February 7, 2024

We can’t rely on developers to fix the housing crisis

If you were running the state suffering the very worst of Australia’s housing disaster, a state where the number of public and community housing dwellings actually went backwards last financial year, you might want to grab any and every opportunity to ease the crisis – but you’re not running New South Wales.

January 11, 2024

Gaza: Australia’s obligations under the ATT and Genocide Convention

Australian governments talk a lot about our commitment to the rule of law and human rights. However Australia’s response - at glacial speed with grossly inadequate measures - to the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza following Hamas’s brutal October 7 attacks, are putting that commitment to the test. As a nation that has provided political and military support to Israel, we are not doing well.

March 6, 2023

The Murdoch pragmatists

Anyone who has worked closely with media mogul Rupert Murdoch comes away with two abiding impressions.

March 5, 2022

Going to private school won't make a difference to your kid's academic scores

Research _shows parents believe private schools will provide a better education for their children, and better set them up for success in life. But the evidence on whether this perception is correct is not conclusive.

February 17, 2022

The cavalcade of the cretinous in Canberra

_“You’ve had your say …NOW GO HOME.”

February 8, 2022

Japan’s master plan for victory: what could have been

_In Australia we like to believe that the US Pacific Fleet saved us from Japanese attack in 1942-1944, but that is only partly true.

June 6, 2021

Urgent action needed on escalating forced migration crises

The Co-Convenors of the Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration (ADFM) are gravely concerned about the forced migration risks facing the Indo Pacific region and the lack of preparedness to deal with them.

February 15, 2025

Paging the lady and the lamp

Of all the horrors that emerged from the Nuremberg war trials it was a simple lampshade that was amongst the most confronting and memorable. The systematic murder of six million Jews was simply too large an atrocity to truly comprehend, coming as it did after the mind-numbing numbers of war dead in Russia, Europe and amongst the allies.

January 28, 2025

The end of freedom

Freedom, the dream that has inspired countless individuals, cultures, beliefs and civilisations over millennia, will soon be gone. Forever.

January 12, 2025

This year should be a good one for the Australian Catholic Bishops

Australia’s Catholic bishops have every reason to look forward to a busy and productive 2025. The recent report of the Synod on Synodality, promptly and emphatically endorsed by Pope Francis, charts a clear course and calls for “rapid implementation” of a raft of initiatives. What’s more the Synod insists bishops work collaboratively with their laity, on an agenda with clear reform priorities that align with repeated calls by Australian lay Catholics.

January 24, 2024

Genocidal Israel, condemned by words and actions

In the indictment brought against Israel by South Africa in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC asserted it was, ‘the first genocide in history where its victims are broadcasting their own destruction in real time in the desperate, so far vain hope that the world might do something.’

December 23, 2023

Peace on Earth this Christmas

Peace should be one of our ultimate goals as we seek a better society. Nothing is more important. But what can anyone say about peace that doesn’t sound too preachy or self-righteous? I hesitate to say anything for this reason.

March 17, 2023

The return of the paranoid American foreign policy

When a severe political cancer returns after a period of remission, we have a recurrence_. In serious cases, cells from the original cancer regrow and spread virulently._ One of America’s best-known commentators, Fareed Zakaria, recently compared the current grave dysfunctionality and panic-driven decision making in Washington to the worst of the McCarthy era in the 1950s.

October 10, 2022

Political self-interest is killing economic ideology

Australia has a problem. In recent years Labor and the Coalition have become more focussed on the politics of economics than on economic ideology. Both are now torn between what wins elections and what they believe in.

October 8, 2022

Climate change risk second only to nuclear war

Could anthropogenic climate change result in worldwide societal collapse or even human extinction?

April 2, 2022

Lies, damned lies and the Morrison government's statistics

Retiring Liberal Party Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells has taken full aim at _the “corrupt antics” of Scott Morrison and his “consigliere” Alex Hawke__. If the Prime Minister and his inner circle have “no moral compass” and choose to lie at will, how can Australians get a grip on the facts and whether it’s time for a change?_

January 13, 2022

An uneasy rules-based order: China's restraint in South China Sea has limits

The implementation of AUKUS and increased US intelligence probes threaten China’s nuclear submarines that are its deterrent against a strike by the US.

December 14, 2021

Perrottet prognosticates: imaginative premiers will revitalise federal system

The NSW premier is a fecund source of ideas about the future of the federation. And he believes the states should be at the forefront of reform.

December 8, 2021

Morrison's mistakes may be the making of a better system of governance

As the nation contemplates life beyond the Coalition, it becomes possible to imagine a retreat from over-powerful government, writes Jack Waterford.

October 28, 2021

Morrison’s net zero deal with the Nationals won't deal with climate change

The world will be watching, but on some reckonings, the Australian prime minister’s pledge at COP26 in Glasgow will be around 25 years too late.

January 10, 2025

Awake O Sleeper

“Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God: But only he who sees takes off his shoes. The rest sit around and eat blackberries”. (Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Aurora Leigh)

March 11, 2024

Cartoonist's comment

March 2, 2024

Australia and ASEAN - A partnership for peace?

Australia’s relationship with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is now 50 years strong. On 4 March Prime Minister Albanese will welcome the 10 member nations to Melbourne for a Special Summit to celebrate our role as the first dialogue partner of ASEAN. The theme of the Summit is ‘A Partnership for the Future’.

October 12, 2023

Jailbreak from prison Gaza

Since when do we praise Occupiers for brutal oppression? Words are used to confuse, obfuscate and detract from the truth of Palestine-Israel. Words such as terrorist, enemy, militants and murderous are often used to describe Palestinians who are, in essence, victims, freedom fighters, oppressed, occupied and ignored.

March 20, 2023

The threat of war and the role of the propaganda machine

The relentless drive to war against China goes on. There is no longer any pretence that China is in the US sights and so Australia is prepared to spend whatever it takes to prove its fealty to Washington. No military outlay is too much, no threat to our economic future too risky for the Australian government. Warmongers, ‘experts’ such as the infamous Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a few too many academics, and a pompous and self-righteous media all work to ensure that the imagined threat becomes reality.

December 11, 2022

The crisis in youth justice?

If ever we need a federal government to intervene in a human rights crisis in this nation, then it is now. There are almost daily headlines about the appalling abuse of children in detention centres and the preparedness of state governments, and the Northern Territory to cynically and callously play the ‘law and order’ card at the expense of some of the most vulnerable members of our community.

February 18, 2022

Ukraine: The great game revisited

Just as the history of modern Afghanistan is inexplicable without an understanding of great power politics the same maxim applies to Ukraine.

October 4, 2021

Back to the future with the Taliban?

The defeat of the United States and its allies and return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan have changed the regional landscape.

March 22, 2025

Giant eight-hour battery project changes hands as storage costs plunge 40%

A giant eight-hour battery project in New South Wales has changed hands in a deal that also confirms that battery storage costs — a critical part of the green energy transition — are still falling significantly.

November 20, 2024

Time to talk peace

_Tens of thousands of school students visit the Australian War Memorial every year – more than 95,000 in 2022-23 alone. For students in Years 4-12, a visit to the Memorial is mandatory for the school to receive federal funding for a visit to Canberra.**

April 2, 2024

The Indo-Pacific economic framework’s uncertain future

The US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) remains undeveloped in key areas and faces uncertainty about its future as the 2024 US presidential election looms. The durability of the IPEF heavily relies on significant work to be done on other pillars, including trade, clean and fair economy pillars, amid concerns about future US engagement and the risk of US withdrawal should Donald Trump return to the White House.

March 31, 2024

Imitation accelerates

The whole world is experiencing an “ escalation to extremes” because we imitate each other to a profound degree. We should choose our models more carefully.

November 27, 2023

AUKUS submarine revelations compel a rethink

US Congressional report argues that Australia’s acquisition of nuclear submarines would actually undercut deterrence of China by depleting the US submarine fleet. With the promise of nuclear submarines becoming ever distant, it may be time to reconsider other options.

December 6, 2022

Australia excoriated over refusal to allow UN torture committee to visit places of detention

Australia is a party to the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Pursuant to the terms of the Convention, the UN has established a Sub-Committee for the Prevention of Torture (SPT). The Committee’s mandate is to prevent torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. It pursues that mandate through visits to member states. Member states are obliged to allow the SPT unannounced and unhindered visits to places throughout a country where people are deprived of their liberty. Australia has just refused to permit the Sub-Committee to undertake its mandate here.

November 5, 2022

Weekly Roundup - If only they hadn’t kept the tax cuts…

Reflections on the federal budget; Could the Reserve Bank be replaced by an algorithm?; Peak coal just around the corner; and business lobbies fear that capitalism may replace feudalism. Read on for the weekly roundup of links to articles, reports, podcasts and other media on current political and economic issues in public policy.

March 31, 2022

The lack of trust in Morrison and the media

The latest Roy Morgan Research Trust and Distrust quarterly report is bad news for Scott Morrison and the media.

March 18, 2022

Tobias Debiel and Herbert Wulf: Escalation and de-escalation in the Ukraine War-A German perspective

Demonization and humiliation do not pave the way to the negotiating table.

January 19, 2022

A sense of mission required for the (eventual) post-Covid nation

We need a statesman to recognise the opportunity to renew health services after the disruptions of the pandemic. This is the second of two articles.

January 15, 2022

New Australian republic model gives everyone a say on our head of state

Other than allowing us to choose our head of state, the Australian Choice model leaves intact the Westminster system’s checks and balances.

December 1, 2021

China trade: the disturbing gap between US rhetoric and reality is emerging

The fervid declarations of US support for Australia amid China’s trade sanctions count for little: the data shows Australia stands alone in paying the costs.The US does not have our back. It is grabbing our markets in China.

November 29, 2021

A 10-point winning strategy for Labor

The Albanese-led Opposition is having trouble cutting through to voters despite the Morrison government’s corruption and waste — here’s a plan to turn things around.

November 17, 2021

PM ignores our modelling experts and hires a controversial global consultant

The awarding of a $6 million climate modelling contract to McKinsey was no surprise given the government’s record of rorts, secrecy and corruption.

February 7, 2021

Underinsurance entrenching poverty as the vulnerable are hit hardest by disasters

It is after extreme weather events that people’s lack of insurance is particularly distressing. But simply telling people to get more insurance is not necessarily the answer. We first need to understand why people are underinsured and work out how insurance can work better for people.

April 1, 2025

Will the US trade war push up the price of medicines in Australia? Will there be drug shortages?

Talks of a trade dispute between the United States and Australia over the cost of medicines have no doubt left many Australians scratching their heads.

March 1, 2025

Dutton's stuff-ups: Tough guy who's not so tough

For a self-promoted tough guy — particularly if it involves refugee women and children — Peter Dutton’s career has been marked by many instances of being missing in action.

February 28, 2025

Barking up the wrong tree

In the past 250 years two institutions were conceived and have come to rule our lives: modern democratic government and the modern corporation. Donald Trump and Elon Musk have decided the key to solving America’s problems is reforming government. They’re barking up the wrong tree. It’s the corporation that needs reforming.

January 25, 2025

Has Albanese finally snuffed out the light on the hill?

Although Australian elections are not marked by turnout issues as they are in the US where voting is discretionary, there are lessons for Anthony Albanese in Donald Trump’s election victory.

January 20, 2025

Dark aspect: The dangers of partisanship and unwise alliances

We are in deep trouble, Australia. We are guilty under international law of crimes against humanity for our colonial past, our enduring racism, our mistreatment of asylum seekers and now, colluding with Israel, the United States and other nations in the ongoing travesty that is the genocide of Palestine.

February 21, 2024

Bewilderingly unsophisticated: ASPI deputy director fires up China threat megaphone

Alex Bristow’s recent piece on China (“Don’t sidestep the China problem in public debate on defence”, Australian Financial Review, 14 February) demonstrates the extent to which the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has become a cheerleader for the US military-industrial complex.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal