February 19, 2017

PETER DAY. 'The smell of the sheep' (Pope Francis)

It should be noted that the intention of this reflection is not to play ’the man’ (bishops, clerics), but rather ’the ball’ (church governance, culture): to shine a light on a deeper and systemic illness that needs root and branch reform. Without such reform we will continue to produce fertile ground for the abuse of power, of which sexual abuse is a catastrophic symptom.

May 14, 2017

JAMIE LINGHAM. 457 visa changes 95% political

On April 18, the Australian government made an Australia First announcement that abolished the current 457 visa program and replaced it with the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa.And for political effect, the move eliminated any opportunity Pauline Hanson or Tony Abbott might have to slam the government by highlighting the abuses of the 457 program by unscrupulous immigration agents.What is clear now that the dust has settled is that this change was 95% political and 5% practical, torching local political challenges and appearing to offer an Australian response to the global anti-immigration sentiment across the western world.

October 31, 2024

A five-minute scroll

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese speaks out for humanity, Palestine speaks in the UN, the PM of Ireland speaks out for the UNRWA and Bernie Sanders explains the difference between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Israel. Overnight continued Israeli attacks decimate lives in Beit Lahia, North Gaza, the US State department gives their perspective. At home, the debunking of nuclear power for Australia takes just 90 seconds. A five-minute scroll.

October 14, 2016

NICHOLAS FARRELLY. What is King Bhumibols legacy?

New Mandala co-founder Nicholas Farrelly reflects on a remarkable and contentious reign.

The 70-year reign of Thailands King Bhumibol Adulyadej started and ended inauspiciously. It was a family tragedy that unexpectedly brought Bhumibol to the throne. He went on to become the worlds longest serving monarch but, in death, his formidable legacy is deeply tarnished by the ambitions of those who fought hardest to defend him.

In 1946, the untimely and mysterious death of his older brother, King Ananda Mahidol, catapulted the young Prince Bhumibol into a role for which he was unprepared. King Ananda died violently in Bangkoks Grand Palace. He was found in bed with a pistol shot to the head. To this day, nobody knows who pulled the trigger. Forensic reports suggest that neither suicide nor an accident were likely. Whispered speculation about regicide has continued ever since.

February 4, 2025

A five-minute scroll

The Israeli onslaught continues with attacks on Jenin in the occupied West Bank overnight while government officials suggest the death toll is 61,000. In Melbourne yesterday, protesters endure searing heat for the 69th weekly protest in support of Palestine. Justin Trudeau speaks out for Canada. The ABC Afternoon Briefing mentions Peter Dutton 46 times in 56 minutes, but not the Prime Minister.

April 4, 2016

Jon Stanford and Michael Keating - Submarines; cost, capability and timelines.

This article is a response to the article posted yesterday by Paul Barratt and Chris Barrie. ‘The case for building the future submarines in Australia.’

Both Paul Barratt and Chris Barrie have served at the highest levels in Defence and their views are clearly worthy of very serious consideration. Indeed, their contention that a military-off-the-shelf (MOTS) solution is impossible because Australia does have a unique role for a submarine and that the future submarine (FSM) should be built in locally, is shared by many people.

April 12, 2017

PETER JOHNSTONE. An Open Letter to the Catholic Bishops of Australia

Most Australian Catholics have long been aware that the structures of their Church are autocratic; most were brought up accepting that Church decision making is unaccountable and often secretive, that bishops are remote from their people in their decision making, and that the views of laypersons count for little, particularly if they are women. In more recent times, Catholics have increasingly questioned this dysfunctional governance; many have walked away and many have witnessed their children walking away. The widespread disillusionment of Catholics has peaked with the revelations emerging from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

December 8, 2016

We need a transformational foreign policy.

The following submission to the Hon. Julie Bishop for the White Paper on Foreign Affairs and Trade has also been sent to the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and Senator Wong, as well as selected MPs and Senators.

September 10, 2014

John Menadue The Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program - a dogs breakfast.

In an article in Eureka Street on 8 September, Fr Frank Brennan described the Royal Commission report into the HIP as a dogs breakfast. He described the reasoning behind Mr Hangers conclusion on commonwealth responsibility as bizarre. He added that the report was inadequate and flawed.

See Frank Brennans comments at the end of this post.

The pink batts issue has been dominated by party politicking, a relentless campaign by News Ltd and lazy journalism. The problems with the program were seized on at every opportunity to discredit the Rudd Government.

April 8, 2015

Ian McAuley. If the government wants price signals, it should stop supporting health insurance.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has declared the Medicare co-payment proposals dead, buried and cremated, but two related ideas behind it live on: Medicare is becoming unaffordable and our universal health system should morph into a program reserved for the poor.

The governments original justification for the co-payment was to bring more price signals into Medicare. In itself the idea has merit, but the government has been going about it in a ham-fisted way.

July 7, 2013

Kevin Rudd - the anti-politician. John Menadue

We often ponder why Kevin Rudd has remained so popular even through his three years in the wilderness.

A blog The Piping Strike explains to me the phenomenon better than others. It says The uncomfortable answer is that Rudd is popular because he encapsulates the electorates distrust and even dislike of the political system.

The kid with the glasses in the library doesnt seem like the normal politician. He is attractive because of that. This makes it hard for the political class, both politicians and journalists, when Kevin Rudd doesnt play the game the same way as others. The more machine politicians and the media pile into Rudd, the more his anti-politician stance attracts people in the community.

December 18, 2015

Andrew Leigh. Putting the spotlight on company tax dodgers

Every year, the International Tax Review nominates its Global Tax 50 the people and organisations who are most influential in improving tax systems around the world. Two years ago, David Bradbury made the list, for being a vocal and proactive voice on a variety of tax issues.

One of Bradburys award-winning reforms was tax transparency laws that required the tax office to report the tax paid by firms with total income above $100 million. The Liberals didnt like the change, and voted against it at the time. After winning government, they set about trying to repeal it first by warning of kidnap risk, and then by suggesting that it might embarrass some firms if the public knew how little tax they paid.

July 20, 2015

Tony Smith. Wasting money on domestic violence?

The implementation of most Government policies requires some kind of expenditure. One of the laziest approaches an Opposition can adopt is to cite slogans about cost. This sloganeering is at its most shallow when arguing that the Government is just throwing money at the problem. Needless to say, there are occasions when this criticism is true. Governments can decide that by giving an issue some funding, it can silence the demands of groups pressuring for action.

May 3, 2016

Alison Broinowski. Who decides when we go to war?

Setbacks for democratic reform of war powers.

Having taken one step forward, Australias major allies have now taken two steps back from reform of their war powers.

In the UK, the Defence Minister has set aside years of bipartisan promises of legislation that would require British governments to consult the Parliament before committing forces to war, and has rejected what he now calls this artificial constraint. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/apr/18/ministers-abandon-plan-war-powers-law-mps-troops

Prime Minister Gordon Brown sought legislation to bring to an end the exercise of the war powers by a prime minister under executive privilege. He hoped to transfer the decision for war to the Parliament, but abandoned the attempt in 2007. A bipartisan committee secured support of both houses in 2011 to enshrine in legislation the convention of executive consultation with MPs before committing armed force. Having asserted, in Opposition in 2006, that public trust depended upon MPs having the final say in troop deployments, David Cameron in government allowed the initiative to drift, but his plan to send RAF planes to Syria was defeated in the Commons in 2013. Cameron then secured a majority in favour of a similar deployment this year. Cameron has now reversed himself and rejected the prospect of legislation to change the war powers, even though the convention that governments should consult Parliament apparently remains in place.

May 30, 2017

Drug policy and why Victoria deserves better from Premier Daniel Andrews. Part 3 of 3.

Bad drug policy has been good politics for several decades. We can thank US President Richard Nixon for this discovery.

February 23, 2017

CAVAN HOGUE. Ukraine a pox on both your houses?

A solution to the fighting in Ukraine will require agreement and cooperation by three parties without undue interference from outsiders. The three parties are the Russian Government, the Ukrainian Government and the Eastern Ukrainian rebels. The outsiders are NATO and the USA. Australia is not a player.

December 19, 2016

DOUGLAS NEWTON. The forgotten and ignored German peace initiative of 1916.

Forgotten Great War Centenaries

This month, truly important Great War centenaries are passing by quite unnoticed in Australia. A hundred years ago, diplomatic events occurred of far greater significance than any battle in which Australians fought. And if true political wisdom and courage had prevailed a negotiated peace might have been achieved, cutting short the orgy of mechanised killing.

April 19, 2017

RICHARD BROINOWSKI. Still demonizing North Korea

Following recent North Korean missile tests and American declarations that they have run out of ‘strategic patience’, the Western media and the governments they serve, are busily repeating time-honoured myths about North Korea.

January 11, 2017

FRANK BRENNAN SJ. The cost of Alexander Downer cutting corners on Timor Leste a decade ago.

If only the government and their supporters like News Ltd had been prepared to listen to the parliamentary committee a decade ago.

February 13, 2017

TONY SMITH. Media ignorance of disrespect for parliament and people

It is a shame that at a time when government is so hollow, only a handful of journalists can escape the clich and find a basis for critical analysis of policy, which ought to be the basis for judging a governments performance.

September 3, 2017

IAN MCAULEY. Electricity discounts for some, price rises for others

If we follow the governments suggestion that we should hunt around for cheaper electricity there will be no net benefits, just a re-shuffling of who cross-subsidises whom in the market. We have been brought to this absurd situation by a blind faith in privatisation and competition.

November 29, 2016

Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration - the desperate situation of Rohingya in Myanmar.

Situation in Rakhine State in Myanmar of grave concern the region must be on high alert. Mass displacement inevitable if violence continues to escalate.

October 1, 2017

JOHN MENADUE. Is the Australian cruise control in Asia going to end?

Last week, Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen gave a very encouraging speech outlining a new comprehensive and holistic policy approach to Asian engagement which will be called FutureAsia’. After many false starts about our engagement with Asia, could this be the beginning of something important? Could it be as Gareth Evans has said in his memoir, Australia needs to be more self reliant, more Asia, less US.

October 14, 2018

JOHN TULLOH. The mirage of great expectations in Saudi Arabia.

Perhaps the most masterful PR campaign of international diplomacy this year was the visit to the US of Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman commonly known as MBS. He was feted on a two-week coast-to-coast tour by politicians, big business, oil tycoons and the tech industry. President Trump fawned over him with a photographic display of the billions of dollars of American weaponry the Saudis were buying. Just peanuts to you, said Trump with some admiration. The media lined up like drooling supplicants. The main reason was that they all thought the new ruler of Saudi Arabia in all but name was a reformist who would steer the theocratic kingdom into the sunlit world of freedom and democracy.

March 31, 2016

Michael Mullins. Threatened Al Jazeera more trustworthy than white mans media'

John Menadue’s blog post White mans media points to our medias disproportionatecoverage of terrorism in the west, where only 2.6 per cent of terrorism related deaths occur.

Our easily accessible media outlets could be on the way to becoming even whiter, with this week’sannouncement that Al Jazeera is to lay off 500 staff because falling oil prices are putting the budget of its Qatar state owners into deficit. Even though many of its staff and practices are white, Al Jazeera English was set up in 2006 as an antidote to the dominant white mans media.

June 14, 2017

Strong anti-nuclear weapons advocacy by Asia-Pacific leaders.

Nuclear weapons pose an existential threat to humanity and indeed to all forms of life on planet Earth. Serious threats persist from the use or misuse of weapons whether by design, accident or system malfunction by nuclear-armed states and terrorist actors, and from the misuse of the civil fuel cycle.

November 27, 2024

A five-minute scroll

A defendant who spied on JUlian Assange during his embassy asylum faces criminal charges for falsifying evidence. At the UN the State of Palestine reiterates that despite of labes of ’terrorism’ Palestinian people have a seven -decade just cause while Piers Morgan interviews Francesca Albanese. In Pakistan, Imran Khan supporters are being brutally attacked, while pundits advise why Khan fell out with the establishment. Footage of Lindsey Graham supporting the ICC against Putin reveals the hypocrisy of politics, while David Shoebridge calls out the Albanese governments for fear politics. On ABC’s Media Watch, claims by Dick Smith in relation to green energy are overturned while the ABC Ombudsman calls for broader perspectives on contentious topics.

February 20, 2025

A five-minute scroll

Dr Hussam Abu Safiya seen in an interview with an Israeli journalist from an Israeli jail draws a statement from his family of psychological terrorism. Owen James speaks of Palestinian children tried in military court while settlers are tried in civil court. Zelenskyy pushes back on Trump with facts. Dan Duggan was one of many pilots from across the world, none of whom are facing any charges.

April 27, 2017

ELAINE PEARSON. Australia Should Suspend Military Sales to Saudi Arabia

TheAustraliangovernment should immediately halt military sales toSaudi Arabiafollowing numerous unlawful Saudi-led coalition airstrikes inYemen, Human Rights Watch said today in aletterto Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Australia should also release details about military weapons and material it has sold to other members of the Saudi-led coalition carrying out the Yemen campaign and whether any Australian-made arms have been used in unlawful coalition attacks.

July 10, 2018

GEORGE BROWNING. Domestic Violence

Last week we were confronted with domestic violence in the most tragic of circumstances as a NSW father became the brutal killer of his two teenage children. Most Australians will have found this news inexplicable. How could a father submerge natural feelings of paternal care and responsibility in an ocean of anger and bitterness to enable such a terrible act? If the chief role of Government is to keep its citizens safe, as politicians from the Prime Minister down constantly remind us to justify the enormous spending on national defence; is enough being done to combat what is a far greater threat to citizen safety?

September 8, 2016

TONY KEVIN. 'Putin meets Turnbull': an interesting encounter at Hangzhou.

Chris Ullmanns ABC News report on main outcomes for Australia of the Hangzhou G20 Summit led with an account of an impromptu encounter between Malcolm Turnbull and Vladimir Putin. Maybe they bumped into one another in the hotel lift or corridors? We dont know which side initiated this conversation, but it could be a positive step towards normalising Australian-Russian relations.**

August 29, 2016

WALTER HAMILTON. Minamata Remembered

This year is the sixtieth anniversary of the methyl mercury poisoning in Japan that caused Minamata Disease. Shocking images of victims captured by the American photographer W. Eugene Smith (his Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath perhaps the best known) have served ever since as a warning to the world of the threat from industrial pollution.

Documents recently obtained by NHK televisions Close-Up Gendai current affairs program have revealed how politicians and bureaucrats colluded with the firm responsible for the pollution scandal, Chisso Corporation, to keep it afloat using public money while restricting compensation payments to victims.

August 28, 2016

ROBERT REICH: Why a Single-Payer Healthcare System is Inevitable

Private markets for health insurance pose a structural problem, and Obamacare cant fix it.

May 28, 2017

PAUL BARRATT. Growing momentum for drug law reform. Part 1 of 3.

The war on drugs has failed.

There was a buzz across Australia in March 2017, when former premiers, police chiefs, prison officers and lawyers stood side-by-side with drug users and their families, to throw down the gauntlet on drug law reform. They called foran end to criminal penalties for personal use and possession and a new focus on addressing the health and social issues associated with drug-taking.

February 9, 2017

JAMES CARROL. Pope Francis is the anti-Trump.

Who would have thought that, on an elemental point of liberal democracy, the United States could take instruction from the white-robed man in Rome? And who would have thought that liberal democracy itself could have a stake in the unfinished struggle for the soul of the Catholic Church?

June 16, 2014

Debt and negative gearing

Many have grown tired of the exaggerations by the Coalition about debt and deficits. The fact is that, as least as far as public debt is concerned, we dont have a problem. The public debt emergency is confected. Our public debt is about $300 billion which in world terms is a very low figure.

But the real debt we have is household debt which is approaching $2 trillion, one of the highest in the developed world. Our household debt is 1.8 times household disposable income. This compares with 1.1 times in the US.

August 30, 2016

ROSS BURNS. Looking for an end-game in Syria.

Newspaper commentary on the Syria conflict has long struggled to provide new insights into the conflict. However, in an analysis published over the weekend in the New York Times, Max Fisher, adopted the novel approach of asking academic experts to comment on how other civil wars came to an end to see if any served as a precedent for Syria.

July 10, 2018

JOHN TULLOH. Sorry, Rupert, the ABC is more trusted than you are.

As keen as the local Murdoch media are in reporting opinion polls, a recent survey* probably was not one of them. It declared that their avowed nemesis remained by far the most trusted media organisation in Australia. That is the ABC or, as Rupert Murdoch famously muttered in 2002, Fucking ABC.

October 10, 2018

ADAM MORTON. In a canter? Climate experts say Australia will not meet emissions targets. (Guardian 11.10.2108)

Guardian Australia spoke to 12 economists and scientists almost all reject governments claim to be on track. Leading climate researchers have overwhelmingly rejected the federal governments claim it is on track to cut greenhouse gas emissions as promised under the 2015 Paris agreement.

April 16, 2017

ALLAN PATIENCE. The seduction of pessimism.

It seems that the end is nigh of much of what we know and love about our planet as climate change intensifies across the globe. Climate change science is painting a depressingly pessimistic picture of the future. Is there no hope?

October 7, 2016

ROSS GARNAUT. The economics of the future energy system.

How can we provide a high degree of energy security in Australia at the lowest possible cost, while contributing our fair share to the global effort to contain the costs of climate change?

I take as my starting point Prime Minister Turnbulls admonition that we put ideology aside as we seek answers to this question.

March 7, 2014

Cavan Hogue. Russia, Ukraine and Crimea.

Western rhetoric about the situation in Ukraine shows little understanding of the realities of Russia and Ukraine. If Western countries want a new cold war they are going the right way about it. It is a complex problem which cannot be solved by superficial noises about democracy and territorial integrity. Crimea is a special case which should be separated from the more general conflict.

Crimea was always Russian until Khrushchev put it into the Ukrainian SSR which didnt matter because everything at that time was controlled from Moscow anyway. However, after the break-up, a whole lot of people who spoke Russian and thought of themselves as Russians found themselves in a country they didnt want to be part of and felt no loyalty towards. That is why they are an autonomous region and that is why they want to be part of Russia instead of Ukraine.

December 8, 2015

Turkey and Daesh

In this blog on 6 December 2015 ‘Turkey’s new neighbour - Daesh (Islamic State)’ John Tulloh referred to an article by David Graeber in The Guardian on how Turkey is obstructing Kurdish forces that are the most effective opponents of Daesh.

In that article, David Graeber asserts that ‘Western leaders could destroy Islamic State by calling on [President] Erdogan to end his attacks on Kurdish forces in Syria and Turkey and allow them to fight ISIS on the ground’.

July 7, 2016

GARRY WOODARD. Chilcot and Australia

Tony Blair is the most flamboyant and contentious of the trio who took the coalition of the willing into war in Iraq.

Attention focuses on what the Chilcot enquiry has concluded about his role, and equally importantly on what are the lessons, which it promised from the outset it would draw.

The British enquiry naturally wished to protect the confidences of Blair’s co-conspirators, who have managed, unlike Blair, to preserve an image of dignified statesmanship and confident resignation that they did, properly, what had to be done.

December 13, 2016

We can say 'no' to the Americans

Other countries with which the US has very close relationships have not always supported or joined in with the United States in ventures which the US government of the day thought of as of the highest importance.

May 19, 2014

Michael Keating. Part 2. The Budget and our Values

The Budget is always the clearest guide to a governments priorities and values. In the present instance, the Coalition Government wants to define this budget as being all about contribution. Their rhetoric is that we should all make a contribution towards restoring the nations finances. Spreading the burden would be fair and therefore consistent with Australian values. But nothing could be further from the truth. Disadvantaged and low income people are being asked to make very big sacrifices, while most of us will be little troubled, and a few very rich people will be better off as a result of this Budget.

July 23, 2013

Japan: Where to now? Guest blogger: Walter Hamilton

Japans ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won a resounding victory in last weekends Upper House election. It now has sufficient seats in both houses of parliament to dominate the important Diet committees and ensure passage of key legislation. The LDP, however, has fallen short of obtaining enough votes to push through constitutional change on its own.

Amendments require the support of two-thirds of both houses of the Diet, before being put to a referendum. The LDP still does not command a two-thirds majority, even with the support of right-wing opposition parties that favour ditching the pacifist clauses that were inserted in the constitution by the Americans during the postwar occupation. The LDP would also need the backing of its coalition partner, the New Komeito, the political arm of the lay Buddhist organisation Soka Gakkai. The New Komeito has traditionally supported Japans pacifist stance, and during the election campaign Prime Minister Shinzo Abe trod carefully so as not to overstrain the coalition relationship.

January 4, 2016

John Menadue. 'The Big Short'

Paul Krugman reviews ‘The Big Short’, a film that the enemies of financial regulation hope you won’t see or believe. See link below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/18/opinion/the-big-short-housing-bubbles-and-retold-lies.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share

September 5, 2016

NICK DEANE. Reflecting on Troubled Waters. South China Sea

The dispute in the South China Sea should not, legitimately, involve Australia. We are only involved because we have such close military ties with the United States. War between the US and China is not inevitable, but dangerous, military escalation is taking place. If hostilities break out, the war will be on our doorstep.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal