October 21, 2018

JOHN MENADUE. Wentworth wipe-out!

The only surprise in Wentworth was the scale of the Liberal Party collapse. Spin and marketing by the Prime Minister was easily recognised. The poor product could not be hidden.

Within twenty four hours of the debacle both the Prime Minister and the Treasurer told us that there would be no change of policy,particularly on climate change. They both have tin ears.

The outstanding result for Kerryn Phelps shows once again the reservations electors have about the performance of our major parties. Their vote continues to decline. Strong independents in safe Coalition seats could have a field day at the next general election.

March 7, 2018

HYLDA ROLFE. Summer of our disconnect .

Hurrah-words dont disguise the reality of the steady creep of business into our National Parks. When a world-status Park is involved, all sorts of phoney justifications for commercial incursions are trotted out. The pity of it is that so many of them emanate from within the Gamekeepers compound. But repetition does not generate conviction, and the natives are becoming restless.

October 9, 2017

MUNGO MACCALLUM. Welcome to Malcolm's brave new world.

Malcolm Turnbull began last week with the regular ritual of re-announcing that, yet again, he had solved the gas crisis.

September 4, 2019

NOEL TURNBULL. Democracy and its discontents

Much of the fevered discussion on the future and failings of democracy is based on misconceptions, particularly the fact that some see democratic discontent and growing authoritarianism as a re-run of the 1930s something possible but extremely unlikely.

November 21, 2017

KIM WINGEREI. Book Review of Reboot - A Democracy Makeover to Empower Australias Voters - by Richard Walsh

The respect for our politicians is at an all-time low. Voters of all ages, but especially the young, are turning away from the political discourse in disgust; The recent citizenship debacle and the same sex marriage plebiscite that wasnt, have been new low points in a decade high on political drama, low on any kind of meaningful reform. In his book - Reboot - A Democracy Makeover to Empower Australias Voters (Melbourne University Press - 2017), Richard Walsh is tackling the core issues head on with some novel ideas on how we, the voters, may get the elected representatives that we deserve, rather than the party delegates who serve us so poorly today.

March 11, 2018

ROSS GWYTHER. Our nuclear chickens come home to roost

Popular TV personality Mike Higgins addressed a packed Brisbane City Hall gathering on a rainy November night in 1983. As chair of the meeting he was joined on the podium by later-to-be Governor General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, retired US Army colonel David Hackworth, Anglican Dean Butters, the president of the Qld Trades Hall council Harry Haunschild, famous Aboriginal writer Oodgeroo Noonuccul, and others. Convened by the newly formed People for Nuclear Disarmament, the meeting foreshadowed one of the largest and most active mass movements in Australian history the nuclear disarmament movement of the 1980s and 90s.

May 26, 2019

MUNGO MACCALLUM. Abbott waits for next ride on gravy train.

With his political death, Tony Abbott achieved something he had never managed or even attempted in his political life: bipartisanship.

May 2, 2019

CHRIS BONNOR. An election without education?

Commentators often express dismay that debates about policy go missing in action at election time. This time around, the vacuous reigns supreme as the election degenerates into a policy parody despite longer term policy work by the ALP and some others. But after the starting gun sounded, meaningful debate was cast aside, yet again. Serious issues seem to be off-limitsbecoming what the Guardian calls a code of silence. School education has certainly taken a back seat: no issues, no debate, nothing to present - or misrepresent. It seems that we have settled all the big debates of past years. If only.

January 5, 2018

GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND ...

A journey through a land of extreme poverty: welcome to America the Guardian.

Australia’s least competitive industries are earning super-profits Ross Gittins Canberra Times.

Michael Lewis writes on Trump’s campaign against Department of Agriculture scientists in Vanity Fair.

Americans can spot election meddling because theyve been doing it for years the Guardian

A quarter of the World’s land will be permanently drier if Paris climate goals not met: Study

NBN expert, Paul Budde laments ‘second-rate’ network Newcastle Herald

December 9, 2015

Michael Keating. Tax Reform and Future Federal-State Relations

All informed opinion is that fiscal repair in Australia will require action on the revenue side as well as the expenditure side of the Budget. Accordingly at least some tax reform is essential and unavoidable.

In addition, reform of the taxation system and the future of federal- state relations are inevitably closely connected. First, possible changes to increase the GST revenue are central to many of the proposals to raise the necessary extra revenue and would represent a key element of tax reform more generally. Second, for very good reasons all the revenue from the GST is passed to the States, so changes to the GST not only require the agreement of the States, but these GST changes are likely to involve further changes in Federal-State relations.

April 11, 2018

SOPHIE VORRATH. Why Turnbull will never back renewables.

A federal government led by Malcolm Turnbull will never back policies that accelerate the shift to renewables, effectively tackle climate change, or help to phase out coal plants.

October 4, 2017

DAVID STEPHENS. Who's Schlesinger now? Something that may have happened in the Nixon era could be relevant today.

It is said that, when President Richard Nixon, assailed by Watergate, drunk and psychotic, wandered the corridors of the White House in the dead of night, talking to portraits of his predecessors, members of his administration put measures in place to keep the Presidents hands away from the football, the briefcase that always accompanied him, containing the codes to launch a nuclear attack. Is this true and could something similar happen today?

July 15, 2019

Trumps strategic incoherence on India policy Part 2

In an editorial to mark Secretary of State Mike Pompeos recent visit, The Times of India_alluded to US policy incoherence in urging Washington to make up its mind between dealing with India as__an ally or a frenemy__. Earlier, in February Washington broke from its traditional non-committal stance on IndiaPakistan skirmishes toside openly with Indias narrative_on the Pulwama militant attack and retaliatory missile strikes on Balakot. This was followed by thesuccessful pressure on China to lift its hold on designating Pakistan-based Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.

September 23, 2018

LYNDSAY CONNORS. Coalition recycles old nonsense with business-as-usual schools deal (the Guardian, 22.09.18)

The prime ministers announcement of an extra $4.6bn in funding over the next decade for private schools makes no sense.

June 9, 2019

TIM WOODRUFF. Health Policy: Where to Now?

The recent__election result was a major disappointment for those interested in improving the health of the nation. The re-election of the Coalition promises an ongoing increase in support for private health insurance as the Government continues its long-term agenda of two tiering the health system.

December 26, 2018

PETER RODGERS. Israel-Palestine - the fallacy of the two-state solution.

I posted the following on Pearls and Irritations mid-year. I have been involved in Middle Eastern affairs for more than 30 years and, like many others, have clung to the notion of two states like a life-line. Letting go is painful, it creates even greater uncertainty. But to suggest that there is the slightest chance of two states happening ignores the realities both of today and the past 70 years. For our Prime Minister to use the two-state solution as cover for his foolish and pointless decision on Jerusalem is nothing more than a cheap marketing trick.

May 11, 2018

MICHAEL THORN. Corporate power unchecked: Time to redress a dangerous imbalance

Are corporate interests too powerful? Are vested interests beyond democratic control? Are our political institutions even concerned to do so?

September 2, 2018

KIERAN TAPSELL. Accountability, Clericalism and Culture in the Catholic Church

Pope Francis has little chance of overcoming clericalism and the toxic culture of cover up in the Catholic Church unless he changes those parts of canon law which are dripping with it.

August 27, 2018

Morrison names leading anti-wind campaigner as energy minister

New prime minister Scott Morrison has ended the experiment of combining the energy and environment portfolios, and appointed one of the countrys most prominent anti-wind campaigners as energy minister, and a former mining industry lawyer as environment minister.

November 22, 2017

CHRIS BONNOR. Wealthy parents flock to public schools

The results of the 2016 census are continuing to roll out. This time it is the turn of school education to grab the headlines, most recently with Fairfax telling us that wealthy families are turning away from elite private schools.

June 13, 2019

BRUCE THOM. Federal election and coasts

I am not sure how many Australians appreciated promises made about coastal issues during the recent federal election. Perhaps very few. This despite the fact that so much of our national well-being and livelihoods are dependent on healthy coasts and waterways. Yet it is interesting to look at promises made by the two major parties and think about what our federal system has to offer over the next 3 years (and beyond!).

March 11, 2018

Ending the medical / dental divide (redux).

In a piece published in the Medical Journal of Australia in December 2014, I called for an end to the artificial medical/dental divide. At the same time, writing in The Conversation, I outlined six first steps towards the better integration of dental and medical care to improve health outcomes and contain overall health care spending. My thoughts then are applicable today, especially in light of additional data and information that has emerged over the past three years.

June 30, 2019

PAUL BARRATT. Australia should not participate in conflict with Iran.

Australia should not participate in any military action against Iran. The current tensions have been created by the Trump Administration, and the ANZUS Alliance creates no obligation for us to assist. President Trump may think that a war against Iran would not last very long, but any significant military action really would set the Middle East ablaze. Irans antagonists would be taking on a country the size of Queensland, one with a population of 80 million. Iran itself has substantial capacity to resist and retaliate, Iranian proxies elsewhere in the Middle East could be expected to retaliate, and there could be heightened tensions between the Shia minorities and the governments in the Sunni world.

September 13, 2018

LYNDSAY CONNORS. Latest OECD Education report should spark a reality check.

According to the OECDs 2018 Education at a Glance report, one measure that places Australia in an extreme position internationally is its high proportion of private funding across the primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors. And Australia is certainly out on a limb when it comes to the public/private funding mix for private schools.

July 5, 2018

PATRICIA EDGAR. The ABC, Facebook and the Meaning of Trust

Trust is an interesting concept. It takes time to develop trust which results from a broad experience of something (or someone) which demonstrates consistent, reliable behavior with integrity, ability, and surety; it involves confident expectation. But trust can be lost irretrievably, quite quickly. Trust allows for mistakes if they are dealt with openly and honestly. It does not forgive manipulation, dishonesty and betrayal.

May 26, 2019

ALLAN PATIENCE Are we seeing the beginning of America's fragmentation.

In his 2014 book Dangerous Allies, Malcolm Fraser issued Australians with a timely warning. He pointed out that the America with which Australia had signed the ANZUS treaty way back in 1951 is a very different country to the great and powerful friend we imagined it to be at the end of World War II. Its internal politics are riven with religious fundamentalisms, factionalised political parties, gun-toting madmen culturally and politically licensed by the NRA and elements in the Republican Party, narrowly-conceived identity politics, worsening economic divides, decaying cities, a class-based culture of populist resentment, and major cultural and political differences emerging among the states in the Union.

October 26, 2018

GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND

A regular collection of links to writings and broadcasts covered in other media.

May 30, 2019

MICHAEL PASCOE. Government integrity test: A genuine retirement system inquiry or a political stunt? (New Daily, 30.05.19)

If Treasurer Josh Frydenberg wants a genuine review of the retirement income system, the little matter of franking credit refunds will have to be back on the table and that would be only one of the political challenges.

September 28, 2018

HENRY REYNOLDS. Mateship Multiplied.

I was idly trawling through the many programmes available on the hotels television and came upon the History Channel. To my surprise there was a feature about what was called Australias 100 years of mateship with the United States although the particular focus was on Australians who had worked in Hollywood. I later discovered that the episode was one of a series of nine five minute features billed as Australia and the USA: A Century Together and which talked candidly about the effect both cultures had on each other. But the central theme was clear: it was in war that the bonds grew strongest. In fact, the viewer was informed that it was a friendship largely forged in blood and iron.

September 24, 2019

JOHN MENADUE. A updated post: A Commonwealth Hospital Benefit similar to the existing Medical Benefit to replace the $11b private health insurance subsidy.

The wasteful and unfair $ 11b per annum cost to taxpayers of the subsidy to Private Health Insurance should be abolished and the savings used in three possible ways part funding a Medicare dental scheme, additional funding for public hospitals and/or part funding private hospital care through a Hospital Benefit Scheme. This third option may be more politically possible given the power of private providers who have an effective veto on reform. In that Hospital Benefit Scheme, individuals could choose to access either a public or a private hospital in the same way that veterans do today.

April 24, 2018

HENRY REYNOLDS. Remembrance Day in New York: Anzac Day in Tasmania.

I was in New York during May last year. At the end of the month, there was a public holiday. It was their Remembrance Day. Not that much happened in New York. There were no flags, no marches or processions. Apparently, it is a tradition for a naval ship to come into port for the occasion and there were a few white uniforms in the crowds of tourists. On Third Avenue, a woman rushed up to a sailor who was just in front of me and declared in a loud Manhattan voice that she greatly appreciated his service. But I was more interested in the experience of my ten-year-old grand-daughter who was in a junior public school. I asked her what the holiday was for. She had no idea. I asked her if she had any discussion in class about Remembrance Day and she said that no one had said anything about it. On the other hand, I was fascinated by the weekly debates that she and her class engaged in dealing with every aspect of contemporary politics in a way which would have been out of the question for my Tasmanian grand-daughter who was about the same age.When it came to Anzac Day it was quite a different story. Politics was eschewed in Tasmanias junior classroom but by the middle of primary school the children had been thoroughly inducted into the official version of the central importance of the day. I was somewhat taken aback several years ago when my grand-daughter rushed out of her grade three classroom declaring she wanted to be an Anzac girl.

September 27, 2017

HENRY REYNOLDS. Thinking about memory and monuments.

The controversy about confederate monuments in the southern states erupted in May this year while I was in the United States. I was impressed by the extent and the vigour of the debate. In the back of my mind I wondered if a similar controversy would eventually emerge in Australia. It did and with a speed that surprised me. But it was not simply a matter of reactive emulation. There are interesting similarities between American and Australian history and the way it has been remembered. And on the other hand there are instructive contrasts.

September 16, 2019

JOHN ENGLISH. Canada goes to the polls: It cant happen here.

Looking south as Canadians must and can do invariably provokes the comment, It cant happen here. But it already has. While Donald Trump certainly cannot be replicated, the nativist, populist, and authoritarian tendencies of American Republicans have often appeared in Canada.

December 31, 2023

Vale John Pilger

A bright star in the firmament of justice has gone out. One of the greatest journalists of our era has passed away.

September 23, 2018

MICHAEL PASCOE. Why now is definitely not the time to scrap negative gearing (The New Daily, 21.09.18)

Conventional and entirely reasonable wisdom holds that the middle of a drought is not the time to develop drought policy but that is what we appear to be headed for with Scott Morrisons drought summit.

April 9, 2019

LAURIE PATTON.Labor spells out its NBN rescue plan

Labors communications spokesperson, Michelle Rowland, has outlined a very sensible approach to fixing the dud NBN. In fact, should the Coalition retain office it would be well advised to adopt Labors plan.

September 25, 2019

RENUKA MAHADEVAN and ANDA NUGROHO. RCEP must move forward, with or without India (East Asia Forum 19-9-19)

As the international trading system grows increasingly strained under the escalating USChina trade dispute and theparalysis of WTO reform, many have eagerly called for the conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by the end of 2019. TheASEAN-led initiativeis a mega regional free trade agreement (FTA) that was first launched in November 2012 and to date has seen 27 rounds of negotiations.

May 29, 2019

TIM BUCKLEY. The Global Energy Transformation is Well Underway

Improved technology and economies of scale are driving rapidly falling costs of renewable energy. As a result financial institutions and energy corporates are fleeing coal and coal facilities are becoming stranded assets. Government policies in China and India and other Asian nations are reinforcing this trend. Australia must prepare for the inevitable technology driven disruption.

July 28, 2019

MUNGO MACCALLUM. Cultural warriors caught in conflict of loathing.

Once again, the cultural warriors of the right are caught in a conflict of loathing. They would love to see Julie Bishop and Christopher Pyne embarrassed and humiliated they were supporters of the arch fiend Turnbull, renegades from the Miraculous Morrison and his band of angels. They deserve to be cast into the nethermost pit, along with the other unbelievers and blasphemers.

August 14, 2018

ALEX MITCHELL. The Great Drought: Panic or Policy?

Desperate farmers in rural communities across Australia are being led into a cruel dystopia where reality is being smothered by false hopes.

April 5, 2018

FRANCESCA BEDDIE. Wanted: politicians who inspire and creative public policy (Part 2 of 2)

I watched Ken Loachs film I, Daniel Blake again recently. Again, I cried. A sick bloke with talent and decency ends up dead before he can argue his case to be treated not as a client, customer, service user or national insurance number but as a citizen, no more no less. Surely our citizens can expect more from governments and public servants than mindless process and indifference. In the age of automation ought not compassion be precious? In the age of big data, shouldnt it be easier to tailor public services to the individuals who pay, or have paid, taxes? This essay explores the malaise in our polity (part one) and argues for doing things differently (part two).

August 21, 2018

MARK HUDSON. The too hard basket: a short history of Australias aborted climate policies (The Conversation, 20.08.18)

Less than three years ago, after Malcolm Turnbull had wrested the prime ministership from Tony Abbott, I wrote an article entitled Carbon coups: from Hawke to Abbott, climate policy is never far away when leaders come a cropper.

June 4, 2019

ANTHONY MILNER. Australia does face a foreign relations crisis.

There may have been advantages in keeping the recent election campaign away from foreign policy. Statements made to win domestic votes can be damaging to a countrys international relations. It is now time, however, for some serious thinking.

September 10, 2019

LIONEL ORCHARD. Don Dunstan in Perspective: A Review

ANU historian Angela Woollacott has written a major biography of Don Dunstan reflecting on his place in the pantheon of reforming Australian Labor politicians. A review of the biography follows.

June 30, 2019

JOHN KERIN. Trumps latest Farm Bill and Implications for Australias Farm Exports.

Trumps trade policies and reaction to the rebound of them has resulted in another increase of $23b subsidisation on top of the $12b supposedly one-off package last year for US farmers who are collateral damage, as a result of his policies. Put together, this represents two thirds of Australias total agricultural output.Do good allies damage Australian farmers like this ?

June 13, 2019

MICHELLE PINI: AFP raids journalists: We need to talk about our Government

There is no doubt the AFP raids are an affront to our democracy. One in which the hand of a secretive and ruthless Government can be felt, if not seen or heard.

July 3, 2018

IAN CRAWFORD. Korea: the forgotten war and Australians still missing

Understandably, the agreement of the Singapore Summit on the recovery of the bodies of US military from sites in North Korea has attracted less public interest than the denuclearisation issue. Ian Crawford, National President of National Korea Veterans Association, points to the significant losses Australia suffered in the harsh conditions of the Korean War and particularly attention to the 44 Australians killed in the war in its various phases whose bodies have still to be located. Some could well be discovered in the process of implementing the Singapore agreement. Ian has been actively engaged in the long running working groups between Australia and the relevant US authorities on this issue.

October 22, 2017

STUART HARRIS. The US and North Korea: the importance of history.

North Koreas belligerent missile tests have given rise to fears that the hardening rhetoric on both sides will lead to military conflict involving nuclear weapons. These fears have resulted in moves to moderate this tension by some of the players, with US Secretary of State Tillerson seeking to communicate with the North, and South Koreas President Moon seeking dialogue with the North.

November 29, 2018

ABUL RIZVI: Is our Visa Processing System in Crisis?

A fundamental aspect of a well operating immigration system is one that encourages people to apply for the right visa and follow intended visa pathways after arrival rather than use visitor visas to by-pass applying for the right visa. Visitor visas have the lowest level of scrutiny and are the easiest to exploit. But the current Home Affairs leadership has let both offshore and onshore backlogs and processing times increase dramatically with a commensurate decline in the integrity of Australias immigration system. This includes allowing unscrupulous labour agents to use the Protection Visa system to supply easily exploitable labour to unscrupulous employers.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal