June 28, 2021

Why do so many US intelligence chiefs become media pundits?

Retiring from being in charge of intelligence, counter-intelligence and counterterrorism to working as mainstream news commentators, this has become an established career path in the US; now you can rest assured of the objectivity and independence of the worlds greatest democratic free press…I am sure they provide objective and unbiased analyses, and their paymasters make sure they do. And pigs fly over the mountains

January 5, 2021

Continuing strategic dependence on the US or strategic independence for Australia?

A Peoples Inquiry has been opened by IPAN for submissions on the impact of the U.S. -Australia alliance, its costs and consequences and to canvas alternatives. Readers and contributors to Pearls and Irritations are invited to respond and join this urgent national conversation.

December 27, 2020

US policies are pushing our friends in China towards anti-American nationalism (Washington Post 23 July, 2020)

The Rabbit Chairman is the author of a popular Chinese blog with 1.5 million readers. He is one of several influential Chinese bloggers I knew when they were students. In one of his recent posts, the Chairman quoted Sun Tzu, the famous war strategist If you know yourself and know your enemy, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles to explain how Americans are losing their conflict against China because we dont know the enemy.

July 23, 2022

A most radical supreme court

Startling headlines have followed a series of recent, radical US Supreme Court judgments: The US Supreme Court is turning the Constitution into a suicide pact; A new Supreme Court case is the biggest threat to US democracy since January 6; and Confidence in US Supreme Court sinks to historic low. This latest raft of radically-charged decisions stands on the shoulders of a history of remarkable Supreme Court judicial activism stretching back over 200 years. Frankly, it is very hard to imagine any realistic means which could be applied to secure the transformation of this entrenched system of Judicial Supremacy.

April 1, 2020

JOHN CARLIN.-Groundhog Days

Daniel Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Year, about London’s “Great Plague” of 1665, makes us resign to the fact that we learn nothing from history.

August 15, 2020

War and Pandemic Journalism: the Truth Can Disappear Fast (Counter Punch August 7, 2020)

The struggle against Covid-19 has often been compared to fighting a war. Much of this rhetoric is bombast, but the similarities between the struggle against the virus and against human enemies are real enough.

March 23, 2020

JONATHAN PAUL MARSHALL: The Rhetoric Climate Action is too Costly

Bjorn Lomborg presents an ambiguous type of anti-climate action rhetoric. He argues that the recent bushfires were insignificant, and that we should not research renewable energies because of cost, while also recommending costly research.

April 24, 2021

Another own goal in Australias relations with China

The Federal Government is not providing a strategic narrative about its position towards China.Is it too cynical to suggest that is because a very large number of Australians now view China in such negative terms that pushing back, irrespective of the cost, is seen positively?

February 17, 2020

NOEL TURNBULL. Why not Huawei Jose?

Australia has, as usual, meekly followed suit to ban Huawei from a potential 5G network at the behest of the United States.

April 4, 2021

Pollies, sex, school, privilege and bad behaviour

After weeks of accusations of scandalous behaviour by Coalition staffers and Members of Parliament, Scott Morrison is aiming to achieve cultural change through a reshuffle of his Cabinet. But the unrepresentative school background of Morrisons Ministers - not just the gender balance of his Cabinet and his MPs - may contribute to the attitudes and unacceptable behaviour we have seen.

February 2, 2020

ANDREW PODGER.The sports rorts affair shows the government misunderstands the role of the public service.(The Conversation 30.1.2020)

_The governments defence of Bridget McKenzie and the prime ministers call for advice from the head of his department reveal a remarkable misunderstanding (or, less surprisingly, a remarkable misrepresentation) of the respective roles of ministers and administrators.

August 29, 2022

Super Scott and the coup vaccine

_The powers vested in prime minister Scott Morrison by the Governor-General David Hurley during the five-ministries affair represented both a sword and a shield against any coup against Morrison himself. They also gave Morrison unparalleled capacity to seize power for himself, casting aside some of his most powerful ministerial colleagues without being held to account by important constitutional protections against tyranny implicit in the concept of responsible government.

August 27, 2022

Julian Stallabrass: Fake royal magic on show in palace photographs

_Honours dishonour, Gustave Flaubert once wrote, confronted with the fabulously pompous, corrupt and incompetent regime of the 19th-century Second French Empire. That succinct formulation may find an echo in our present, knee-deep as we are in newly minted lords, baronesses and knights, elevated mostly for their[services to the Conservative Party.

March 15, 2018

South Australia's renewable energy future hangs by a thread

Its an election that is impossible to call. And too important to ignore.

February 3, 2020

MINXIN PEI. The Coronavirus is a Disease of Chinese Autocracy(Project Syndicate 28.1.2020)

_When Chinas leaders finally declare victory against the outbreak of the new and deadly coronavirus, they will undoubtedly credit the Communist Party of China’s leadership. But the truth is just the opposite: the party is again responsible for this calamity.

June 11, 2024

Corruption commission has yet to prove its worth

It hasn’t even finished its first year of operations, but those who were hoping for big things from the National Anti-Corruption Commission and its chair, Justice Paul Brereton would be wise to temper mightily their hopes and expectations of what it might achieve.

February 18, 2020

EVA COX. Now markets have failed, let's talk about social wellbeing(The Guardian 15.1.2020)

We need to address the distrust epidemic among voters and return to the reformist urge to offer a better vision splendid

July 5, 2020

No More Free-Lunch Bailouts (Project Syndicate 25.6.20)

With governments spending on a massive scale to save industries and mitigate the economic fallout from COVID-19, they should be positioning their economies for a more sustainable future.

February 26, 2020

MIKE SCRAFTON. What do the Chinese think of the US-Australian Alliance?

_With similar articles in The Australian and The Strategist, Peter Jennings has lauded the governments decision to refurbish and expand RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory as a giant strategic step forward.

February 10, 2020

LAURIE PATTON. The Data Retention Act. How not to introduce complex legislation.

_Appearing before a Parliamentary inquiry into the Data Retention Act the Commonwealth Ombudsman Michael Manthorpe revealed that law enforcement agencies have obtained individuals web browsing history without a warrant.

March 12, 2020

Brothers-in-Arms: the high-rotation revolving door between the Australian government and arms merchants

A disturbing number of Australias military personnel, senior defence and intelligence officials and politicians leave their public service jobs and walk through the revolving door into roles with weapons-making and security-related corporations. Nowhere is government and industry more fused than in defence.Michelle Fahyreports.

July 9, 2022

Keith Mitchelson: A trove of treasures

The National Library of Australia is preserving our past wealth of regional newspapers, magazines, and books. Trove holds treasures relevant to understanding the present.

April 24, 2021

Earth Day 2021: Australia falls further out of line with the world

It is entirely appropriate that President Biden launched his global climate summit on Earth Day 2021. Earth Day began in the US in 1970, triggered by massive pollution across the country, and the need to fundamentally change concepts of industrial development if society was to prosper, rapidly leading by the end of 1970, to the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency, with bipartisan political support.

April 2, 2020

LAURIE PATTON. An opportunity for the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission to prove its mettle

The National COVID-19 Coordination Commission provides an opportunity for Australia to start planning for a post Coronavirus era lets begin by fixing the NBN.

February 19, 2020

JOHN R. SABINE. A Separate Voice to Government: not the brightest of ideas

How many sound reasons does one need before concluding that something in indeed a bad idea? Perhaps even just nonsense.

November 21, 2020

We are called to be Neighbours without Borders

In his encyclicalFratelli Tutti Francis says that being a neighbour without borders is how Christians are called to respond to the challenges faced by our world.

February 5, 2020

GREG BARNS and LISANNE ADAM: JULIAN ASSANGE - THE LONG ROAD TO EUROPE

Julian Assanges fight against extradition to the United States from the UK highlights breaches of his rights under European human rights law. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is likely to take a very dim view of the United States conduct because to allow extradition would breach a number of Mr Assanges human rights. But it is a long road to the EctHR.

March 11, 2020

JOSEPH STIGLITZ.-Plagued by Trumpism(Project Syndicate9.3.2020)

_For 40 years, Republicans have been insisting that government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.

February 13, 2021

Catholic Bishops cannot govern their dioceses without pastoral councils

Only seven of the 28 Australian Catholic dioceses have pastoral councils. It seems that protecting the independence of ecclesiastical fiefdoms is more important than promoting the common good of the Church in this country.

March 30, 2020

Stopping the boats but not cruise ships.

Imagine stopping the boats the centrepiece of your entire political platform for 10 years, and then failing to stop the one boat that actually fucking mattered.

February 5, 2020

MARK BUCKLEY. Has Morrison Had an Epiphany?

Has our Prime Minister improved in his demeanour since the bushfire crisis? Has he reflected on the communitys assessment of his character, and decided that he needs a make-over, or a session of barnacle removing, a la Tony Abbott?

August 1, 2022

Scott Morrison awaits the apocalypse

The minds of defeated prime ministers are rarely pretty. In some cases, they are damnably awful places, where ruins accumulate and dust gathers in wretchedness.

October 13, 2020

Electric Vehicles, A Partial Solution At Best

Claims have been made that Electric Vehicles can largely replace oil fuelled vehicles. These claims overlook critical factors that indicate that Electric Vehicles are a partial solution at best to Australias liquid fuel predicament.

May 23, 2022

Australia election: Why is Australia's parliament so white?

Australia is one of the most multicultural nations in the world, but it’s a different story in the country’s politics, where 96% of federal lawmakers are white. With this year’s election, political parties did have a window to slightly improve this. But they chose not to in most cases, critics say.

January 28, 2020

LAURIE PATTON. Overexposed lets hear from someone else!

In the film classic Casablanca, whenever a crime is committed the local police captain orders his officers to round up the usual suspects. Political commentary, in fact public commentary in general in Australia suffers from the Casablanca effect. The same old bunch of over-opinionated fringe players who see themselves as instant experts on anything and everything. Never slow to pop their heads up with a controversial quote for the media.

July 29, 2022

David O'Halloran: One hour a week counts as employed - it doesn't matter

_One hour a week counts as employed - it doesn’t matter.

June 22, 2022

Reflections on Criminal Justice in Hong Kong since 1997

_The judiciary, the prosecutions division and the police force have all faced great challenges since 1997, and they have all learnt from their experiences and emerged stronger.That is not what the anti-China media have told us.

June 3, 2022

A small, arrogant, violent, wicked nation and a Jewish mutation Haaretz prints denunciations of Zionism no U.S. paper would run

The “Jew-oids” who dominate Israeli society have taken the “wicked parts of Judaism and turned it into the essence,” B. Michael writes in Haaretz - words no U.S. paper would run.

July 16, 2022

Time to get serious about ventilation and air quality in training and post-secondary education

Australia is not doing enough to improve clean air in post-secondary education and training environments. Given the COVID-19 pandemic will be with us for a very long time to come, training providers and universities need to invest more in ventilation and air quality to ensure that students can learn in the safest environments possible.

May 24, 2022

Planes, trains and autocues: Pollies on script with wasteful vote-buying plans

The capacity of our politicians to take a good economic policy idea and pervert it into a partisan waste of taxpayers money never ceases to appal.

October 28, 2019

NICOLAS SENEZE. A book sheds light on mismanagement of Vatican's funds. Journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi reveals the tripling of the Holy See's budget deficit and how reforms are sabotaged by a Curia that opposes any control

Is the Vatican facing a payment crisis?

Despite the denials by a Vatican finance manager on Tuesday in a interview with L’Avvenire, journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, however, said the risk will become real by 2023. His latest book, Giudizio Universale (Last Judgment), has just been published in Italy.

February 25, 2020

MARK BUCKLEY. A Tour of a Pentecostal Service

_Each time Scott Morrison scandalises or shocks Australians with a new low in parliamentary, or Prime Ministerial standards, he is likely to completely blank any questions asked, or to make some sort of take it or leave it rejoinder to the questioner, especially if the questioner is from the press. He seems not to understand that the press asks those questions on our behalf, and are not attending simply to be independently insolent.

August 29, 2022

Caitlin Johnstone: US invades Syria, kills people, claims self-defence

_The US is an occupying force who is there without the permission of the Syrian government, without having been attacked by Syria, and without any valid claim to be defending itself from anyone in Syria.

January 29, 2020

Selling arms with impunity

Australia’s military industry exports are increasing rapidly fuelled by $195bn in federal funding to 2025-26 and strong collaboration between federal, state, and local governments and agencies. Team Defence Australia showcases Aussie weapons-making ingenuity at arms expos world-wide, all year round. Where is all this cash and activity leading us? And do we want to go there?

August 30, 2022

What should the US do vis--vis China in the South China Sea?

To provide a deterrent to Chinas domination of the South China Sea, the U.S. needs to place its warships, planes and missiles in the region, possibly in the Philippines. However, any scenario that doesnt involve US accommodation of Chinas interests, and Chinas accommodation of its neighbours interests, wont end well.

February 5, 2020

TIM BUCKLEY. Energy transition presents high risks and big opportunities for Australia

As one of the three largest fossil fuel-export nations globally, Australias economy is exceptionally exposed to the current massive energy disruption occurring in markets around the world. At the same time, massive opportunities exist for Australia to take advantage of the energy transition.

June 16, 2022

An Australia-France entente cordiale?

Part of cleaning up Morrison’s AUKUS mess will be to find ways of using France’s more balanced relations with the US and China into a moderating role in the Asia-Pacific region. Albanese has just such an opportunity in his foreshadowed meeting with Macron.

June 13, 2022

Being largely reactive, integrity commissions cant prevent all corruption: new laws could help

_A federal integrity commission alone cant prevent, for example, the administrative sabotaging or selective non-enforcement of a protective Commonwealth law. Targeted prevention legislation is needed.

July 18, 2022

The cost of unconditional support for Kyiv and Zelensky

_Russia-Ukraine war: The West must stop its unconditional support for Kyiv;

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal