May 24, 2018

CAVAN HOGUE. Korea: the Hermit Kingdom rises again?

The peace negotiations on the Korean Peninsula remain fragile and neither the USA or the DPRK trusts the other. Neither side has been specific about what they will accept and the question remains what it has always been. What does Kim want in return for what he is willing to give and what is Trump willing to give for what he wants? Trumps threat to pull out of the meeting and Kim’s equally bellicose talk of war don’t help matters but neither is likely to be stupid enough to put their nukes where their mouth is. The role of China will be vital both in protecting its own interests and as a possible guarantor of DPRK security. The ROK takes a positive and realistic approach but tends to be overshadowed by the others. Australia has vital interests in this process but is not a serious player. This article looks at the options and factors involved.

September 4, 2017

MUNGO MacCALLUM. Turnbull has had a quiet week: is that because no one is listening to him anymore?

Turnbull has had a relatively quiet week in the parliamentary break. But whether he continues to appease the right in the Coalition, or reverts to the old Malcolm, he has a more basic problem people have stopped listening to him.

November 8, 2024

A five-minute scroll

UNRWA is indispensable and should be defended Palestine tells the UN. Israeli police arrest two French police officers in Jerusalem while Macron asks the EU when will the EU defend Europe. Robert Kennedy Jr unpacks defence and talk that Ukraine is ready for peace talks. Trump announces the Great American Fair while JD Vance speaks to foreign policy. At home the social media act still to go through the Senate, David Pocock calls to the Attorney General to stop the case against Richard Boyle and license free weapons expert between USA, UK and Australia is on the table. As we head to the weekend, Israel is still bombing Lebanon and Gaza. A five-minute scroll.

August 12, 2018

Australia draws line under anti-China hysteria. Will it be enough to unfreeze relations? (South China Morning Post 11.08.18)

Bob Carr says Malcolm Turnbulls reset of relations with China was inevitable, as the fears his government has allowed to spread about Chinese money in Australias democracy and Chinas growing influence in the region had little substance, and have done Australia more harm than good.

July 7, 2019

MUNGO MACCALLUM. Morrison cranks out surplus fetish

Scott Morrison has a new obsession the budget surplus.

In spite of his assurances to the contrary, this has not actually been delivered, and there are growing doubts that it will be the storm clouds, the head winds of which the prime minister and his treasurer confusingly warn us, could well blow it away.

November 13, 2016

MUNGO MacCALLUM. Shorten and Trump.

Malcolm Turnbull and his supporters regularly deride Bill Shorten as standing for nothing first as a populist weather vane, and more recently as a constant nay-sayer in the style of Tony Abbott.

And there has been some grounds for the accusations: Shorten has not always appeared a firm and consistent advocate of policies. But in the last couple of weeks he has changed, standing up for both his politics and principles.

Both have been on display with his rejection of Turnbulls demands to restore the Building and Construction Commission and to pass the Same Sex marriage Plebiscite; this was inevitable and predictable. But he has also doubled down in joining, improbably, with Jacqui Lambie to pursue an international competitive backpacker tax. And more importantly to opposes Turnbulls unconscionable move for a lifetime ban on refugees to ever set foot on Australia.

January 11, 2017

SPENCER ZIFCAK. Robert Manne v Ramesh Thakur v Gillian Triggs: What on Earth is Going On?

If one were ever in this situation, who would one wish to speak for them: George Brandis or Gillian Triggs? Thats the choice.

September 11, 2024

A five-minute scroll

The stories we witnessed on a five-minute scroll on X this morning include Julian Assange, Pope Francis, author Ilan Pappé, the Tent Massacre in Gaza and the IDF leaked footage of October 7.

October 20, 2013

Bushfires and climate change. John Menadue

Last week, the Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, was really trying to tell us that black is white. He attacked Adam Brandt who had said that the bushfires in NSW were part of a pattern of more extreme weather caused by climate change. Brandt added that the government should not embark on dismantling sensible policies to limit global warming. What Brandt said was entirely consistent with the very strong advice that we have been receiving for many years from the best climate scientists in the world about weather changes.

March 21, 2015

Ian Macphee. Personal memories of Malcolm Fraser.

I first met Malcolm in 1973 when he was shadow minister for Industrial Relations in the Coalition opposition. I was Director of the Victorian Chamber of Manufactures and intensely involved in industrial relations. Malcolm had just been given that responsibility and wished to explore issues seriously. We did so for over two hours. I told him that I would always be happy to advise him and that I felt sure that he would form a harmonious working relationship with Clyde Cameron, Minister for Industrial Relations in the Whitlam government. He soon did. And Malcolm and I continued contact. With the advice of Malcolms close friend, Peter Nixon, I entered federal parliament as Member for Balaclava for the Liberal Party at the 1974 election and formed an increasingly deep friendship with Malcolm and Peter. That bond continued ever after.

May 21, 2017

IAN DUNLOP. The Leaders We Deserve?

Rarely have politicians demonstrated their ignorance of the real risks and opportunities confronting Australia than with the recent utterances of Barnaby Joyce, Matt Canavan and other ministers promoting development of Adani and Galilee Basin coal generally, along with their petulant foot-stamping over Westpacs decision to restrict funding to new coal projects. Likewise, Bill Shorten sees no problem in supporting Adani.

March 18, 2018

MUNGO MacCALLUM. Peter Dutton and his South African friends.

A minor set back last week for Peter Duttons unbending plan to rule the world. Not only did he put his own jackboot in a cowpat, but his chief enforcer, Commission Roman Quaedvlieg (anagram: love and quagmire) hit the wall over findings of inappropriate and misleading conduct with the employment of his girlfriend.

August 22, 2018

MICHAEL PASCOE. PM Dutton would abandon what has made Australia great (The New Daily, 22.08.18)

Theres a big hint in the job title leader. It means the job is to lead, not to follow, not to merely manage a disparate group by appeasement, compromise and bribery.

January 17, 2017

ALAN MORRIS. Why secure and affordable housing is an increasing worry for age pensioners.

There is no doubt that an increasing proportion of older Australians on the age pension will be dependent on the private rental sector in coming decades. This is because of the housing affordability crisis and increasing divorce in later life, combined with the virtual stagnation of the social housing sector.

March 20, 2017

IAN VERRENDER. How the free market failed Australia and priced us out of our own gas supply

We are the landlords. The energy companies are tenants. If we had a controlling stake in the business, it would be much easier to ensure the kind of chicanery that has taken place in the past few years was never repeated. There would never be shortages.

August 8, 2018

GINO VUMBACA. Drug Reform series-At last, a government sanctioned pill testing program

We are finally seeing in Australia the first signs of a recognition by government of the important public health benefits of sanctioned pill testing programs. Law enforcement alone will never overcome the problems that can arise from drug use. Much like needle and syringe programs, pill testing is a real-world response which is evidence based and rightly treats harm reduction as one of the primary objectives of drug policy.

March 6, 2017

JOHN QUIGGIN. The case for renationalising Australia's electricity grid.

The public debate over the problems of electricity supply displays a curious disconnect. On the one hand, there is virtually universal agreement that the system is in crisis. After 25 years, the promised outcomes of reform cheaper and more reliable electricity, competitive markets and rational investment decisions are further away than ever.

April 3, 2022

The Chinese seem to have given up on Morrison

We think it cant get worse, then it does. Scott Morrison mocks the idea of talking to the new Chinese Ambassador, at least not until China agrees to have dialogue with Australian government ministers.

October 9, 2024

A five-minute scroll

Death of an elder in the West Bank and the death of children in Al-Nuseirat. Views of Lebanon look like Gaza. John Mearsheimer and Norman Finkelstein comment on October 7, while Media Watch shows up for journalists in Gaza and Lebanon. ABC’s 4 Corners experts give rise to questions for the Coalition. Our five-minute scroll on X today.

October 3, 2016

The French submarine boondoggle

Is DCNS’s imaginary Shortfin Barracuda submarine Australia’s biggest defence blunder?

The Turnbull governments decision on the future submarine (FSM) represents bad policy. It is bad for the Navy, bad for the taxpayer and bad for the future defence of Australia. Given the key role the FSM is meant to play in the future of the naval shipbuilding industry, it is also bad news for South Australia.

The Navys requirement is for a uniquely large conventional submarine (SSK) that can undertake force projection missions far from home. This in itself raises important strategic questions. Is this an appropriate role for Australia? Does the US want Australian submarines to operate in the South China Sea? In practice, should only nuclear submarines (SSNs) undertake such missions?

August 9, 2018

PETER BAUME. Drug Reform series- Drug policy: None so blind

Current drug policy is based on the unrealistic belief that we can stamp out possession and use of illicit drugs, much like prohibition of alcohol in 1920s America. It also fails to account for the harm caused by our strictly punitive policy approach.

June 6, 2017

BERNARD KEANE. Low emissions target: a win for both Turnbull and climate denialists, a loss for everyone.

The beauty of a Low Emissions Target as a climate action policy is that, as a kind of lowest common denominator, it means everyone wins and for that matter loses.

September 10, 2019

REBECCA TAN. How a conservative town in Australia set aside politics to rally for a family facing deportation (The Washington Post, 5 Sep. 2019)

Biloela, population 6,000, is a rural town in northeast Australia. When the towns first and only set of traffic lights was built 10 years ago, residents were sent into a tizzy. Many families still work in coal mines or cotton farms. On weekends, people fish.

November 8, 2016

SAM HURLEY, TRAVERS McLEOD, JOHN WISEMAN. Company directors can be held legally liable for ignoring the risks from climate change.

Company directors who dont properly consider climate related risks could be liable for breaching their duty of due care and diligence, a new legal opinion has found.

Although the alarm for business leaders has been sounding for some time, the release of the opinion by senior barristers and leading solicitors confirms the potential liability for Australian company directors.

Australian companies are particularly exposed to the physical, transition and liability risks posed by climate change. The Paris Climate Agreement, which comes into force today, brings the transition risks (and opportunities) forward, given the policy and business changes necessitated by the agreements commitment to a sustainable economy.

December 21, 2016

GERALDINE DOOGUE. Connections in our lives.

Underneath the jollity and frantic end-of-year scurrying, I detect a wistfulness about the lack ofcertainty of connections in peoples lives these days.

September 18, 2017

PETER FLINN. The brave new world of fire services in Victoria: is it go or woe?

The Country Fire Authority (CFA)in Victoria has long been recognised as one of the worlds leading volunteer fire-fighting organisations, but its boundaries with Melbournes Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB),which comprises career fire-fighters, have not changed since 1945.

October 9, 2016

MUNGO MacCALLUM. Honorary doctorate for John Howard.

Let me join in the chorus deploring the honorary doctorate conferred on John Howard by Sydney University.

And its not because Im a Howard hater per se although there was plenty to detest about the policies of our 25th Prime Minister. Iraq, Tampa, kids overboard, the Pacific Solution, the refusal to apologise to the stolen generations, the racist response to the Wik decision, WorkChoices, to name but a few; even the GST, that lazy and regressive boost to revenue while offering a sweetener of tax cuts for the wealthy.

February 24, 2014

Arja Keski-Nummi. Offshore Processing in Cambodia - Really?

The idea of Cambodia as a so-called offshore processing centre is not new. For a nanosecond I recalled the former government contemplated Cambodia as a likely candidate for an offshore processing centre. Thankfully saner heads prevailed, although to their discredit they did also contemplate East Timor.

The scramble to avoid doing the decent thing and accept our responsibility to process asylum seekers quickly and fairly is mind-boggling. This government is following in the questionable footsteps of the former government in shirking decency for short-term political gain.

August 16, 2017

BOB DOUGLAS An algal industry ready to bloom

A high level Roundtable held in Canberra in November 2017 concluded that algal technology can help to protect the Great Barrier Reef and create new jobs and growth for regional areas.

September 30, 2019

DER SPIEGEL. Tension in the Middle East: The Groundwork Is Laid for a Vast New Conflict (25-9-19)

The attacks on the countrys two biggest oil facilities last month represent an unprecedented humiliation for the Saudis and The kingdom feels disgraced, angry and injured. It also became clear that the Saudis are certain who was behind the attack. The attack fits into the pressure against pressure strategy that Tehran has been taking against the U.S. since the spring.

June 14, 2018

MIKE SCRAFTON. Looking down from the Trump/Kim summit: a geopolitical view

Of the risks attendant on the summit between President Trump and Chairman Kim Jung-un, the most grave is that the geopolitical consequences will be ignored.

September 26, 2018

An Inquiry is needed into the ACT Catholic school system.

The ACT should be an ideal location for operating a Catholic school system - a land of milk and honey.

October 18, 2015

The Synod on the Family - What's really happening?

Editorial (No.10, October 2015, updated 16/10/2015)

Catholics for Renewal.

The 14th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops Rome, 4-25 October 2015 “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church "

The Synod on the Family - What’s really happening?

The Synod on the Family has completed two of its three weeks. The final week will be critical, but already there are some positive signs of the Spirit at work. Will the College of Bishops recognise its isolation from the people of God and the need to ensure that the Churchs teachings and governance are properly informed by the_sensus fidelium_, the faithfuls sense of the faith, as taught by Vatican II? Such recognition is implicit in the pastoral approach sought by Pope Francis. As late as Friday 16/10/2015, the full synod was hearing many 3-minute contributions on such controversial issues as cohabitation, the possibility of communion for the divorced and remarried, and the Church’s approach to homosexuality,

February 11, 2013

Teaching 'medical English' in Vietnam. Guest blogger Kerry Goulston

Vietnamese medical students realise that English is the international language of Medicine. They can read it wellall have Laptops or i-pads and have easy access to radio and TV- but they know that they have problems in understanding spoken English and in speaking it. It is a language very different from their own but in schools and at university English is taught by other Vietnamese. Few can afford private tuition in spoken English as they are poorly paid. Young healthcare workers aspiring to gain scholarships overseas to further their studies realise that there is a need to improve their skills to gain acceptance in other countries. This applies to Europe, USA and of course Australia. Australia has become a favoured country in this respect: it is much closer than the US and Europe, the time zones are similar and many Australian tourists visit Vietnam every year.

February 7, 2017

MICHAEL KELLY SJ. Six archbishops examined by Australian judge.

An extraordinary piece of evidence presented to the Commission is that up to 7% of Australian Catholic clergy have been child abusers.

September 4, 2017

ROSS GITTINS. Treasury must prevail against 'pushy young punks'

The challenge for Treasury, the Productivity Commission and the rest is to be less doctrinal less true to the one true economic rationalist faith - and more practical in giving advice that satisfies the pollies’ ever-present need to “do something” without the something they do causing a lot of harm,maybe even some good.

May 17, 2017

JOHN TULLOH. Jockeying for the big prize in Iran

‘Trump’s rhetoric towards Iran is so harsh that to have someone on the other side who is equally harsh might provoke an unintentional confrontation’.

March 19, 2017

JOHN AUSTEN. NSW rail projects - a lot of explaining to do

Yet more questions arise about projects set off by former NSW Transport Minister now Premier Ms Berejiklian. This time about light rail. As for the port privatisations and metro, real answers are yet to come. The sooner a Commonwealth inquiry gets to the bottom of all this the better.

October 21, 2014

George Lekakis recalls meeting Gough Whitlam.

Dear John

I just wanted to share a memory or two with you before this day is over. My father came to Australia in 1954 and he always told me that he never felt Australian until Gough was elected in 1972. In 1993, at the tail-end of my first visit to Greece, my uncle took me to the Byzantine ruins of Mystras on the outskirts of Sparta in Lakonia. We were sweltering that day as we walked about that amazing setting. As we were about to leave, a familiar voice came into earshot. I turned to see a tall man perched on a walking stick with a handkerchief wrapped over his head. I didn’t recognise him at first - I had only been hearing Greek for four months. But the voice resonated. I decided to move closer to the old man who was encircled by a bevy of important Greek scholars. As I approached, the scholars motioned me away, but there was another bloke - a bearded fellow - who called out to me: " Do you wanna meet Gough?" “Yes,” I said. " Come over here," he said. About 15 minutes later after Gough had explained the history of the place to the bevy, the bearded fellow waved me over. I’ll never forget it - at the summit of Mystras, of all places! It’s probably not right for journos to have heroes, but I have a couple. The Chicago journalist Mike Royko is one of them. But Gough touched my family in so many ways. Blessings,

January 24, 2017

BERNARD KEANE. Good riddance to the trade deal from hell.

The bigger problem with the TPP was that it simply had virtually no benefits for Australia.

March 23, 2016

Paul Collins. Where, O death is now thy sting?

If I had a say in who were made saints there are three people Id immediately nominate, and two of them are not Catholics! My first choice would be Dorothy Day and, thank God, she has begun the slow process to sainthood. The other two are John Wesley (1707-88) and Charles Wesley (1703-91), the founders of Methodism.

A truly Christian man, John Wesley set out in 1738 to evangelize ordinary working people who were largely abandoned by the established church. For fifty years he travelled all over England on horseback, riding up to 5000 miles annually, preaching thousands of sermons, often three a day, to enormous crowds. When churches were closed to him, he preached, like Jesus, in the fields. His brother Charles was the greatest hymn writer in the English language. We still use many of his hymns today.

August 28, 2017

JOHN AUSTEN. Infrastructure advice - worse than expected.

Previous articles in this blog suggested serious problems in Australias infrastructure assessment and approvals arrangements - upon which tens of billions pivot. The recent Sydney and South-West Metro Rail review by Infrastructure Australia provides troubling evidence of this problem.

August 16, 2017

MICHAEL SAINSBURY. Religious and ethnic persecution sours ASEAN's birthday party

Against the backdrop of a rising China, positive news out of the region is being undermined by several major crises.

January 18, 2017

MACK WILLIAMS. South China Sea: China taps in the last nail!

It is now clear for all to see that the only potential US ally for any US confrontation in the region could be Australia. China has successfully wedged the ASEANs in through their common concern that it would be them that would suffer most from any military confrontation in the South China Sea.

August 16, 2018

IAN McAULEY. If we cant kill the NEG can we at least shape it into something useful?

The National Energy Guarantee can possibly be made to work to improve the reliability of power supplies, to reduce emissions, and to reduce peoples power bills but not in its present form.

August 10, 2018

ALEX WODAK. Drug Reform Series- Portugals successful drug law reform in 2001

Treating personal drug use as an administrative offence along the lines of a parking violation has worked well for Portugal. It has not only been a public health and public policy success but also a political one.

April 13, 2016

Mark Harris. Obesity: it is time to tax sugar sweetened beverages?

Obesity rates are increasing in the Australian population (Figure 1). There is a widening socioeconomic gap with low socioeconomic groups having the highest rates. There is some evidence that obesity rates in children may be levelling off but not in low socioeconomic status children. Overweight and obesity contributes significantly to the burden of disease (about 9% in Australia at present), loss of quality of life and premature mortality (death before completing expected life span) in Australia.

October 28, 2016

RAMESH THAKUR. Has NATO become a threat to world peace?

NATO is endangering Earth

This article was first published in the Japan Times on 8 September 2014.

Have NATO leaders created a crisis to justify NATOs continuation after its original purpose expired?

Former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul says: Without U.S.-sponsored regime change, it is unlikely that the Malaysian Airlines crash would have happened. Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation, wonders why Washington is risking war with Russia. John Mearsheimer argues the Ukraine crisis Is the Wests fault.

November 13, 2016

Why Trump should work with China on a massive infrastructure partnership

This is an extract from an interview on CNN on the 10th November 2016 with Kishore Muhbubani, Dean of the Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.

Trump will have to make some painful choices, especially in regard to policy in Asia. His instinct will be to take a hawkish stance against America’s No. 1 geopolitical competitor, China, and to look for opportunities to trip China up.For example, he could continue to call out China over the South China Sea issue. He told The New York Times in March that he finds China’s building and reclamation activities there “so brazen, and it’s so terrible that they would do that without any consultation.” On the economic side, he could double down on his plan to “instruct my treasury secretary to label China a currency manipulator” and to “instruct the US trade representative to bring trade cases against China, both in this country and at the WTO.” He has also warned that China would “enter the TPP through the back door … if we don’t stop it.”

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal