March 26, 2024

Arc of history favours Wang Yi

The long arc of history dominated the discussion between China Foreign Minister Wang Yi and former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating. In the main, (it) was a big picture discussion about the geostrategic balances and influences in the world, Keating said.

March 17, 2024

Changing mindsets: From wealth creation to delivering retirement incomes

Australias superannuation system is based upon defined contributions, largely because that avoids the main weakness of many overseas systems based on defined benefits of rising costs for future generations.

November 28, 2023

ASIO and the KGB: New information on Hawke v. Combe

Although ASIO dropped the intercept on Labors former national secretary David Combes phone after alleged KGB officer Valeriy Ivanov left Australia, Prime Minister Bob Hawkes interest in what had already transpired, increased dramatically. Hawke suddenly asked to listen to the Combe-Ivanov tapes. After Hawke had listened for an hour and a half, The Prime Minister believed that Bushfowl [the codename for the ASIO operation] showed a much closer involvement of Brian Toohey with Ivanov via EPIC [Combe] than recognised before.

March 7, 2023

Can Albanese be an honest friend to Modi?

The comparison between Australias response to Chinas treatment of Uyghur Muslims with Indias treatment of Kashmiris highlights that a commitment to human rights is not the driving force in determining Labors position on foreign affairs matters.

November 27, 2022

A matter of conscience: what to do about the national medical regulator

The national medical regulator, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), is responsible for the oversight of fifteen different groups of health professionals, covering a total of 825,700 practitioners. AHPRA has become a huge and well-resourced bureaucracy which now has the capacity to pull the wool over the eyes of distant and poorly-briefed health ministers whose accountability for the regulator is remote.

April 1, 2022

The next phase of Vatican reforms will be crucial

_Pope Francis’ highly acclaimed reform of the Roman Curia will rise or fall on the people he chooses to oversee its implementation.

February 5, 2022

Sunday environmental round up.

Tackling the challenges of feeding 10 billion people, keeping our cities cool and meeting the increasing demand for batteries without destroying the environment.

November 1, 2021

Scott Morrison's weak climate plan leaves Australia exposed

Australia is attending the global climate talks in Glasgow without an emissions reduction target that passes international muster.

October 10, 2021

Power to the people: peace activists say no to nuclear-powered submarines

The Morrison governments embrace of nuclear-submarine technology and the AUKUS agreement has been challenged in Australia and overseas. A coalition of people and organisations is being formed to oppose these decisions.

February 4, 2025

Why did the IDF reveal all to The New York Times?

The New York Times gained remarkable access to more than 100 Israel Defence Force soldiers, who confirmed that altered IDF practices caused the outrageous death toll among Palestinians in Gaza. Everyone should read the original article.

October 18, 2024

The hollowing-out of governance in contemporary Australia

Despite claims to the contrary, Australia is not a well governed country. At all levels of politics, in businesses large and small, and in the wider society, governance systems right across the country have been hollowed-out.

October 9, 2024

Cartoon commentary

February 24, 2024

Street play: A thing of the past?

Wed cross a long rope across the street and I used to have a dozen kids skipping down there. Even Mrs Munro came out seventeen stone and she had no shoes on. Shed come out and skip.

January 22, 2024

Tide turning on boat people bastardry

A day I have long prophesied, and for which I have been yearning may be at hand. Its a pitythat the Albanese government does not really deserve a place at any celebrations, and may indeed, try to frustrate them.

December 3, 2023

Imminent genocide in Gaza

I write this brief letter and appeal on this fifty-second day of conflict between the Israeli government and the hapless population in Gaza. I also write as a child of Holocaust and concentration camp survivors.

November 4, 2023

With focus on Gaza there is escalation of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank

There is “a real risk” of the Occupied Territory of Palestine in the West Bank “spiralling out of control”, the UN said this week.

February 21, 2023

When will it ever end?

Every time we Palestinians, despite all the compromises we offer, try to gain a modicum of justice we find not only is it denied to us, but that we are the ones to blame for this lack of progress for a peaceful co-existence with our occupiers.

January 23, 2023

New Zealands new Prime Minister is Fixer Chris Hipkins

It took less than 48 hours from Thursday until Saturday morning for New Zealanders to learn who their new Prime Minister would be. There was none of the dithering, back stabbing and delays evident in some other democracies when changing leaders.

December 21, 2022

True love never coerces: a meditation for Christmas 2022

Imagine if we did not need to pray for those who die today, violently and unprepared. Imagine if the United Nations members convened in deep silence and resolved to rid the planet of all weapons of mass destruction and to prevent catastrophic climate change. Imagine if the cruelty being inflicted on the people of Ukraine, mid winter, was to cease and young people of both nations partnered in rebuilding all that had been destroyed…

Join with me, for a time, and imagine, imagine, imagine

November 21, 2022

Albaneses China reset leaves national security establishment in the cold

We should all welcome a bilateral decision between Australia and China to tone down the language, lower the temperature and to resume discussions of mutual interests.

March 27, 2022

What can the under-privileged hope for in the budget...not much?

In a civilized country, where we pride ourselves on a fair go for all, a very significant part of our community is missing out.

March 21, 2022

At war with the autocrats

I think we are in a contest President Biden declared in June last year, not with China per se but with autocrats, autocratic governments around the world ,whether or not democracies can compete with them in this rapidly changing 21st century.

February 19, 2022

War in Europe and the rise of raw propaganda

_Marshall McLuhans prophecy that the successor to politics will be propaganda has happened.Raw propaganda is now the rule in Western democracies, especially the US and Britain. From John Pilger in London.

February 13, 2022

Albanese should start by opening door to a China reset

If he prevails at the ballot box, the Labor leader should quickly make a speech recalling Labor’s very different relations with Beijing

January 13, 2025

Ice Hockey Australia branded antisemitic as it red flags Melbourne tournament

Ice Hockey Australia’s decision to withdraw from hosting a lower-tier men’s world championship event citing safety concerns, has been denounced by Jewish and Israeli organisations as antisemitic, yet there’s no evidence of this. What is evident is that red flags are now appearing when Israeli national teams seek to participate in international sporting events.

November 14, 2024

Devil in the detail of UAE trade deal reveals failure on Labor policy

The Labor government has a policy which requires enforceable commitments to internationally recognised labour rights and environmental standards in trade agreements, and to safeguard the rights of First Nations peoples and women. The announcement of negotiations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year surprised many because the UAE has not ratified some basic labour rights and human rights international agreements and has the worst record on these issues of any Australian trading partner.

November 6, 2024

To save the planet: Disable this global consumer-corporate machine

The global consumer-capitalist machine is well-programmed to consume the planet in its quest to produce ever-more stuff. Avoiding pollution is incompatible with its present functioning. If we want to actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions we need to know how to get inside the machine and turn it off, or transform it.

February 29, 2024

Genocide: The word that RNZ cannot bring itself to say

The very first principle of Radio New Zealand Charter, states unequivocally that the purpose of our national broadcaster is to be …an independent public service broadcaster and to serve the public interest. Unfortunately, this principle appears to have been abandoned in its coverage of Israels campaign of ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip that has ramped up since 7 October 2023. Time and time again RNZ has demonstrated that the word genocide is a bridge-too-far, bringing into question its commitment to the public interest.

February 10, 2023

Weekly roundup: After 50 years, Medicare needs resuscitating

Bipartisanship on the wrong issue asylum-seeker policy; Chalmers essay is it really just mainstream economics?; and, after 50 years, Medicare needs resuscitating. Read on for the weekly roundup of links to articles, reports, podcasts and other media on current political and economic issues in public policy.

November 12, 2022

The first biography of Lachlan Murdoch provides some insights, but leaves important questions unanswered

The title of Paddy ManningsThe Successor: The High-Stakes Life of Lachlan Murdochtells us what is good and not so good about this biography.

February 22, 2022

Why wont Australia promote its own interests, not Americas

Dutton is not merely promoting his own personal interests here; he is trying to save a government, not least given Morrisons ineptness with most of the planned campaign points.

March 17, 2025

The Australian: tool of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship?

The Australian has made itself the newspaper of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship. This reflects the fact that Australia’s Right is part of a transnational network of networkers. It also conveys that these figures aim to shape the thinking of Australia’s “conservative” leaders in troubling directions.

December 16, 2024

Theranos, Nokia and Dennis Richardson's AUKUS review

Dennis Richardson has been asked by Defence Minister Richard Marles to review “governance” at the Australian Submarine Agency tasked with building AUKUS submarines because a Public Service staff census has revealed very significant problems within the Agency with staff morale and internal communications. But, is he up to the task?

November 11, 2024

The Australian colony: When will the ALP Government initiate system reform?

The visit of the British royals was for many Australians a non-event, an almost unreal formality that has to be experienced and processed. During the visit, Lydia Thorpe felt compelled to very publicly state: “You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. … We want a treaty in this country. This is not your land." A stark reminder of unfinished business in the Australian colony.

April 5, 2024

Can Albo overcome the paradox of class?

Boris Johnson did it, Donald Trump specialises in it, Peter Dutton is trying it.

February 27, 2024

Antoinette v ABC: why did Lattouf lawyers move for change of venue?

Faced with what some saw as long odds at the Fair Work Commission (FWC) Antoinette Lattoufs team moved her unfair dismissal case to the Federal Court on Friday. Andrew Gardiner asks why they felt the need to do so, and what that says about this country and its future:

January 13, 2024

Rise of the ultra-right: Elections survey 2023

2023 saw a disturbing rise in support for extreme right-wing parties across several European countries. With a series of major elections in large and significant countries due in 2024, including the USA and Russia, it will be interesting to see whether parties in the established democracies respond effectively to the rise of the ultra-right, and whether more countries rise to the challenge of a peaceful transfer of power.

March 22, 2023

The myth of Australian sovereignty

As AUKUS propagandising gathers pace, the Australian public is being softened up to believe that whatever else the arrangement entails (and that still mostly remains a mystery), there will be no compromising of Australias sovereignty none whatsoever. History teaches us that such reassurances can be dangerously hollow.

January 19, 2023

Economics: the top-10 mistakes

_Richard Barnes laments the wilful blindness of many elites who go snow skiing while turning a blind eye to the causes of the high countrys dying landscape. Barnes says he mostly agrees with author Jeff Sparrow that the current economic system is to blame. Let me count the ways.

March 14, 2022

Why I haven't given up on conspiracy theorists

None of this has come out of the blue. It has coincided with the rise of neoliberal capitalism which, among other things, has encouraged hyper individualism, greater competition, social disconnection, greed and selfishness.

February 25, 2022

Robert Reich: Only the right has become more extreme over the last 50 years.

Like in the early 1970s, the left is still against the war machine, still pushing for civil and voting rights, and still fighting the power of big corporations. But the right has moved far, far rightward.

January 30, 2022

Out of focus: the pitfalls of political market research

Political parties spend big on focus group research with the approach of an election - but changes in methodology raise questions over its worth.

March 23, 2025

Payman’s Australia’s Voice: We’re in it to win it!

Senator Fatima Payman has launched her political party, Australia’s Voice, with candidates selected to compete in key Federal senate seats across Australia in this year’s federal election. AMUST’s Manarul Islam sat down with Senator Payman earlier this month to gain an insight into her and her party’s plans.

March 11, 2025

Noicide: advent of a new Dark Age

Something far more sinister than mere genocide is unfolding in the United States and other advanced nations around the world: the forces of darkness have declared open war on human knowledge.

February 4, 2025

The fate of nuclear energy in a hung parliament

Imagine this: scientists develop a new source of on-demand, clean, electricity. For about the price of floating offshore wind (i.e. more expensive than solar or onshore wind) it could pair with renewables and fully decarbonise the grid. How would politicians respond? Support from climate-concerned Greens, and opposition from Liberals?

November 13, 2024

How can civilised people countenance genocide?

Relatively few people alive would have experienced the rise of fascism in the early C20 but most people understand the crucial role that manipulation of information played in the ascent to power in what were democratic’ countries. Mussolini evolved from a journalist/publishing background; Goebbels and ‘the big lie’ trope are a frequently quoted feature of the rise of the Nazis.

March 20, 2024

A Crime Without a Name: what is genocide?

So many people are speaking about genocide at the moment, but so few of them seem to know what the word means. I would like to take a moment to consider where the word comes from, and the nuances of the UN definition.

February 17, 2024

USUKA: The hidden history of AUKUS

The Australian Citizens Party (ACP) have written to the National Anti- Corruption Commission (NACC), asking them to investigate former Prime Minister Scott Morrisons decision to join private companies who will profit from the massive defence expenditure resulting from Morrisons decision to establish AUKUS a decision the ACP characterised as extraordinary, unilateral and secretive. Dr John Jiggens details the hidden back story of AUKUS.

January 22, 2024

Public schools a case for charity

Much has been written about the entrenched disadvantage in public Schools. Successive Governments have failed to provide the very basic resources for these students. Further evidence has revealed a concentration of students with disabilities that require additional support are now located in residualised comprehensive public schools. These impoverished conditions have been easily avoided for families who have the resources to enrol their students in private schools. However, another private system has emerged that has moved in to exploit these failing schools - charity!

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal