November 23, 2020

The escalating risk to Australia's vehicle fleet. Australia applies the brakes again and again.

Gas-guzzlers in Europe are quickly becoming a thing of the past – so guess where they’re headed instead.

September 3, 2024

P&I thriving is up to us

This is a topic difficult to raise without it sounding like a sermon. And although I happen to be writing on a Sunday (and was ordained as an Interfaith, post-denominational minister nearly 20 years ago) “sermonising” has never worked for me: not in the getting or the giving.

August 31, 2024

Acclaimed journalist charged with ‘anti-semitism’

Mary Kostakidis, for years the face of television news in Australia as anchor of the SBS nightly broadcast, has been accused of supporting ethnic cleansing of Jews for two retweets about Israel’s war on Gaza, reports Joe Lauria.

July 25, 2024

The Albanese government has created a climate vacuum, and we will pay the price

Whilst the global impact of climate disruption is rapidly accelerating, and the last, record-breaking year has been extraordinary, public concern in Australia about it is waning, and the government bears much of the responsibility.

July 24, 2024

AUKUS and the pride of politicians

With AUKUS, the pride of politicians has become an obstacle to reaching the best solution to the ‘national security’ conundrum. In the end, it could be that ego-driven reluctance to shift from entrenched positions results in the Australian people being delivered a disaster.

July 20, 2024

By failing to stop the Gaza genocide, the ICJ is working exactly as intended

The international legal order was built to administer colonial violence, not to end wars — and that poses serious questions for the Palestinian struggle.

June 25, 2023

Who are our Ministers meeting with? We deserve to know

The public deserves to know who our Ministers are meeting with.

June 16, 2023

Indonesia pledges military observers to a ceasefire in Ukraine war

I take this opportunity to urge, to recommend with utmost urgency for our brothers in Ukraine and in Russia to come as soon as possible to a secession of hostilities. And I would like to declare at this present moment that Indonesia is prepared to contribute military observers and military units under the peacekeeping auspices of the United Nations.

April 9, 2022

In Asian Media: US links a key factor in Pakistan turmoil

Plus: India likes free movement of people; Taiwan learns from Ukraine; politics behind judges’ departure; Indonesia combats sexual violence; no tourists for cherry blossom time

September 6, 2021

Will Clive Palmer's money get Craig Kelly reelected?

With Craig Kelly joining the United Australia Party (UAP), what impact will he and Clive Palmer have on the next federal election?

July 16, 2021

RBA Governor’s wages-immigration bomb and how he got it wrong.

RBA Governor Philip Lowe’s speech last week on the Labour Market and Monetary Policy set off a frenzied debate on the impact of immigration on wages.

June 10, 2021

After the G7, the G20 and COP 26 in Glasgow, what might be real progress on the climate crisis by the end of the year?

We’ve had President Biden’s ‘zoom’ climate Summit. The G7 meeting in Cornwall this week is looking to ramp up ambition on climate response. And the most significant UN meeting on climate change since Paris is taking place in Glasgow in November. Expectations are high. But with intense geo-political tensions and covid response concentrating attention, what progress might we realistically anticipate on climate change by the end of this year?

January 25, 2021

Is Trump's 1776 Commission report an extremist manifesto?

The 1776 Commission Report released on 18 January 2021 is a time bomb of extremist propaganda; a source document for the arguments and recruitment of white nationalists and white supremacists, and for the apologists of radical libertarianism.

January 22, 2021

Nuclear disarmament is not going to happen: the case for signing the Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty

The 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force today. Australia’s failure to sign the treaty is at odds not only with its international humanitarian obligations but also with its most basic strategic interests.

January 14, 2021

"We are one and free" - sarcasm, lie or delusion?

Perhaps Morrison got muddled, fuddled and confused about what he was saying, and got the anthem mixed up in a marketing message about something else, like being “one and the same” with Donald, two sides of the Legion of Merit.

December 9, 2020

Wilful blindness of the Anzac myth and our military death toll

A recent spike in the statistics has seen the number of suicides by Australia’s Afghanistan veterans pass 500. This is an appalling toll which raises many deep questions for all of us.

November 18, 2020

Australian War Crimes and the Asymmetry Myth

There is a widespread “asymmetry myth” about the perpetration war crimes that will affect the reception of the forthcoming Brereton report on alleged Australian military war crimes and what Scott Morrison predicts will be “the difficulties” it creates.

September 15, 2024

Mismanagement of Australia’s monetary system

I have, in the past, submitted papers to politicians and economic commentators detailing from publicly available data that the way Australia’s monetary system is being run is not in the best interest of the population. I will explain what I mean from a personal experience, but omitting many references to internet data and information, which it seems, are not common knowledge.

June 13, 2024

A lot of awful things can happen in a week

President Biden has now announced a ‘roadmap’ for Gaza that has been doing the rounds for weeks, and Australia has loyally supported it with a contribution of $A10 million. But much more time, money, and negotiations will be needed if the three-stage plan is to be a success.

May 25, 2024

Dutton’s ignorant, incompetent policies contradicted by evidence

Dutton has finally started to show his hand and build his campaign for the next election around energy policy and housing affordability. The problem is that his ignorance of the evidence demonstrates his incompetence.

May 7, 2024

Why has there been no credible media narrative justifying AUKUS?

Many members of the Albanese Government, including Anthony Albanese himself, recall the problem that presented itself when Julia Gillard took the reins as Prime Minister in 2010 without a credible narrative as to why she accepted the job, other than to say the government under Kevin Rudd had lost its way. It was well known in government circles that Rudd was micromanaging key departments and doing it badly, but Gillard was reluctant to call that spade a spade. Accordingly, NewsCorp filled the vacuum with poison, helped along by James Ashby and a few associated shysters.

April 17, 2024

Intervention to stop genocide: From investigative reporting to freedom flotillas

The leader of South Africa’s Palestine Solidarity Alliance insists that the ruling of the International Court of Justice ‘requires the whole world to play their part to stop genocide unfolding in Gaza.’

May 30, 2023

What is the US-Australia Force Posture Agreement (FPA)?

The combined effect of the Force Posture Agreement and other defence agreements with the United States is to nullify Australia’s capacity to make independent decisions about war avoidance and war fighting. Together they lock us into providing the United States first with secured areas under its control from which it may conduct a war, and second, with comprehensive logistical support for any such folly.

April 15, 2023

Australia will be left stranded as a lonely Western outpost in Asia

It is understandable that Australian leaders may feel insecure, even paranoid, about Australia’s future in the Asian twenty-first century. As Western power recedes from the world – especially from East Asia – Australia and New Zealand will be left stranded as lonely Western outposts in Asia.

September 1, 2022

The strengthening medicare taskforce: All healthcare workers are on the front line. Let’s get them on the front foot

Following the outcome of this year’s Federal Election, Health Minister Mark Butler convened the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce (SMT).

October 1, 2021

The Australian dilemma: a gas-led recovery, stranded assets and carbon neutrality

If Australia’s coal and gas industry continues to expand production, it faces the prospect of an eyewatering accumulation of stranded carbon assets when Australia formally adopts a policy of net zero emissions by 2050.

September 30, 2021

AUKUS confirms Australia as a forever colony

Since World War II, almost all independent states in South-East Asia have been shaped by successful anti-colonialist movements. Australia stands alone in the region, marked by a dominant political culture fixated in a colonial mind-set.

September 3, 2021

Francis James and the Wakhan Corridor into Afghanistan

We are told the fall of Kabul will be a bonus for an expansionist China.

August 30, 2021

Bad laws, not lawyers, lead to injustice: a response to Stuart Rees

On 19 August, Pearls & Irritations published a piece by Stuart Rees titled “ Biloela and Assange: compliance with governments, not justice”. While I generally agree with Stuart, there was a misconception at the heart of his piece.

May 23, 2021

Sunday environmental round up.

The International Energy Agency recognises the climate emergency and plots a course to net zero, plus NGOs give world leaders advice on how to ensure Glasgow’s COP26 is a success. An Australian construction company tells a government inquiry that working for Adani is uninsurable. Stunning photo of Earth’s thin, life-preserving air-bag.

February 25, 2021

The humble necktie (or 'colonial noose') remains a powerful symbol

It turned into a prickly day in the Beehive in Wellington when Rawiri Waititi walked into Parliament wearing a large greenstone taonga around his neck, rather than a necktie.

February 19, 2021

Indonesia still waiting for legislation to penalise sexual violence

Five years ago a Bill was put before Indonesia’s lower house (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat) to penalise sexual violence. Activists stressed the need for urgency as the scourge was increasing. They’re still waiting.

December 30, 2020

What is the fate of the MBS Review Task Force and its work? (Croakey Dec 21, 2020)

Five years in the making, the Final Report of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Task Force was quietly released last week. Associate Professor Lesley Russell outlines the wide-ranging findings and how they are likely to shape the future of the MBS.

December 6, 2020

How gambling authorities missed Crown's criminal ties

It was the kind of news that should have spelt big trouble for James Packer’s Crown casino empire.

October 30, 2020

Japanese media kisha clubs are like Australia's 'tamed estate'.

Japan and Australia are supposed to be cultural opposites. But there are similarities at times, especially where media are concerned.

June 8, 2024

Religion and the census

The Census is important because it tells us so much about ourselves. But the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is complicating the data we collect on religion.

June 12, 2023

Psy-ops warriors: Tiananmen Square and the media-pack

As a Hong Kong based columnist for much of his writing career Nury Vittachi was known for his persistent anti-Beijing slant. But no longer. What changed his mind was the mainstream media - the BBC in particular - coverage of the 2019 Hong Kong riots.

June 6, 2023

Shirtfronting Australia

Australians are more used to pointing the accusing finger at other countries than having it pointed at us.

September 27, 2022

Debt trap diplomacy? Another anti-China myth exposed

_Despite the hype, there is very little evidence that China has engaged in debt trap diplomacy in the past.

May 27, 2021

Should Labor oppose the Government’s Stage 3 Income Tax Cuts?

Australia faces a choice between demands for lower taxes, and raising the revenue needed to fund essential services. This article suggests how a plan to increase taxation revenue could be presented at the next election, starting with ditching the Government’s Stage 3 income tax cuts.

February 1, 2021

Death by a thousand cuts - EPBC Act needs a powerful cop on the beat

A bill to change the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conversation Act focuses on streamlining the approvals process and devolving federal powers to the states and territories. But the Act already fails to capture most impacts of development because it doesn’t consider them holistically_._

October 22, 2020

Getting Coherence into the Equity Debate – Part 2

In Part 1, I used three desirable attributes (equity, efficiency and simplicity) of a coherent tax and transfer system to assess the 2020-21 personal income tax changes. In Part 2, I examine JobSeeker payments.

September 1, 2024

Environment: The climate crisis is a health crisis

Climate change will soon be causing an additional 250,000 deaths per year worldwide – children are at particular risk. Only 4% of greenhouse gas emission reduction policies actually reduced emissions.

July 16, 2024

Envoy Envy: “Sorry Mohammed”

Becoming the latest recruit in a well-organised global program, Australia has joined the 24 nations which have appointed envoys to combat anti-Semitism. We still await an envoy for resisting Islamophobia.

June 11, 2024

When Confucius meets Machiavelli

The title of “Empire” is not ascribed to the United States by observers but revealed by astute journalists as indeed what the powers that be in the US think of itself.

August 29, 2023

Resistance to Western geo-political order: building brick by BRICS

The just completed 15th BRICS Summit, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, has made some momentous decisions which will greatly effect the global geo-political order.

August 6, 2023

Environment: Critical months ahead for Australia’s environmental legislation

Australia’s environmental protection legislation needs all hands-on deck right now. City centre households have lower emissions than the suburbs. Northern hemisphere summers getting hotter.

July 18, 2023

Is NATO suffering political psychopathology?

Even as the war in Ukraine is raging, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg is now turning to Asia in an attempt to fan the flames of dissension in the region.

July 11, 2023

Cities in mortal danger foreshadow the human fate

Often seen as marvels of the human ascendancy, the world’s great cities are in mortal danger as the resources that keep them alive stagger, dwindle and give out.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal