 15 century old tradition, which it abandoned in 1917, of regarding child sexual abuse as a crime that needed to be punished by the State. Francis has still not gone far enough because the restoration of that tradition requires the imposition of mandatory reporting to the civil authorities, as demanded by two United Nations Committees.

August 2, 2018

BERNARD SHIU. Canberra announces opt out of My Financial Record.

Today, the department of treasury announced a My Financial Record will be created for everyone unless you tell them you dont want one by 15/10/2018.

August 24, 2020

Judicial independence: the Nazi or the Australian way?

In an age when the Parliament nearly always does the bidding of the elected government and in a country which, uniquely amongst democratic nations, has no Bill of Rights, the courts are vitally important as a protection against arbitrary power.

April 23, 2020

Thoughts on an unusual Anzac Day

This Anzac Day we should question the relentless militarisation of our history and the cult of the digger. These ideals make it easier for Australian governments to commit to wars overseas and more difficult for critics to engage in serious debate.

March 15, 2019

Monthly digest on housing affordability and homelessness Feb/Mar 2019

This is the second monthly digest of interesting articles, research reports, policy announcements and other material relevant to housing stress/affordability and homelessness with hypertext links to the source.

September 16, 2020

What happens when we treat aged care residents as consumers (Inside Story Sep 14, 2020)

Decades of misguided policy sowed the seeds of a human rights disaster.

July 16, 2020

The extraordinary ambush of China Matters.

We have been caught in the slipstream of Donald Trumps increasingly erratic struggle against overwhelming adversity .

April 8, 2020

CHRIS GERAGHTY. The Pell Decision.

Finally the George Pell dilemma has been put to rest by the illustrious High Court of Australia. Or has it?

December 3, 2018

GARETH EVANS. Australia in the world: it's time to punch our weight.

In this lecture, Gareth Evans calls for “Less America … More self-reliance … More Asia … More global engagement”. See below, extracts from Gareth Evans’ Tom Uren Memorial Lecture delivered in Balmain 2 December 2018.

August 4, 2020

The Reagan and Thatcher legacies: sorting truth from fantasy.

Neo-Conservatives want to believe that Reagan and Thatcher achieved smaller government, lower taxes, and a booming economy. The reality, however, is very different.

September 9, 2020

Biden and Australia (Asia Link Sep 8, 2020)

With the polls pointing to a Joe Biden victory in the US presidential race, the stakes for Australia, and its interests in a stable Indo-Pacific, are high. Former ambassador to the United States and Asialink senior adviser John McCarthy breaks down some of the likely foreign policy trends under a Biden presidency and points to some key tests for Australia in managing a new administration in Washington.

December 10, 2018

ROGER SCOTT. Universities and the competition for international students

Compared to Britain, Australia has been highly successful in its venture into international education over the past decade but a number of writers have raised concerns over the continuing viability of depending on this source of funding into the future.

August 23, 2020

The parlous state of our security policies thinking through the hard questions

In Australia security policy is made largely behind closed doors, and subject to remarkably little scrutiny by parliament or our mainstream media. It has at best a fleeting presence in our political and public discourse.

July 28, 2020

Emperor Trumpus Maximus and his most loyal vassal, Terra Australis

_Let us never forget that Emperor Trumpus Maximus is divine and so demands obedience from all of you as well as from our vassal states.

August 26, 2020

Friendlyjordies' interview with Michael West

Earlier this month John and Michael sat down with Friendlyjordies for a long-form interview. Please watch Michael and Jordan discuss Australia’s media landscape, lobbying and independent journalism.

April 30, 2020

MACK WILLIAMS. Covid-19, China and the WHO: Quo Vadis Australia?

A long time American UN observer in the US publication Foreign Policy ( WHO Becomes Battleground as Trump Chooses Pandemic Confrontation over Cooperation 29 April 2020) has claimed that fighting the coronavirus has become secondary as the US seeks to hamstring the WHO, turning it into a 2020 election issue along with Chinese trade.

August 11, 2020

Americas Unholy Crusade Against China (Project Syndicate August 5, 2020)

Last month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered an anti-China speech that was extremist, simplistic, and dangerous. If biblical literalists like Pompeo remain in power past November, they could well bring the world to the brink of a war that they expect and perhaps even seek.

July 23, 2020

The Government's economic response to Covid-19.

The Governments long-awaited update of the fiscal and economic outlook contains no real surprises. But what we still need to know is what the Government intends to do next when the present economic support measures run out.

April 3, 2020

DAVID WILLIAMSON supports Pearls and Irritations.

For years now, Kristin and I have been the grateful recipients of John and Susie Menadues daily online bulletin of informed and expert opinion, Pearls & Irritations.

October 1, 2020

Susan Ryan: a daughter of St Brigid

_Long after Susan’s passing, Australians, and Irish-Australians in particular, will continue to be enriched by the legacy that this daughter of St Brigid has left us.'

April 26, 2020

ABUL RIZVI: Coronavirus and Australias Population and Economic Directions

The coronavirus crisis brings to an end 20 years of high migration to Australia. On current policy settings, net migration in 2020 and 2021 will be close to zero, if not negative. Australia is looking at the biggest turning point in its population history - bigger than the Great Depression.

August 20, 2020

NSW Treasurer being white-anted

_Two weeks ago Dominic Perrottet was set to take an elevator ride to the Premiership. Now hes assailed on all sides by the icare workers compensation scandal.

July 7, 2020

United States and Australia, so little in common ?

Australia identifies with and supports US democracy, yet values and dominant modes of thought in America have produced a form of governance so dysfunctional that Australians should question their assumptions about the two countries similarities.

August 22, 2020

Kerr's media hacks (Justinian August 17, 2020)

Leading hacks atThe Australian have waged war on Professor Jenny Hocking and her research into the 1975 dismissal of the Whitlam government by governor-general Kerr … The archived letters clearly confirm the Palace’s involvement … It isThe Australian’sversion that is in need of repair … Michael White dismantles the claims about Hocking’s “conspiracy theory”

August 3, 2020

The Communist Party of China and the Idea of `Evil' (Oxford Politics Review, April 24 2020)

_Labelling an entity like the Communist Party `evil’ or bad might work polemically. But it ends up doing a massive disservice to the many Chinese still in China who are not members. Some are deeply opposed to their government. Some are supportive. Some are in between. … But the idea that they are silent, suppressed, and without agency is profoundly condescending.

July 30, 2020

Disagreeing with the US over China

_The AUSMIN talks are an important first, demonstrating that the Australian government wont go all the way with Trumps USA. The next step (if only) would be for the Prime Minister to change his telephone number.

September 20, 2020

Brave Thai students put government in a quandary

Student-led protesters in Bangkok are publicly demanding a fundamental change that was once merely thinkable - reform of the monarchy

April 17, 2019

GRAEME WORBOYS. Celebrating Kosciuszko's 75th anniversary.

The 75th anniversary of the establishment of Kosciuszko State Park falls on Good Friday, 19 April 2019. The Park was famously established by Premier William McKell to protect the nationally important mountain water catchments, to restore soil erosion caused by burning off and over-grazing by stock and to provide opportunities for visitor use and enjoyment. Kosciuszko is one of the Australias greatest national parks; it is a National Heritage Property protecting priceless Australian heritage and receives more than 1 million visits a year. The Park enjoyed 74 years of bipartisan support for conservation until regressive 2018 legislation was passed to retain thousands of feral horses within the Park.

October 22, 2018

DEBRA VERMEER. 70 years since six Good Samaritans set sail for Nagasaki.

Seventy years ago this month, six Good Samaritan Sisters set sail for Nagasaki, Japan, to respond to the need of the people there in the wake of the atomic bomb dropped on the city in 1945. For Sister Mary Constable, 99, of Sydney, it was one of the defining experiences of her life.

August 4, 2020

The hindering of our efforts to control the spread of Covid-19

We face social fatigue and misconceptions about social distancing; irresponsible public behaviour; and a widespread lack of appreciation of the long-term clinical consequences of an encounter with this virus.

June 7, 2020

MICHAEL KEATING. National Cabinet to replace COAG: Part 1 of 2.

Scott Morrison has decreed that COAG is no more and will be replaced by his new National Cabinet. Part 1 of this article below, discusses the reasons for the initial success of both the National Cabinet and COAG.

November 12, 2017

ROGER SCOTT: Insularity and Environmentalism - The Queensland election campaign

The Queensland election could be occurring on another planet, as far as the locals are concerned. Pauline Hansons One Nation may exercise a morbid fascination but the bigger current issue is the link between the infrastructure proposed for the Adani Carmichael mine and the railway which would link it from the middle of nowhere to the edge of the Great Barrier Reef.

August 18, 2020

A progress report on Pearls and Irritations

Pearls and Irritations has topped 10,000 subscribers.

May 18, 2020

NOEL TURNBULL. They're not all knukcle-dragging proto fascists

It is often easy to imagine that all Americans are unhinged, gun-toting, Bible bashing, conspiracy believers, LBQT+ haters and Trump supporters.

July 13, 2020

One cannot say that the law is above our politicians

The US Supreme Court has many things in common with the Australian High Court, including some reputation for containing the odd sexual harasser, but most Australians are thankful that they have not come to be regarded as pawns of the president or party which put them on the court for life.

January 14, 2020

JOHN KERIN: Reform and the ALP

Australias oldest political Party, the ALP, is becoming ossified in its structure and totally resistant to reform. It also has many other challenges in representing todays Australia as a progressive party.

July 18, 2020

Domestic violence in the pandemic. Anti terrorism is a tried and successful diversion

The above is the headline in a story in the SMH on 13 July 2020. It illustrates once again how vested interests supported by our media give lip service about the tragedy of domestic violence but quickly forget it.But the anti terrorism scam goes on and on.

June 28, 2020

High Court Judges and not just Dyson Heydon

A High Court judge colluded in the dismissal of a Prime Minister. The separation of powers was put aside. My confidence in our institutions took a battering.

November 2, 2017

ANDREW FARRAN. Parliamentary eligibility - did the High Court get it wrong?

The response to the High Courts decision in the Parliamentarians eligibility case has been largely uncritical and disappointing. While Section 44 (i) of the Constitution allows for a simplistic literal interpretation the Courts failure to transpose that provision into the social and political context of the present day, and have better regard for its historical antecedents, will create more problems than it has solved and does not sit well with our multicultural and regional realities.

May 27, 2020

BOB CARR. Hidden Reality of Australia-China Relations

The best reading on the state of Australia-China relations is in documents we cant see. That is, in the cables sent from Canberra to their capitals by ambassadors of Asian nations.

September 4, 2018

PAUL BONGIORNO. The spectre of Tony Abbott hangs over Scott Morrison (New Daily, 04.09.18)

Prime Minister Scott Morrisons desperate attempts to draw a line under the leadership coup that brought him to power are doomed to failure.

August 31, 2020

Never give a Sukkar an even break

Readers of the Melbourne Age and the Sydney Morning Herald and viewers of the Nine network will have been alerted to the self-destruction of the Victorian branch of the Liberal Party the jewel in the crown, as the founder, Robert Menzies, once called it.

June 24, 2020

Do the grandchildren really pay the debt? The problem with Scott Morrisons plan for recovery, and MMT

Michael West investigates Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) and the false assumption that the national Budget is like the household budget, or a business. They are already creating new money while denying the proposition that creating new money will expand the economy; preferring to punish casual workers and Arts students, and pursue austerity instead.

August 30, 2020

Vale Richard di Natale.

Richard di Natale left his party much as he led it without fuss or fanfare, quiet, reasonable, and always at a certain distance from the turmoil of parliamentary conflict.

August 9, 2020

Engaging with China about public administration reform

As some politicians and commentators call for containment of China, it is time to put forward the case for engagement instead. It can only assist with our understanding of China’s huge challenges, and maybe help encourages continuing reform.

March 26, 2019

Funding Increases for Private Schools Continue to Outstrip Increases for Public Schools

New funding figures show that government funding increases for private schools continue to far outstrip increases for public schools. Government funding per student in public schools (adjusted for inflation) was cut between 2009-10 and 2016-17 while private schools received a massive increase. Even during the Gonski funding period of 2012-13 to 2016-17 increases in funding for private schools far outstripped those for public schools.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal