November 3, 2021

Climate crisis: Australia should join the methane pledge

By stopping the government signing the EU-US methane pledge, the Nationals have ensured Australians will suffer more climate damage than they should.

July 3, 2021

The Mountbattens: the British Establishment at its most privileged and eccentric.

There are four kinds of officers: hard-working and intelligent, lazy and intelligent, lazy and stupid and hard-working and stupid. The first are fit for top staff appointments, the second are fit for the highest commands, the third can be tolerated, but the fourth type could prove dangerous and should be instantly removed.

February 15, 2025

The nation is finally coming to grips with home affordability

Right now, the prospect of much improvement in being able to afford a home of your own isn’t bright. We don’t look like solving the problem any time soon. But I’ve been watching and writing about the steady worsening in housing affordability for the best part of 50 years, and I’m more optimistic today than I’ve ever been.

January 29, 2025

The Year of the Snake: unseen bogs; unbridled good-luck

Amidst colourful lion dances and whatnots, many Chinese community leaders will, once again, fete their white guardian angels at fanciful Chinese New Year banquets, at one venue or another, throughout this wide brown homeland of their heirs. These felicitous communions no doubt lend weight for many Aussie pollies to boast about ours being the most successful multicultural nation on earth.

January 3, 2025

Best of 2024: Australian Prime Minister referred to ICC for complicity in genocide

“The Australian government and its most senior officials have both failed to prevent or respond to the genocide committed by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza and been complicit in the carrying out of this genocide in a manner which falls squarely within Article 25 (3)(c) and/or (d) of the Rome Statute of the ICC,” state Birchgrove Legal in a communiqué to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

December 3, 2024

The holocaust of our time

If the world were watching the livestreamed systematic annihilation of Jews in real time, there would be no debating whether that constituted terrorism or genocide.

April 3, 2024

A graveyard of patients and staff

On Monday 1 April I am sending this letter which I had prepared late in the evening of the 31st, and which is now only testimony to Israel’s determination to destroy every civil structure and every possibility of life in Gaza. Tonight they totally destroyed the Shifa hospital so that it is unrecognisable. The hospital had already been occupied and searched for two weeks, the only evidence that it was an arms depot or commando headquarters you can see in the Israeli newspapers, about ten small arms and pistols. Two photos and an Islamic Jihad flag.

November 14, 2023

Gaza and the graveyard for children: the moral decline of Western politics

Weak Western leaders, certain of their own exceptionalism, have endangered world peace by peddling narratives that justify the unjustifiable. Abuse of the charge of antisemitism silences those calling for an end to the bloodshed, fomenting a callous response to the killing of Palestinians.

October 1, 2023

Upholding peace as China crosses the threshold of world power

Today, we live in an era of high tension between China, our largest trading partner and the US, our closest ally. We risk being goaded into war by the Australian and American hawks and their Chinese equivalents in reaction. Of seeing our sovereignty eroded and becoming the USS Terra Australis the largest aircraft carrier in the US Pacific Fleet. We should, therefore, do all in our power to ease conflict by strengthening all that upholds peace.

October 12, 2022

US rejection of Moscow's offer for peace talks is utterly inexcusable

_It is absolutely pants-on-head gibbering insanity that these direct negotiations are not already presently underway.

October 6, 2022

It's only a 'Conspiracy Theory' when the US Government is accused of the likely sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines

The western political/media class has been dismissing as “conspiracy theories” all claims that the US is likely responsible for last month’s sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, even while levelling the exact same accusations against Russia without ever using that term. Which probably says a lot about the way that label has been used over the years, if you think about it.

February 22, 2022

It is hard to dismount from a Tiger

_The well-known Chinese proverb, When youre riding a tiger, its hard to get off is a particularly apt description of Australias relations with China in 2022, the Year of the Tiger according to the Chinese calendar.

February 17, 2022

The fundamentalist take-over of 'Christianity'

_The Religious Discrimination Bill debate got taken-over by religious extremists with the mainstream wedged in the middle

February 7, 2022

This election needs policies that address cost of living, not just unemployment

Scott Morrison wants us to believe that low unemployment means the economy is fine, but there are other structural economic issues at play too.

February 2, 2022

Dark side of politeness: Grace Tame's act of defiance

Human communication is highly complex. It’s simplistic to call Grace Tame not smiling for Scott Morrison ‘rude’.

January 30, 2022

Ukraine crisis is a pivotal moment in history for the US, not Russia

_While the media focus on the Russian ‘invasion’ narrative, we are actually witnessing the end to Washington’s unipolar moment.

January 10, 2022

Scott Morrison, Novak Djokovic and the dark arts of political manipulation

An errant tennis star may be only another piece of the jigsaw being assembled by the Prime Minister as he seeks another term in The Lodge.

January 5, 2022

Don't mind if we do: Victorian private schools deep in JobKeeper trough

A scheme designed to save Australia from long unemployment queues has been a gravy train for the private schools serving the most advantaged families.

November 14, 2021

Morrison's damaging 'Australian Way' brands us all

The prime minister’s short-sighted climate change strategies have undermined Australia’s global standing and ignore the urgency of the threat.

November 3, 2021

In Glasgow, a historic tragedy may reach its climax. Where to from here?

The Glasgow climate summit may end long on rhetoric and short on substance. Among the sobering questions: are our institutions fit for purpose?

October 4, 2021

Australia adrift and uneasy; time to set a new course. Part 1

A pall of unease hangs over Australia, yet it’s hardly acknowledged. The government’s failings and the implications of ill-judged policies preoccupy more insightful commentators. But it may be time to consider the ills of society as a whole.

February 18, 2025

Teals should hammer unfinished integrity agenda

The Commonwealth minister in charge of electoral matters, Senator Don Farrell is a traditionalist. It was entirely in line with parliamentary traditions that recent “reforms” to electoral laws have been on the nose. Like parliamentarians’ pay rises being smuggled through in bipartisan mutual esteem at the end of late night sessions, changes to the electoral rules always reinforce the impression of impropriety and irregularity in the divvying up of taxpayer loot by Labor and Coalition machine men. Loopholes to get around the rules, particularly about donations. Small players, especially independents, are not allowed to be “in on the joke".

January 15, 2024

A loyal apologist for Israel: Australia and the Genocide convention

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong is making an official visit to the Middle East this month and will need to convey a clear position to different audiences: the Palestinian Authority, Israel and neighbouring countries. But at home, many Australians are shocked that their government has been a loyal apologist for Israel and failed to condemn the military and political assault on Palestinians.

November 25, 2023

Environment: 1.5 degrees of warming in 10 years

Not long ago it looked like wed exceed 1.5oC in 20 years, now it looks like 10. Maybe sooner if politicians keep approving new fossil fuel mines and fields and the logging of native forests. Particulate air pollution kills 9 million a year.

October 17, 2023

Australia must put more pressure on Israel as it occupies more and more Palestinian land

Australia’s biased friendship towards Israel undermines peace and forsakes justice for Palestinians, while serving neither Australian nor Israeli interests, writes Ben Saul.

October 16, 2023

Palestinian genocide: History whispers until it shouts

There is a genocide happening on our watch. Can we rally from the brink of despair?

March 29, 2023

Dispirited, disingenuous, and divided - can the liberal party survive?

The Liberal party is broken. Riven by ideological differences, petty personal feuds and bitter factional disputes, the party which once dominated the Australian political landscape so completely, is today uncertain of what it stands for and incapable of working it out.

February 13, 2023

From cold war precipice to non-alignment and peace

It is time Australia made a big, if bold, shift in its foreign policy and put up its hand to be a part of the Non-aligned movement_._

December 16, 2022

A difficult relationship is not in the interests of our two countries

The recent bilateral meeting between President Xi and Prime Minister Albanese on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali has charted the course for the future development of the China-Australia relationship.

March 8, 2022

Housing in the coming federal election

Very largely thanks to economic stimulus pumped into the economy to ward off COVID recession, Australias housing is now 30% more expensive than in 2019.

February 28, 2022

The Russian attacks on Ukraine are both immoral and illegal under international law but we ignore similar attacks by ourselves and our allies.

They should be unconditionally opposed, regardless of how they have been rationalised by the Kremlin. Ukraine is an independent state, its sovereignty has been violated, and there is no self-defence justification for the military strikes. Russia must accept full responsibility for this crime and the consequences that will follow.

November 7, 2021

The Queen nails it at Glasgow, Scott Morrison does not

Scott Morrison could learn from the Queen’s speech at COP26 in Glasgow. This is the speech he should have given.

October 17, 2021

Will we ever get those nuclear submarines?

Chronic problems in US Navy shipyards and questions over the future viability of attack submarines in their current roles cast doubt on the Morrison government’s controversial defence decision.

October 14, 2021

Dive! Dive! Dive! AUKUS and the submerging of our national interests

The AUKUS and nuclear submarine decisions leave Australia exposed on a range of fronts and reinforce the need for war powers to be properly regulated by Parliament.

October 3, 2021

A fearful university in Adelaide abandons academic freedom in attempts to better understand China

It wasn’t foreign interference and influence legislation that got in the way of a recent university event, but the universities themselves, fearful of standing up for academic freedom.

November 28, 2024

Zionism: An existential threat to Judaism

When recently sacked by Netanyahu, Gallant, in an emotional speech said: “Israel has fallen into moral darkness”. This is what Zionism has internally inflicted on Judaism – moral decay. The security threat suffered by good Jewish people globally is what Zionism has inflicted externally.

November 4, 2024

Anomie: Enabled by Western media, Israel's lies have become a galloping cancer

Israel’s unholy policy trinity - destroy, kill, lie - has been underway for decades. But since October 2023 it has reached horrific levels. The horror of Israeli destruction, torture and slaughter is apparently taken for granted by Israeli citizens and by supporters in western countries, largely because telling lies as a feature of warfare is not challenged.

February 13, 2024

"Pesta Demokrasi": Indonesias Dance Partner Democracy

Since the birth of Indonesian democracy 25 years ago, Indonesians have called their elections pesta demokrasi, a celebration of democracy. But voters dont so much choose between parties and policies as between individuals and those individuals have ever-shifting allegiances: dance partners.

October 31, 2022

An open letter on Australia training Ukrainian Troops

An open letter to Prime Minister Albanese, Defence Minister Marles and Foreign Minister Wong on Australias decision to train Ukrainian troops.

March 22, 2022

The return of the state? The role of government in managing the pandemic

Many countries with very high rates of COVID infection and pandemic deaths had governments reluctant to intervene to protect public health because of a strong belief in small government.

March 4, 2022

Green preferences may decide seats for Independent candidates

_Results from the 2019 federal election and the Willoughby by-election suggest that green preferences are likely to decide whether Independent candidates can win previously safe coalition seats.

November 21, 2021

The inaugural ASPI Sydney Dialogue is a national embarrassment

The ‘summit’ was compromised by complicity between DFAT,ASPI , the presence of Narendra Modi, and Meta’s sponsorship.But our anti-China media lap it up.

October 26, 2021

Why the road to net zero looks smooth for drivers

An emissions ceiling on new vehicle sales would give Australia a fighting chance of reaching its 2050 net zero target and provide big savings for drivers.

October 13, 2021

Chinese overflights signal to US rather than threat to Taiwan

Despite the fuss made over China’s recent military exercise over Taiwan, it’s becoming clear that China’s message was actually directed at the United States in response to its recent military drills in the region.

March 8, 2025

China, US a world apart on shaping the future – Asian Media Report

In Asian media this week: Speeches show Li is for continuity, Trump insists on change. Plus: Cambodia worse than Myanmar for online “scamdemic”; How agents exploit Indians trying for work in America; Brutal competition shapes Fantastic Four tech leaders; Prabowo sets up sovereign wealth fund; Thailand joins Beatles era.

November 2, 2024

The doomed conceit of a political AUKUS

Three years on, there is still no compelling argument, strategic or otherwise, for Australia’s acquiring eight Virginia-class nuclear-propelled submarines (SSNs). Nor is there any compelling calculation of the large lick of funding – $368bn and more – that the program will soak up. Only Defence seems able to command such stupendous outlays when childcare, aged care, Medicare rebates, the National Disability Insurance Scheme, education and social housing fight it out for every cent they can get. The opportunity costs outweigh the value of the opportunity.

October 29, 2024

Ending Apartheid: Think local, act global

Boycotts, divestments and sanctions are back. Students are urging universities to reveal their investments and connections with Israel, and to end them. Local councils in Victoria and New South Wales have been quick to do the same.

October 12, 2024

The unresolved tension at the core of Australia’s strategic policy

Australia wants to constrain China, but without tying itself to America’s own ambitions and all that might mean.

February 3, 2024

When morality and loyalty pull in opposite directions

What to do if morality and loyalty pull in opposite directions: A review of Nicholas Jose, The Idealist

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal