September 29, 2014

John Menadue. Great Teachers

There has been a lot of recent comment about the importance of good teachers; how they can be recruited, trained and rewarded.

Let me tell you about two teachers who turned my life around. Many of us have had such experiences with great teachers.

Professor W.G.K. Duncan at Adelaide University taught me Political Science in 1958. I was used to lecturers and teachers presenting facts and interpretations for me. I would write down my lecture notes with the intention of reproducing them at examination time. I was a passive learner. But in WGK, I had a lecturer who asked question after question. I found it very frustrating for the whole first term. What was this fellow all about? He wouldnt tell me what was correct, right or wrong.

September 28, 2014

Robert Manne. When the facts change I change my mind. What do you do, Sir. JM Keynes

You might be interested in this repost. John Menadue.

I have been a supporter of refugee rights since the mid-1970s, when with others I formed the Indo-China Refugee Association. During the period of the Howard government I wrote tens of thousands of words in defence of the asylum seekers fleeing from Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran. This interest arose from family history. Not only was I the child of refugees from Nazism. I very recently discovered that not long after my father was accepted by this country he wrote passionate articles in The Jewish News expressing, on the one hand, gratitude to Australia, and, on the other, radical astonishment that the most anti-fascist element in the community, Jewish refugees, were subject to petty forms of discrimination as enemy aliens. I mention all this to make it clear that what I am going to say this afternoon is delivered with a heavy heart.

September 12, 2014

Gavan McCormack Disturbing trends in Japan (Part 1 of 4)

These posts (published over 4 days) are extracts from an article by Gavan McCormack, entitled Partnership 135 Degrees East which will be published in Arena.org.au.

Our best friend

The current Japanese and Australian governments came into being in December 2012 and September 2013 respectively. Both are headed by conservative, neoliberal, climate-denialist, pro-American leaders, of similar age, who quickly established a close rapport. Following their first meeting, at an ASEAN summit in October 2013, Abbott declared Abe Australias best friend in Asia. In meetings that followed, in Tokyo in April and Canberra in July 2014, they resolved to transform the strategic partnership into a new special relationship. Both made unprecedented invited appearances at the highest-level national-security-council meeting of their counterpart country, and signed agreements for free trade and defence cooperation (including trilateral security cooperation with the United States) and closer scientific and academic links.

January 6, 2014

Repost: The scourge of special interests. John Menadue

A REPOST FOR HOLIDAY READING.

Lobbying has grown dramatically in recent years, particularly in Canberra. It now represents a growing and serious corruption of good governance and the development of sound public policy. In referring to the so called public debate on climate change Professor Ross Garnaut, highlighted the diabolical problem that special interests brought to bear on public discussion on that critical issue.

What is in it for me is not just a problem of self-interest by voters and consumers. That self-centredness has been taken to a high art form by powerful vested interests that extract monopoly rents at the expense of the national interest. The media and particularly News Ltd and the Australian Financial Review are part of this growing corporate influence and the propaganda that they bring to bear.

June 4, 2014

Hugh Mackay. Immoral acts - that's one way to stop the boats.

No boats have arrived for 36 days! That was the recent proud claim of our immigration minister, Scott Morrison, delivered in a tone that suggested we should all cheer such a wonderful accomplishment.

In fact, given the strategies employed to achieve this result, we should hang our heads in shame. We are living through a dark period in our cultural history where politicians like Morrison are actively encouraging a dulling of our moral sense by appealing to that most dangerous moral principle of all: The end justifies the means.

May 1, 2014

John Menadue. Taxes - public or private

The Commission of Audit has recommended that a Medicare levy surcharge be applied to individuals earning more than $88,000 a year and $176,000 for families. This is designed to force high income earners to take out private health insurance. This is one of the most economically stupid and dangerous proposals that I have seen for a long time. The Commission of Audit foolishly thinks that this would reduce public taxes, but it would result in increased private taxes (premiums). Higher premiums are the inevitable result of increased reliance on private health insurance. This is what has brought disaster for healthcare in the US. Private healthcare premiums have gone through the roof and the US now has one of the worst and most expensive healthcare services in the world.

January 12, 2014

Repost: Don't tamper with the Refugee Convention. John Menadue

It would be dangerous to open up the pandora’s box of the Refugee Convention. It has served us well. Who would seriously suggest that persons facing persecution should not be protected. Given the world wide agitation against refugees and ‘outsiders’, a review of the Convention would be a great opportunity for extremists to run their campaigns against foreigners. It would be a field day for the Scott Morrisons of this world.

September 17, 2014

John Menadue. The Great Complacency

Professor Ross Garnaut has spoken many times about our great complacency and our unwillingness to undertake the types of economic and social reform that we saw in the Hawke/Keating periods and in the early days of the Howard Government think, GST.

Have the golden days of reform gone forever?

The former head of Treasury Ken Henry said that he has never known a period in which the standard of public debate on important issues is as bad as it is today. Ross Garnaut has spoken with obvious frustration about the diabolical problem of sensible policies on climate change.

September 24, 2014

John Menadue--We stopped the boats; we will now stop the jihadists

You may be interested in this repost. John Menadue

By linking boat arrivals and jihadists in the one sentence, a couple of weeks ago, Tony Abbott sounded very much like a dog-whistler that we can expect to hear more from in the future.

He knows there is widespread, although a mistaken perception, that most boat arrivals were Muslims and that Muslim jihadist are a threat to Australia. A lot of dog-whistlers are going to feed on that perception.

January 1, 2014

Repost: We all see our doctor too much; and it's not just the aged. John Menadue

The media have been discussing a proposal to impose a $5 or $6 levy for GP visits. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of times we each see our GP. It needs addressing, but not with a simplistic GP levy. See also piece below by Ian McAuley.

Following the Grattan Institutes recent work on budget deficits there was a focus by the media on rising health costs. The media commentators didnt seriously examine the Grattan work about ageing but hopped onto an old and overworked hobbyhorse that rising health costs are largely due to the ageing on the Australian population. The Business Council is also a repeat offender on this fiction about ageing.

April 13, 2014

John Menadue. The new squatters on public land.

More alienation of public space.

In my blog yesterday, I referred to the alienation of public space in Barangaroo and proposed for the Sydney Botanic Gardens. Today there are reports that Wentworth Park, which is Crown Land, will be developed as a billion dollar residential complex. In a letter to the SMH we are told how Wentworth Park was originally described as ’the second most beautiful park in Sydney after the Botanic Gardens’. It had lakes, beautiful gardens and a cricket pitch. Unfortunately, it was then converted to a greyhound race track, but elements of the park were still preserved for community use. Even that limited community use is now threatened. It is another example of how our ‘public commons’ is alienated and eroded step by step. John Menadue.

September 21, 2014

John Menadue. What does Labor stand for Part 3

Citizenship

We are more than individuals linked by market transactions.

Our life in the public sphere is no less necessary than our private lives. As citizens we enjoy and contribute to the public good. It is where we show and learn respect for others, particularly people who are different. It is where we abide by shared rules of civic conduct. It is where we build social capital networks of trust. We need to behave in ways that make each of us trusted members of the community. Do no harm is not sufficient.

September 15, 2014

Gavan McCormack. Disturbing trends in Japan Part 4

Friendship, states, peoples and Australia

The government of Japan struggles to reconcile servile incorporation in todays US hegemonic project with Japans own nationalism, but the circle is not easily to be squared. Nationalism is distorted, denied and channeled into a correct history movement, beautiful Japan campaigns, and antagonism to China and Korea. The wave of xenophobic abuse of China and Korea, speculation about a possible war, and hate speech bullying of Zainichi resident Koreans, helps consolidate Abes support base and justify frontier militarisation. It constitutes the reverse side of his stealth revision of the constitution and promotion of military-first, US-serving priorities. Furthermore, basic insecurity is exacerbated by neoliberal policies that for more than a decade now have functioned to replace regular jobs with part-time, temporary or other non-regular ones (now accounting for 19 million people, or 38 per cent of the total workforce).

February 19, 2014

John Menadue. Cutting waste and costs in health.

Last night on lateline, the Minister for Health Peter Dutton called for a public debate on health reform. I therefore have taken the liberty of reposting a blog of February 3 on ‘Cutting waste and costs in health’.

The Minister for Health, Peter Dutton, has said that we must reduce waste and reduce costs in health. I agree. In 2011/12 total health expenditure in Australia was $140b up from $83b in 2001/2. Costs are rising rapidly, partly due to population increase.

January 13, 2014

Repost. Refugee advocates and offshore processing. John Menadue

This is a repost from 23 September, 2013.

The insistence on onshore processing for all asylum seekers is damaging the case for humane and sensible refugee policies.

The blanket opposition to any offshore processing is understandable but it is just not working. Just look at the election result on September 7. The important issue is not where processing occurs but whether it is just, fair and efficient. Many of the asylum seekers who claim protection in Australia are not in direct flight from persecution. Most transit Malaysia and Indonesia. Some are asylum shopping.

July 5, 2014

John Menadue. Free Trade Agreement with Japan - 'turbo charging' our trade or mainly hype?

Next Tuesday Prime Minister Abe will visit Australia. I expect the Free Trade Agreement with Japan or its new name the Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan will feature prominently. I repost below what I said on March 29 about the limited value of these bilateral agreements.

Only last week, the Productivity Commission expressed similar reservations. It said ‘Australia recently agreed to bilateral trade agreements with Korea and Japan. Trade agreements can distort comparative advantage between nations and consequently reduce efficient resource allocation. The rules of origin in Australia’s nine bilateral agreements vary widely and are likely to impede competition and add to compliance costs of firms engaging in trade’.

September 13, 2014

Gavan McCormack. Disturbing trends in Japan (Part 2 of 4)

Shared values

Much was made during the visit of the shared values that unite Australia and Japan. But are the values of Abe or his government really widely shared? From the time of his entry into the national Diet in 1993, Abe immersed himself in the historical revisionist cause, resisting moves towards formal apology for the war and compensation for war victims and objecting to what he and his colleagues refer to scathingly as a Tokyo Tribunal view of history. He believes Japan was unjustly blamed for the China and Pacific wars of 1931 to 1945. As his friend Hyakuta Naoki, Abe-appointed director of national broadcaster NHK, put it earlier this year, the Nanjing massacre of 1937 never occurred and Americans had fabricated war crimes against Japanese leaders in order to cover up American atrocities. He and most of his cabinet today belong to organisations that look back to wartime Japan for inspiration, with names such as Dietmembers Associations for the Passing on of a Correct History, for a Bright Japan and Reflection on Japans Future and History Education, and the Shinto Politics League. The basic principle of Shinto politics was articulated in January 2000 by then prime minister Mori Yoshiro, who referred to Japan as an emperor-centred country of the godsprecisely the view held by those who led Japan to the disastrous wars of the 1930s and 1940s.

July 2, 2014

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses of Child Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church.

Yesterday, in Eureka Street, Fr Frank Brennan SJ commented on the first interim report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses of Child Sexual Abuse. He said:

‘Before Prime Minister Gillard announced the commission, I said that the Catholic Church needed help, in part because there seemed to be a vast discrepancy in the statistics when it came to the number of abuse claims in the Catholic Church when compared with other Churches and institutions which care for vulnerable children. The Commission has not yet come up with any answers or theories about the discrepancy. But its own statistics are frightening and shaming. The commission has provided a safe space for victims to come forward and tell their stories. The commission refers to victims as survivors. 60% of the institutions where survivors reported being abused were faith-based institutions (1,033 of 1,719 institutions). Where abuse occurred in a faith-based institution, 68% of survivors reported that the abuse occurred in a Catholic institution while only 12% reported that the abuse occurred in an Anglican institution. Other churches reported lesser figures. No doubt there were many more Catholic institutions set up for vulnerable children. But that goes nowhere close to providing a complete explanation for the shameful discrepancy. It seems that about 40% of all victims who have come forward to tell their story were abused in institutions auspiced by the Catholic Church. When the royal commission was announced, Cardinal Pell said “we object to being described as the only cab on the rank”. We are not the only cab, but we are the main one when it comes to reports of child sexual abuse within Australian institutions.’

January 9, 2014

Repost: Nation building or border policing? Guest blogger: Peter Hughes

This was posted on November 15, 2013.

Increasingly refugee policy is portrayed in terms of border protection and stopping the boats. We are losing sight of the enormous nation-building benefits that we have received from immigrants and refugees. John Menadue

The repositioning of the Immigration and Citizenship portfolio as “Immigration and Border Protection” was a clear indication by the incoming government of its political priority - stop the arrival of maritime asylum seekers!

September 14, 2014

Gavan McCormack. Disturbing trends in Japan (Part 3 of 4)

Abe, the radical

Nominally conservative, Abes political career has been devoted to an extraordinarily radical agenda, nothing less than revision of all three of the countrys basic charters: the Constitution (1946), the Fundamental Law of Education (1947) and Ampo (the 1951/1960 security treaty with the United States). He aspires to liquidate the post-war regime and replace it with a new and beautiful Japan.

Abes party has from its inception in 1955 been committed to revising the constitution, especially Article 9, the declaration of state pacifism. The current LDP draft constitution (of 2012) widens state prerogatives while narrowing citizen rights and transforms the existing Self-Defense Forces into a national defence army. But overt revision has never been politically feasible given the strength of public opposition. Abe has chafed especially under the constraint that all previous governments had acceptedthat Japan might possess an inherent right to collective self-defence, but the constitution ruled out its exercise. On the eve of his Australian visit Abes cabinet disposed of this problem by simply adopting a new interpretation, reversing the restrictive interpretation and freeing Japans forces for future global missions. The Japan that under its constitution from 1947 to 2014 could not go to war now can.

May 11, 2014

John Menadue. Health Co-payments and $7 for a GP visit!

We do need to take action to curb our visits to the doctor. In 1984-85 weaveraged about 7 Medicare services per head. By 2012-13 it had doubled to over 15 Medicare services per head. The increase was across all age groups and not just for the elderly. Bulk billing, fee for service, and the ability of doctors to generate demand for more and more visits, tests and referrals contributed to this dramatic doubling of Medicare services. It must be addressed for both fairness and efficiency reasons.

September 30, 2014

Mike Steketee. Buying favours of politicians.

You might be interested in this repost. John Menadue

If the staggering evidence before the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption has taught us anything, then it must surely be to end the charade that democracy can function properly when people are buying favours of politicians, directly or indirectly.

The standard argument that political fund-raising is conducted at arms length and that the politicians making decisions are not involved or even aware of who the donors are, no longer has an ounce of credibility. The Chinese wall is rice paper thin.

May 28, 2014

John Menadue. Australia-Japan - friends should be frank.

Tony Abbott is shortly to visit Japan. He should be aware of the serious ultra-nationalist trend in Japan. That ultra-nationalism in the past has brought tragedy to the Japanese people and our region. The chief exponent of this ultra-nationalism in Japan is Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe,who will be his host.

I believe that Japan is at a tipping point in its domestic politics and in its relations particularly with China and the Republic of Korea - countries that it has invaded and colonised in the past.

September 30, 2014

Portraits of Humanity

An exhibition by Wendy Sharpe is planned for February/March next year. See details below and contacts for Wendy Sharpe and Lee Meredith of the Asylum Seekers Centre. JohnMenadue.

Renowned artist, Wendy Sharpe, is developing a portrait exhibition to highlight our common humanity with asylum seekers. A previous Archibald winner and 2014 finalist, Wendy is drawing portraits of 39 refugees and asylum seekers as her contribution to creating public awareness and putting a human face to the issue.

October 1, 2014

John Menadue. Reform of our banking sector.

In my blog of May 30, 2014, Are our bankers listening or caring? I drew attention to a conference in London on Inclusive Capitalism. At that conference the Governor of the Bank of England and the IMF Chief both said that bankers regarded themselves as different and not bound by the need for economic and social inclusion that is essential in a modern society. Both the Governor and the IMF Chief said that the actions of the banks were excluding them from mainstream society.

September 22, 2014

John Menadue. What does Labor stand for? Part 4

Ethical responsibility

Those in prominent office should promote those qualities which draw on the best of our traditions and the noblest of our instincts.

The duty of those with public influence is to encourage hope and redemption rather than despair and condemnation, confidence rather than fear. It is to promote the common good to encourage us to use our talents. It is to respect truth and strengthen learning to withstand the powers of populism and vested or sectional interests. This would set a tone of public discourse which nurtures public institutions

April 30, 2014

John Menadue. Do our governments spend too much or do they raise too little in taxation?

This a repost and provides a summary of the submission that Ian McAuley, Jennifer Doggett and I made to the Commission of Audit. John Menadue

The Minister for Health, Peter Dutton, has said that we must reduce waste and cut costs in health. (I responded to this in my blog on 3 February Cutting waste and costs in health).

The Minister for Social Services, Kevin Andrews, has said that our welfare system is not sustainable and that we are headed down the high cost welfare path of European countries. (The ABC examined this assertion and found that it was incorrect. It found that There is nothing to indicate that as the population ages, Australia is headed towards the big welfare spending of some European countries. Treasury projections to 2050 show welfare spending as a proportion of our GDP will remain steady over the next three decades. www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-03/kevin-andrews–makes-unfounded-welfare-claims.)

October 12, 2014

John Menadue. Asylum seekers institutionalised cruelty, the banality of evil and immorality.

You might be interested in this repost. John Menadue

The recent statement by the Australian Catholic Bishops on asylum seekers says The current policy has about it a cruelty that does no honour to our nation Enough of this institutionalised cruelty We call on the nation as a whole to say no to the dark forces which make these policies possible.

In her book Eichmann in Jerusalem, published in 1963, Hannah Arendt refers to the banality of evil. Her thesis is that Eichmann was not a fanatic or sociopath, but an extremely stupid person who relied on clich rather than thinking for himself and was motivated by professional promotion rather than ideology. She says The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.

September 23, 2014

John Menadue. What does Labor stand for? Part 5

Democratic Renewal

At the same time as addressing overarching Labor principles that could guide Labor policies and programs, there are two immediate issues which must be given high priority.

The first is democratic renewal in our public institutions, including the ALP

Our democratic systems, almost everywhere, are under great challenge.

We are increasingly alienated from our institutions. This suits the conservatives who implicitly seek to protect private corporate interests from public intervention. Loss of faith in parliament inevitably leads on to denigration and a loss of faith in government. Those that Labor has traditionally represented and the wider community are the losers. In the last parliament the Coalition deliberately set out to destroy faith in our public institutions, public policy and politics. The government was corrupt or illegitimate.

October 2, 2014

Marilyn Lake. fracturing the nation's soul.

You might be interested in this repost. John Menadue.

During World War 1 Australia lost its way. Its enmeshment in the imperial European war fractured the nations soul.

Marilyn Lake

World War I had consequences for individuals as well as nations. HB Higginss life would be deeply affected by the British decision to invade the Ottoman empire in early 1915. As a member of the new federal parliament in 1901, Higgins had opposed Australian participation in the Boer War, fearing that this would set a terrible precedent for involvement in other imperial wars, whose purpose, goals and strategy would always be determined by other powers. He also doubted the legitimacy of the European war, writing to his friend Felix Frankfurter, Professor in Law at Harvard, What do you think of it? … [T]here are higher ideals than attachment to a country because it is my country. I blame our British jingoes Higgins was deeply troubled when his only child Mervyn elected to join British forces fighting in the Middle East.

May 11, 2014

Ian McAuley. Pay for a GP visit.

The Commission of Audits proposal to charge a $5 or $6 fee for bulk-billed GP services has little to commend it. But that doesnt justify knee-jerk outrage from medical and consumer groups, or from the Labor Opposition, for there is no reason why Medicare should not incorporate fixed and limited co-payments.

As it stands the proposal is poor public policy. It bears resemblance to the ideas in a discussion paper prepared by the Australian Centre for Health Research in October, proposing a $6 charge in order to bring price discipline into service use, but which contradicted itself by suggesting those co-payments could be funded through private health insurance (PHI).

April 13, 2014

John Menadue. Using the military for political purposes

In my blog of March 26 (below) ‘Using the military for political purposes’, I drew attention to three instances in which the Australian Defence Forces have been used, apparently willingly, to support the party-political aims of the government.

That political support has now been stepped up several notches by the comments of the Commander of Operation Sovereign Borders, Angus Campbell, on a government television advertisement.

In a series of government advertisements on U-Tube, Angus Campbell, standing next to a sign ‘No way’ says ‘The message is simply, if you come to Australia illegally by boat there is no way you will ever make Australia home.’ Angus Campbell then adds ‘The Australian Government has introduced the toughest border protection measures ever … it is the policy and practice of the Australian Government to intercept any vessel that is seeking to illegally enter Australia and safely remove it beyond our waters.’

September 26, 2014

John Menadue. Why health reform is so hard. Its about power.

You may be interested in this repost. John Menadue.

I have been actively involved in health policy for over twenty years. Throughout that period Medicare has been the shining light that has well and truly stood the test of time. But necessary health reforms are hard. They are deferred or avoided. Without ministerial leadership there is an enormous lethargy in the health system.

The major reason I suggest for reform being hard is the power of insiders and the way they exercise that power. At one level there are those insiders that administer health services. Health is a highly technical, large and complex field that is difficult for outsiders to come to grips with. This gives disproportionate power to health administrators on the inside. Then at another level which is joined at the hip with these administrators are the vested interests or rent seekers who batten on the health service and dominate the public debate. It was the same type of vested interests who so selfishly led the opposition to Medicare in 1975. They are still with us today but in a different guise.

September 20, 2014

John Menadue. What does Labor stand for. Part 2

From values to principles

The purpose and role of a Labor Government could be to give expression to the values set out below to achieve as far as possible the common good.

Values such as fairness, freedom, citizenship, stewardship and ethical responsibility would be generally accepted by most people. As the values are translated into practices however Labor makes a choice that can be further defined as principles that then lead to policies, e.g. the value of fairness can be expressed in the principle of a stronger link between contribution and reward- a link which has become severed by hugely disproportionate executive pay, high returns to rent seekers and financial speculators and the long head-start of inherited wealth.

June 1, 2014

Kieran Tapsell. The Cunneen Reports Comments on Canon and Civil Law

On 30 May 2014, the Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Matters relating to the Police Investigation of Certain Child Sexual Abuse Allegations in the Catholic Diocese of MaitlandNewcastle (Cunneen Report) was published by the New South Wales Government. The Report rejected allegations by former Detective Inspector Fox that there was an attempt by the NSW Police not to properly investigate cases of the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy.

March 25, 2014

John Menadue. Privatising Medibank Pte - who cares?

This is a repost from 28 November 2013. My own view is that all the private health insurance companies, including Medibank Pte are parasitical and undermine Medicare. The only important political issue in my mind is whether the policy holders who have contributed over decades to Medibank Pte should receive appropriate recompense rather than the government taking the money for itself. John Menadue

I wont lose any sleep if the Abbott Government proceeds to privatise Medibank Pte. It is anticipated that the sale could realise $4 billion. That will go almost half way towards the $8.8 billion that Treasurer Joe Hockey is providing as a reserve fund for the Reserve Bank, even if the Bank didnt ask for it.

August 14, 2014

John Menadue. Is there light at the end of the dark tunnel?

In my blog of April 17 I outlined ways in which we might find a way out of the refugee quagmire. It is reposted below.

There is speculation that the government may announce an increase in the refugee intake to help the Christians and other minorities suffering dreadful persecution in Iraq and Syria. I hope this turns out to be the case and the beginning of a return to a more humane refugee policy.

June 27, 2014

Repost. Holier than thou ... but with disastrous results. John Menadue

The posturing of the Greens on the two big issues of this election, asylum seekers and climate change has given us two appalling policy outcomes. They sided with Tony Abbott in the Senate on both critical issues to defeat improved policy. The country is now paying a very heavy price. The perfect became the enemy of the good.

The Malaysian Agreement was not ideal and needed improvement but it was an important building block towards a regional arrangement. In opposing the processing of asylum claims in Malaysia the Greens were unremitting in their bashing of Malaysia. The collapse of the Malaysian arrangement gave oxygen to people smugglers in persuading desperate people to take dangerous sea voyages. The evidence is clear. When the High Court rejected the Malaysian Agreement in August 2011 irregular maritime arrivals were running at less than 300 per month. By May2012 they had increased to 1200.They have been rising rapidly ever since, reaching over 14,000 in the six months to June 30 this year The rot set in with the collapse of the Malaysian Agreement. We have been in a downward policy spiral ever since. Nauru, Manus, PNG, TPVs, turn backs at sea and even buying clapped out vessels in Indonesia. The madness continues. The Greens cannot wash their hands of the havoc they have wrought. The Government attempted to amend the Migration Act to correct the problems identified by the High Court but the Greens colluded with Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison to block the amending legislation.

April 23, 2014

John Menadue. Anzac and hiding behind the valour of our military.

For those who may have missed this. I have reposted this earlier piece about Anzac and hiding behind our heroes. John Menadue

There is an unfortunate and continuing pattern in our history of going to war- that the more disastrous the war the more politicians and the media hide behind the valour of service men and women. We will see this displayed again on April 25.

The Director of the Australian War Memorial, Brendan Nelson, drew attention to this well-honed way of distorting and excusing our strategic and political mistakes. In the SMH on October 5 last year, he said The more obscene the war, the more inexplicable it seems for us today, the more many [young people] admire those men and women who went in our name. (See my blog October 11, 2013, The drumbeat grows louder.)

October 8, 2014

John Menadue. Nelson Mandela's leadership.

You might be interested in this repost. John Menadue.

In all the tributes and stories about Nelson Mandela, there was one that caught my attention. In his book The Long Walk to Freedom he said:

A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realising that all along they are being directed from behind.

What I think he was saying is that leadership is a set of activities in which the South African people as a group were persuaded to make necessary but difficult decisions and being courageous enough to pursue them until a resolution was found. It was a collective effort. There was no messiah out in front. They were in it together. Nelson Mandela suffered on Robben Island and the young activists were gunned down by white police in Soweto. The pain was shared.

January 1, 2014

Repost: Co-payments: no rhyme or reason. Guest blogger Jennifer Doggett

This earlier post is reposted as it is relevant to the question of co-payments which a paper submitted to the Commission of Audit has proposed.

Australians are often justifiably proud of Medicare and its role in making health care accessible to all in the community. However, a largely unrecognised threat to Medicare is the increasingly large component of health funding which comes directly out of peoples pockets in the form of out-of-pocket costs or co-payments.

October 6, 2014

John Menadue. Insiders and Outsiders.

You might be interested in this repost. John Menadue.

As social beings, we usually like to be part of the group, an insider. We are cautious about being outsiders, on the periphery. Yet being outsiders has some real advantages.

Growing up in country towns in South Australia, I felt what it was like to be an outsider. As the son of a Methodist manse, I often felt an outsider in the socially conservative country towns of South Australia where we lived. I was able to join the group however through sport. As a university scholarship holder I also felt different to those in the mainstream. I felt I had to work harder so that I wouldnt lose my scholarship.

January 2, 2014

Repost: Pink Batts - facts and fiction. John Menadue

The following is a repost from July 11, 2013. I wonder if it is necessary for the Abbott Government to rake over the past rather than concentrate on the future!

The fiction is continuing in the uncritical media that only the Commonwealth Government should bear responsibility for the problems of the Home Insulation Scheme. We should consider the facts…

1.1 million Installations were completed under the scheme. There was clearly a rush by the Commonwealth Government to roll out the scheme as part of a successful stimulus plan to provide work as the global financial crisis bore down on us. Because of the stimulus plan Australia avoided most of the disaster that befell many other countries during the GFC. That should be recognized. But mistakes were made
In a column in Crikey of 26 April 2011, there were research findings by blogger Possum Comitatus, which were based on a CSIRO analysis of insulation fires. (It was not about deaths.) Possum Comitatus concluded that the HIS was three times safer than the industry it replaced in terms of the fires experienced within twelve months of getting installed. He then looked at the rate of fires over the longer term and came to the same conclusion that the industry was safer following the HIS than it was before. He concluded ultimately the HIS was much safer in terms of the fire rate than what preceded it.

Certainly the number of fires was up, but that was perhaps not surprising given the major increase in installations. But the rate of fires was down.

January 16, 2019

KIM WINGEREI. Brexit chaos - the failures of Westminster

As the Brexit chaos continues, it is worth reflecting on the background that led Britain to where it is today - with no ending in sight. The root cause lays in how the Westminster system is failing to serve the people.

February 22, 2018

Emma Albericis now more critical tax cuts analysis reposted by ABC

After a bitter dispute between ABC management and their star chief economics correspondent, Emma Alberici, the ABC today reposted her analysis of the Turnbull governments plan for big corporate tax cuts.

October 12, 2023

MAPW Statement on Israel and Palestine: "Assert the right of all peoples"

The current escalation in bloodshed in Israel and Palestine reflects the fact that peace cannot be built on decades of oppression; it can only be built on justice. The Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW) condemns not only the recent attacks, but also the failure despite concerns expressed by many leaders and governments around the world to address the oppression directed over a long period towards the Palestinian people.

November 28, 2018

ALEXANDER KAUFMAN, CHRIS D'ANGELO. Federal Climate Report Predicts At Least 3 Degrees Of Warming By 2100 (Huff Post).

The White House’s decision to release the report over the holiday weekend is likely to bury the sobering new findings.

February 7, 2018

St.Vincent de Paul Society

INDEPENDENT, NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS (Three opportunities)

Please click here for more details.

Applications close on Monday 19 February 2018.

February 7, 2024

Jewish Council of Australia launches to provide expert voice on antisemitism and racism in Australia

A dynamic coalition of Jewish scholars, historians, human rights lawyers, and writers has joined together to establish the Jewish Council of Australia.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal