May 3, 2023

Bitter polarisation of American society undermines case for US alliance

It is difficult to imagine a scenario for next years Presidential elections which does not increase the already bitter polarisation of American society. The level of irrationality and violence in the United States means that in the coming decades it may well veer between bellicosity and isolationism. In the face of an uncertain American polity, tying ourselves yet closer to the American alliance seems a foolhardy enterprise.

April 23, 2023

After the NSW election, privatisation is politically dead in Australia

Last months New South Wales election ejected the final mainland Coalition state government from office. As the dust has settled, it isnt just Chris Minns Labor Party which has emerged victorious; public ownership - particularly of Sydney Water - has been resoundingly endorsed by NSW voters. It is now safe to say: privatisation is politically dead in Australia.

January 6, 2021

The perils of outsourcing (privatisation) - a repost

In Pearls and Irritations last year we posted articles about the serious erosion in the quality of care and services in many fields - disability care, vocational education and training, child care and particularly aged care, where more than 650 older people have died in private, for-profit “homes”. All too often service quality has been sacrificed for profit. Political ideology has become more important than quality services for the public.

March 4, 2019

LOUIS COOPER - Is Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, "golden" reputation becoming tarnished?

What is causing the slip in a poll taken last week is a complicated set of circumstances, centering on a Quebec-based engineering company called SNC-Lavalin. Several former executives of the company face or have faced charges of bribing a foreign public official, under Canada’s Corruption on Foreign Public Officials Act, as well as with fraud, under Canada’s Criminal Code. The offences are alleged to have take place between 2001 and 2011 and are related to SNC construction contracts in Libya. Charges were laid in February 2015. The RCMP alleges SNC paid almost $C48-million to Libyan public officials to influence government decisions, as well as defrauding Libyan organizations of another $C130-million.

July 31, 2024

Productivity commission exposes private school funding defects

New analysis by the Productivity Commission of donations to school building and other funds highlights how antithetical private school funding is to the concept of needs-based funding.

July 26, 2024

Declaiming antisemitism: tribal solipsism or linguistic imperialism?

Claims of antisemitism are currently the pejorative de jour, an all-purpose prosecution intended to condemn any who engage in criticism of rampaging genocidal Zionist activity to instant and unchallengeable perdition.

June 21, 2024

Protecting our citizens from complicity in Israel’s war crimes

Earlier this year we co-authored two op-eds on this site (“The prosecution of Australians complicit in Israel’s crimes in Gaza” (29 February 2024); “Australians at risk if they serve in the IDF” (19 January 2024)) concerning the legal issues that are raised by Australians travelling to Israel to fight with the Israeli Defence Force (IDF).

June 5, 2024

John Mearsheimer: “Things are going to get worse in Ukraine, Middle-East and South-East

Paul Buitink talks to John Mearsheimer, a renowned American political scientist and international relations scholar who belongs to the realist school of thought. He is a Professor at the University of Chicago.

April 7, 2024

Peter Duttons nuclear power policy is a suicide note

Peter Dutton thinks the Coalition is on a winner by promoting nuclear power but unbiased opinion polls find that support for nuclear power in Australia falls short of a majority, that Australians much prefer renewables, and most do not want nuclear reactors built near where they live.

September 23, 2023

In the chorus of Yes, why aren't the bishops joining in?

The official position of the church on the Voice referendum is curious, because, despite overwhelming support for a YES vote from an extraordinary range of Catholic agencies, religious orders and congregations, and voluntary Catholic organisations, the highest national church authority, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, has not followed suit. This is surprising because the whole trajectory of debate within the church seemed to be leading in that direction. Most importantly, the ACBC has not followed the advice of its own Indigenous advisory body despite claiming to listen to it.

June 7, 2023

A climate of betrayal

All grimly true, but they can be sure that they won’t be recorded for their crimes in history because there won’t be any history (Noam Chomsky)_

May 7, 2023

India straddles competing global concepts

India as the Chair of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) hosted the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting on 28 April. Largely unreported in Western media, the meeting underlined important divergences in the narrative promoted by US-centric media that suggests India and China have irreconcilable differences.

May 5, 2023

King Charles' coronation brings Australia closer to a republic

It is about being subjects rather than citizens. It is about ancient oaths of loyalty and fealty. It is about pomp and ceremony paid for by the state.

April 20, 2023

The AAT: abolishing a system of indefinite torment

The abolition of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is a crucial part of Attorney General Mark Dreyfus KCs integrity platform. In the last decade of Coalition governments it had become overwhelmed by partisan appointments, creating a bedlam of incompetence and politically-motivated decisions.

April 18, 2023

Scorched Earth: Anti-reunification forces use Taiwan to subvert China

US and British arms industry companies and their little mentioned but crucial support cast of Taiwanese military, lawmakers and government official counterparts are opposed to China-Taiwan reunification, because the current situation acts as their ATM, generating billions of dollars in profit.

September 6, 2022

Marketing an economic plan must appeal to the heart as much as the head

Waiting until almost the last minute to decide what to do about the tax cuts serves another political purpose. Albanese and Chalmers have done a good job of making each of the present priorities seem part of an integrated economic plan.

August 2, 2022

Morrison and Japan's new rightist religions

_Japans New Religions are becoming an international problem.

September 23, 2024

Gazing at the Gorgon in Gaza

There are many world events now that are hard to take. Many horrors that are hard to watch. Many emotions that overwhelm us. In fear, we can freeze. Our hearts can turn to stone.

September 8, 2024

Environment: Earth system tipping points threaten our stable environment

Dangerous tipping points threaten the stability of several of Earth’s natural climate-controlling systems. Conclusion: warming of 1.5oC is not safe. Possible to protect humans from dangerous animals without killing them. Tanzania accused of apartheid by its own people.

August 25, 2024

Middle East accountability

Diplomacy is required, and examples such as South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission provide an example and an opportunity for all Israel and Palestine representatives to genuinely meet – to resolve this tragic situation and negotiate a fair and peaceful outcome.

May 12, 2024

Can music conquer all? You bet

“It’s a bit silly in this day and age but that’s how it is.”

May 5, 2024

To avoid human population collapse, We must transform Society

In the coming year, there will be an election for the Australian Parliament, at a time when the very future of human civilisation is precarious. Three important books have appeared in recent months that should be read by politicians and their constituents, everywhere.

September 14, 2023

Filling the ricebowl: The mainstream media's anti-China obsession

I chanced upon an article written by Peter Hartcher in The Age today (12/09/2023) and was astounded by how puerile the present mainstream media can be.

September 9, 2023

The Plenary: a time for the Australian Catholic hierarchy to publicly apologise

Recently there have been reports from Canada on demands for the Catholic Church to apologise for its actions in church run boarding schools. In Australia we have had details of the sex abuse scandals. But what we have not had from the Church, in Australia, is an apology for what its doctrinaire attitude to family planning and birth control meant for hundreds of Catholic families in the 1950s and 1960s.

August 27, 2023

The political cynicism of Peter Dutton and the death of conservatism in Australia

The unplumbed depths of Peter Dutton cynical politics should be a matter of deep concern to genuine political conservatives across Australia. Whoever those people are (at present they appear to be in hiding), its time they distanced themselves from what the Liberal Party is becoming under Duttons leadership.

May 6, 2023

A revolution in Journalism: WikiLeaks and Julian Assange

Speech at The Persecution of Truth conference

April 4, 2023

An education strategy to combat Australias China threat

In recent years a contemporary China Threat narrative has emerged in Australia and elsewhere related to defence capabilities. An equally important China Threat though, is ignorance. Our knowledge of China and our Chinese communities has declined dramatically over the last thirteen years. How can we combat this threat?

September 8, 2022

We have to learn to co-exist with China

None of the ASEAN countries wants a US-led conflict over Taiwan, which if it occurs, is likely to accelerate Americas decline in East Asia and the Western Pacific._

September 4, 2022

Ramos-Horta's gesture to Gusmao on China is an empty threat

Australias bid to counter growing Chinese regional influence appears to have hit a hurdle in Timor-Leste with Foreign Minister Penny Wongs meeting with Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta. Following the meeting, Ramos-Horta demanded the Australian government intervene to help resolve a stand-off with Australias Woodside Petroleum over the development of the contentious Timor Sea liquid natural gas (LNG) project, or else Timor-Leste would seek Chinese involvement.

July 29, 2022

The maths of 43%...

_Labors commitment to reduce Australias emissions 43% by 2030 is hotly debated. It is important that we understand what that 43% means; what it includes; and, crucially, what it excludes.

May 31, 2022

The Israeli lobby and Labor

In 2021, Australian journalist John Lyons published Dateline Jerusalem: Journalisms Toughest Assignment. It examined the pro-Israel lobby in Australia which I have described as the most powerful foreign influence operation in our country. Lyons quoted Chris Mitchell, the long time editor of The Australian, saying that the Israel lobby became more right-wing after the 2003 American invasion of Iraq.

June 2, 2021

Jesus College Cambridge accused of working with Chinese state in limiting academic freedoms

Westminister is catching up with Canberra in smearing their own best academic institutions. The college previously accepted a 200,000 research grant from the Chinese state

April 25, 2021

Shouting from the political podium seldom makes for good diplomacy. Respectful language is critical.

Australian domestic political discourse is infected with distract-ables and announce-ables. It is riddled with confected indignation, posed victimhood, and dog-whistling duplicity. Sometimes these strategies undermine a political competitor by consolidating tenuous narratives or creating insidious innuendo. Yet others are presented with great fanfare to hide a looming scandal.

November 1, 2020

The US electoral system is a shambles. They could learn a lot from Australia. (The Guardian Oct 29, 2020)

Systemic voter suppression and rules still being set for an election within days this is American exceptionalism.

October 6, 2020

We need jobs which improve the Australian quality of life

The past week has seen yet another report from the royal commission into aged care, against pointing out the sub-standard services provided at Rolls-Royce prices by entrepreneurs making enormous profits, as well as the low standards being set for the non-profit sector.

April 30, 2024

ACTU statement on Gaza

_The Australian Union movement is a movement of peace and respect for all races and nationalities. We oppose war, racism, and oppression. We act in solidarity.

September 7, 2023

Is big oil the real problem?

While big oil is being trenchantly criticised for expanding oil and gas output it is acting in response to market forces. Much more attention therefore needs to be given to the failure of governments to end their subsidisation of oil companies, to ending the greenwashing of gas, and to redirecting investment to renewables.

June 9, 2023

The zealot, the disrupter, and the ideologue: America's presidential choices

Biden, Trump, or DeSantis; the zealot, the disrupter, or the ideologue are the choices confronting American voters. Individuals matter. Trumps mercurial and transactional approach to foreign policy and his isolationist tendencies are well known. Back in the Whitehouse he would again be a disrupter, and perhaps worse. But an uncompromising Biden or empowered DeSantis present different threats.

August 6, 2022

Facing "Hothouse Earth", will Labor continue half-a-century of inaction?

_In a new book, Hothouse Earth, Bill McGuire depicts the coming climatic catastrophe and argues that there is now no chance of us avoiding a perilous, all-pervasive climate breakdown.

April 28, 2019

MARC HUDSON. In Australia, climate policy battles are endlessly reheated (The Conversation)

This article is part of a series examining the Coalition governments record on key issues while in power and what Labor is promising if it wins the 2019 federal election.

It might feel like the past decade of climate policy wars has led us into uncharted political waters. But the truth is, weve been sailing around in circles for much longer than that.

September 28, 2024

The struggle for academic freedom: Why the bill on antisemitism at Australian universities is divisive

Australian university campuses have been the sites of student protests for decades. Protests have supported civil rights and denounced war and apartheid.

September 18, 2024

Abstract: The Australian Higher Education Industry: a financial profile

It now seems clear that Australian universities have relied too heavily on international student income as a significant financial cushion. This revenue has also created substantial wealth in some institutions, with net asset holdings now at record levels. For many other smaller institutions, it has been the lifeline for sustainability.

September 4, 2024

Confronting censorship: on media bias and the war in Ukraine

Editing a book about the media and the war in Ukraine taught me first-hand lessons about censorship. It also confirmed that the Western media’s pro-elite bias is as strong as ever. At an academic conference in Europe in the summer of 2023, I witnessed how several audience members shouted at one of the speakers. That’s not how such meetings are supposed to go. They should be much less eventful.

August 26, 2024

AUKUS: Submarines afloat in — and perhaps causing — a sea of troubles

In the wording of the Ministerial Statement after the recent AUSMIN meeting between Australian and US Ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs, and in a subsequent on-the-record conversation, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles strongly endorsed both AUKUS and a greater US defence presence in Australia. Unfortunately there are questions about AUKUS which the Government has never answered, and about how the US Government sees itself possibly using the stronger military presence which it is establishing in Australia and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific.

July 31, 2024

New Governance arrangements for Pearls and Irritations

From a private to a public company and determined to fill the void left by our monopoly and Washington focussed media.

September 6, 2023

Nail in the coffin: Australia has run out of luck

Once an early experiment in democracy, Australia has declined into a quagmire of unrepresentative governments at state and federal levels. Power games are played obsessively by most members of a narrowly-recruited and self-serving political class whose only interest seems to be staying in power. Politics is not a vocation for these leeches on the Australian body politic, it has become their business.

August 16, 2023

Federal Liberals continue to back Victorian ultra-conservative Deeming despite expulsion

The Liberal Party is in deep trouble. As our main conservative party, the fact that it is besieged by far right figures is reason for vigilance by the rest of us. No party holds government forever, and a conservative or anti-incumbent vote must not be an accidental vote for theocratic politics. Figures like Moira Deeming in Victoria and Alex Antic in South Australia are at the heart of the effort to drive the Liberal Party towards ultraconservative policy.

July 9, 2023

British elections

It is as certain as any future event can be that the British Labour Party will win the next UK election, which is likely to be held in the latter part of 2024.

May 10, 2023

A mind held captive

Edward Saids Orientalism encapsulates the essence of why the West resists the rise of China as a major economic and militarypower.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal