January 21, 2018

MACK WILLIAMS. New US National Defense Strategy: Back to the Cold War?

The new US National Defense Strategy heralds a new strategic direction under Trump which significantly reduces the priority of counter-terrorism and confirms a return to global competition with China and Russia with the basic objective to outspend both in defence. All of which has some serious implications for Australia. The influence of the US ‘junta of generals’ is apparent.

December 14, 2017

RAMESH THAKUR. Australia charts a flawed foreign policy course

Australias 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper sketches the global geopolitical transition with remarkable precision and elegance and the document is exceptionally strong on principles, rules and norms as the foundation of world order. The word rules is used 70 times, norms 22 times, principles 15 times and international law 26 times.

June 26, 2018

MICHAEL PASCOE. Wealth and power inevitably having their way with the tax system

The strange thing at the core of the Turnbull personal and company tax cuts is that the most important and controversial elements are so far away. And as John Kenneth Galbraith put it so succinctly ‘The modern Conservative is engaged in one of mans oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness’

August 13, 2019

JESSICA MATHEWS. Americas Indefensible Defense Budget - Extracts-(The New York Review of Books)

With what former defense secretary Robert Gates termed a gargantuan, labyrinthine bureaucracy in the Pentagon, manufacturers and subcontractors for each weapons system carefully distributed across congressional districts and backed by aggressive lobbyists, members of Congress determined to protect constituents jobs, and military leaders loyal to the weapons systems they trained on and commanded, it is no surprise that the defense establishment has become extravagant, wasteful, and less agile, innovative, and forward-looking than it should be.

September 23, 2018

LAURA TINGLE. People grumble about political leaders, but there's a deeper malaise afoot (ABC News, 17.09.18)

People always grumble about political leaders. But there is a deeper malaise afoot now.

September 13, 2018

ANDREW GLIKSON. Human cognitive dissonance and the mass extinction of species.

The history of Earth is marked by at least seven major mass extinctions, including asteroid impact effects 580 million years ago, the end Ordovician glaciation, late Devonian asteroid impacts, end-Permian volcanism and ocean anoxia, end-Jurassic volcanism and Cretaceous-Tertiary asteroid impactmostly associated with an extreme rise in atmospheric CO__2_. Currently the seventh mass extinction of species is taking place, mainly as a consequence of CO__2_ rise at a rate close to that induced by an asteroid impact (Figure 1). The Seventh mass extinction is triggered by a species which harnessed transfer of carbon from the Earths crust to the atmosphere and has split the atom, but is failing to control the consequences. Such is the scale and the rate of the unfolding climate catastrophe that, in the words of Joachim Schellnhuber, the EUs chief climate scientist, it threatens the life support systems of the planet.

July 14, 2019

FRANK BRENNAN Constitutional Recognition of the Indigenous Voice

Addressing the National Press Club during NAIDOC Week, Ken Wyatt, Minister for Indigenous Australians said: I will develop and forward a consensus option for constitutional recognition to put to a referendum during the current parliamentary term. That means working through until we reach a point in which there is consensus across all the relevant groups who have a stake in it.

October 18, 2018

PETER VARGHESE. Australian Universities and China. Part 1 of 2

My remarks today are very much a personal perspective, drawing on my past engagement with China as a foreign policy practitioner and informed by my current role, but it is not an official University of Queensland position.

Today I wish to talk about what China means to Australian universities: what are the issues we face, how best to think about the relationship with China and, importantly, how do we manage risks while expanding opportunities.

August 23, 2018

LARRY ELLIOTT. Think our governments can no longer control capitalism? Youve been duped.

In reality there has been a class war, in which the right has spent decades using the state to undermine workers. We can fight back.

April 30, 2019

MIKE SCRAFTON. China in Australias Defence and Strategic Policy

An incoming government addressing China in defence policy and strategic policy must overcome the natural impulse to assume the future will be a linear projection of the present. There is no reasonable scenario in which a major war in East Asia involving China does not end in disastrous outcomes for Australia and that determines the future strategic objectives.

October 25, 2018

JENNIFER DOGGETT. Healthcares out-of-pocket crisis (Inside Story, 24.10.18)

Fast-rising medical expenses are restricting access to healthcare and increasing long-term costs.

If two Australian capital cities were suddenly left without any dental services it would be considered a national crisis. But a problem of this size occurs each year and is ignored by governments and policy-makers. In 201617, more than 3.4 million Australians equivalent to the combined population of Brisbane and Adelaide delayed or avoided necessary dental care because of its cost. This startling figure is just one of the symptoms of the growing problem of out-of-pocket medical costs, which is undermining the equity, efficiency and universality of the health system.

October 8, 2018

ROSS GITTINS. Why businesses are behaving badly. (SMH 6.10.2018)

_While we digest the royal commissions evidence of shocking misconduct by the banks and insurance companies, theres another unpalatable truth to swallow: they have no monopoly on bad behaviour.

March 25, 2015

Andrea Carson. Heed Fraser's warning on Australian media concentration - it's getting worse.

The passing of former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser last Friday prompted me to recall his warning about the state of Australian media ownership in an interview I did with him during the last federal election.

He said: In my term, there were seven print proprietors. Now there is one and a bit. We have the most concentrated media in any democratic country, anywhere in the entire damn world. That is dangerous.

January 5, 2018

ALISON BROINOWSKI. War on the cheap.

Its unlikely that the Army will commission a further report following Albert Palazzos account of the ADFs operations in Iraq. We have years to wait for Professor Craig Stockings official history. What Australia urgently needs is a full independent inquiry into our wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

August 30, 2017

IAN WEBSTER. Lessons from the British National Health Scheme for Australia.

Jeremy Hunt, Health Secretary in the UK, accused Stephen Hawking of a pernicious lie: (he) is a brilliant physicist but wrong on lack of evidence. Stephen Hawking had said his survival for 75 years with motor neurone disease was due to the care he received from the British National Health Service (NHS) and he now feared it was being turned into a US-style insurance system. (Guardian Weekly, 25 August).

September 28, 2018

CHRISTOPHER SHEIL, FRANK STILWELL. Inequality stocktake ... or snowjob by the Productivity Commission?

The Productivity Commission has issued a new report called Rising Inequality? A Stocktake of the Evidence. However, when looking at the distribution of wealth in Australia, it turns out not to be a stocktake of the evidence at all. Rather, it creates some new evidence that is inconsistent with the established sources of inequality data.

October 23, 2017

GREG BAILEY. Lobbyists and the Privatisation of the Political Process

Recent exposures of the extent of lobbying in Canberra and the revolving door of politicians becoming lobbyists highlight the extent to which politics here and in other Anglo-Saxon countries has become privatized. The effectiveness of the lobbyistswho are essentially mercenariesposes a threat to democratic process and contributes strongly to what I call the privatization of politics. Government has always to some extent been an oligopoly of vested interests. Lobbyists have cemented this situation even further.

June 23, 2019

JACK WATERFORD. Morrison faces the climate storm( Canberra Times 15 June 2019)

Climate change is no longer a matter of dry debate: its already a bigger threat to our national security than war and trade tension in our region.

December 12, 2019

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August 22, 2019

Booing is for Babies

In VFL/AFL football there is a time honoured tradition of the crowd being vocal during matches. Most of the watchers know the game, many have played the game, or aspired to do so. Many who watch, or listen, know the intricacies of the game, and how demanding and merciless it can be.

June 12, 2018

SOPHIE VORRATH. Martin Green Australias father of PV beats Elon Musk to Global Energy Prize.

Australias father of PV, UNSW Scientia Professor Martin Green, has been awarded the 2018 Global Energy Prize, beating out a shortlist that included Teslas Elon Musk, and becoming the first Australian to win the $820,000 gong.

September 26, 2018

CAVAN HOGUE. The Gospel according to St Donald.

It is hard to know whether to laugh or cry at Trump’s speech to the UNGA which saw him laughed at. He was clearly shocked that the unwashed masses didn’t understand that patriotism was superior to globalism whatever Dr Johnson might say about patriotism. And how could they fail to appreciate the achievements of the Messiah? And the Trumpet shall sound, and we shall be raised! He may be despised and rejected of the rest of the world but they love him in the rust belt. And anyway we are told the whole world loves a clown, right? Perhaps the General Assembly should pass a resolution expressing sympathy to all those decent Americans who did not vote for The Donald?

June 4, 2019

HENRY REYNOLDS. 'Strange situation': Why Australia must strike a treaty. (SMH 1.6.2019)

In ringing tones the Uluru Statement declares the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign nations of the Australian continent and possessed it under their own laws and customs. Sovereignty has never been ceded or extinguished, and co-exists with the sovereignty of the Crown. There is, as well, demand for a Voice to Parliament and national commitment to truth telling. But the question of sovereignty overshadows every other consideration.

September 3, 2019

PETER SAINSBURY. Revolving doors and roulette wheels

CBD is the daily scuttlebutt column in the Sydney Morning Herald. Mondays offerings included a piece that provided examples of the revolving door for staff between the inaptly named Responsible Wagering Australia and the ALP. I strongly recommend it.

May 13, 2019

LAURIE PATTON. Its the vision, stupid! Why we need #BetterBroadband

While neither side of politics is saying much about our increasingly-malignedNational Broadband Network during the election period, the fact is Australia is falling behind in the race to leverage the benefits economic and social of an emerging digitally-enabled future. Irrespective of the outcome of the election we need #BetterBroadband and we need a less politicised future for NBN Co.

July 2, 2018

GRAEME WORBOYS. Kosciuszko. The destruction of a national heritage icon?

NSW Deputy Premier and State National Party Leader John Barilaros 2018 Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Legislation is the single greatest political and ideological undermining of the conservation and protection status of Kosciuszko National Park in its 75 year history. It has elevated a pest animal to be more important than Australian native animals and has established a legislative precedent that threatens the concept of all Australian protected areas and National Heritage listed properties.

May 19, 2019

PETER SAINSBURY. The election confirms my environmental pessimism

Saturdays election result suggests four questions to me:

What does the result tell us about democracy in Australia? I mean no implied criticism of any individual or group or of any part of our democratic process. It is a genuine question to which I hope to see some empirically based answers in time.
What are the likely consequences of three more years of a Morrison Coalition government for the state of the Australian environment, principally but not only regarding greenhouse gas emissions and land and marine biodiversity?
What should be the environmental movements priorities over the next three years?
What does the result of the election tell us about humanitys capacity to avoid an environmental, and consequently also human, catastrophe? I will focus on this question here.

September 12, 2019

CSAR RODRIGUZ GARAVITO. Bolsonaro is a Regional Threat

President Bolsonaro of Brazil is behind a policy of clearing the Amazon rainforest for more cattle farming and agriculture. He claims that this is a matter for Brazil and no one else. The Amazon basin does not just belong to Brazil. Parts of it are in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. The Amazon rainforest influences the weather patterns throughout the whole of South America. More importantly it is a significant source of carbon capture for the whole world.

August 20, 2019

Canadian Election in October: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has problems; will it all end in tears or in a minority government?

Earlier this month - in a long-awaited decision - Canadas federal ethics commissioner concluded Trudeau had violated an ethics law in his handling of a corporate criminal case. Commissioner Mario Dion said that the prime minister had used his office to circumvent, undermine and ultimately attempt to discredit Canadas former justice minister and attorney general, Judy Wilson-Raybould, by improperly pressuring her to seek a civil penalty against SNC-Lavalin, a major engineering company, rather than a criminal conviction.

November 13, 2018

JOHN KERIN. Phasing out the Live Sheep Trade.

It is now nearly 60 years since the accelerated live sheep trade commenced from Australia to the Middle East. Early opposition to the trade came from the meatworkers union (AMIEU) in the 1970s, but has increasingly come from animal welfare groups and exposure of the cruelty in the trade (550,000 dead, 2000-2012?). After all this time it is more than evident the trade cannot be conducted without animal deaths and animal cruelty, either on ships or in slaughter by buying countries.

October 3, 2019

NOEL TURNBULL. Something big - but very different - is happening in Texas

In the 43 years since the last Democrat Presidential candidate, Jimmy Carter, won Texas there has been increasing speculation that it could happen again.

September 24, 2019

JOHN MENADUE. A Repost and update: The scourge of lobbyists and crony capitalism.

Abuse by lobbyists is back in the news .The most recent appalling example has been Crown Resorts. With Ex Labor and Liberal ministers and officials on the payroll of Crown neither the Liberal or Labor Parties raised the Crown scandal involving ‘Chinese junkets’ and ‘high rollers’ receiving favourable treatment . They ran away from the scandal. It was left to Andrew Wilkie, other Independents and the Greens.

July 25, 2019

GEOFF EBBS Interminable Conversations: Rolling up our progressive sleeves

Progressives are unsuccessfully pleading with voters to logically approach the major challenges of our time. The problem, though, is not a lack of understanding, it is a lack of actionable alternatives.

August 4, 2015

Wilful blindness over climate change.

The former head of NAB, Cameron Clyne, has published an opinion piece in the SMH about the failure of political and business leaders to address the issue of climate change. He said that business leaders overwhelmingly support the need for a market based carbon trading system. In respect of Maurice Newman, he said that he had never encountered such thinking in the Australian business community. For a full report of Cameron Clyne’s article, see link below:

October 29, 2017

An open letter to the Prime Minister on climate and nuclear perils

This open letter was initiated by Dr AndrewGlikson (Earth and Paleo-climate science, ANU School of Anthropology and Archeology) and signed by over 200 Australian scientists, including those in the medical, environmental and physical disciplines, as well as scholars in the humanities.

It clearly shows the immense perils we now face due to climate change and nuclear proliferation.

OPEN LETTER TO THE AUSTRALIAN PM

September 5, 2018

BRIAN COYNE. Rupert Murdoch and the increasing division in society

Following the sensational demand from Archbishop Vigano for the resignation of Pope Francis, Michael Sean Winters wrote a commentary in National Catholic Reporter wondering if the right wing in the Church was about to launch a schism. The following commentary by the editor of catholica, Brian Coyne, was written suggesting all of society is heading for division and schism at the moment and our Australian mate Rupert Murdoch has to take much of the blame.

January 25, 2018

EMMA ALBERICI. Sugar tax and the power of big business: How influence trumps evidence in politics

Australia markets itself as a liberal democracy committed to the principles of equality and fairness. But in practice, those with clout or money or both can influence public policy in a way other members of the public cannot.

May 26, 2019

LIONEL ORCHARD. Centre Left Strategy in the face of Election 2019

The debate about the reasons for the result of election 2019 covers many issues including the coherence or otherwise of the Labor strategy. For social democrats, a key question is where to now. Third way thinking about wealth generation before redistribution threatens a return. A stronger social democratic response will be needed.

September 28, 2018

MICHAEL WEST Big Four: governments binge on consultants goes ballistic.

The Big Four global accounting firms have banked $3.1 billion in taxpayer income in the past six years for government consulting. Thats three thousand one hundred million dollars in government revenue to just four firms PwC, EY, KPMG and Deloitte for providing advice.

June 7, 2018

JOHN AUSTEN. Australian freight policy: where is my chainsaw? Part 1 of 2.

A recent report on freight and supply chains leads governments astray. This the first of two articles challenging its view that more bureaucracy and data is needed to deal with a supposedly ubiquitous task.

November 29, 2018

JIM KABLE. Oz not even a footnote to US victory in the Pacific.

One is constantly reading or listening to the loud declarations ofeternal friendship - blood-brotherhood in so many words - of our Australian federal politicians and their US counterparts, including military leaders, generals and so forth. But what is the truth to these vows of undying promises to be all the way with the US of A? Where can we determine the hollowness to these protestations (leading inevitably to our engagement in the imperial wars of that great and powerful friend in parts of the world which have little importance to us - certainly do not threaten us - or else our rolling over to the establishment of US bases on our sovereign soil, or forcing such on our PNG neighbour).

August 19, 2018

KIM WINGEREI. Condemning Neoliberalism is not enough. Democratic reform is long overdue.

The use of labels in the public debate is too often a lazy way of dismissing an idea or an opponent. However, Richard Denniss’ use of neoliberalism in his recent Quarterly Essay works well. He uses it as a catch-all for the ills of public policy formulation in Australia over the past several decades - in essence, the over-emphasis on economics as the only determining factor of our national wealth and individual happiness, and the dire consequences of that emphasis.

August 3, 2018

STEPHANIE DOWRICK. Do we have a problem with refugees or war?

In scrambling for solutions to the “refugee problem, too few are contemplating the pervasively deadly war problem that plagues our global family. The article that follows is one of three I had published in July in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age, filling in for regular columnist Elizabeth Farrelly in the Saturday editions. I find such columns more than challenging to write. How can I do justice to the subject matter? Yet I was and am also immensely grateful to have the chance to write this article in particular because Australias and the worlds - indefensible spending on defence is something that goes too often unremarked and certainly unquestioned.

And questions abound. Why do we spend months, years, debating trivial, self-serving tax cuts while giving so little thought as to how vast public funds are spent? Why are we willing to accept the argument that the best way to keep the peace is to spend more and more on readiness for war?

July 27, 2018

SUSAN RYAN. The Irish teaching orders in Australia.

For over a century many children, particularly from poorer families, in cities and country areas, and indeed a good number of indigenous children, got a sound basic education in schools established throughout Australia by the Irish orders. As well, students in these schools were exposed to the principles and practice of social justice, typically through an Irish lens. I believe this inculcation of social justice values may not otherwise have happened for those students.

August 6, 2018

RICHARD FLANAGAN. The world is being undone before us. If we do not reimagine Australia, we will be undone too

In the full transcript of his speech to the Garma festival, the author says the country can make itself stronger by saying yes to the Uluru statement

November 30, 2017

BRUCE DUNCAN. Did Pope Francis succeed in Myanmar?

Myanmars neighbours were watching closely the Popes visit, worried that the shocking treatment of the Rohingya Muslims could inflame inter-religious conflicts throughout the region. Francis has intervened personally to promote deeper mutual understanding among the major religions, urging them to draw from their traditions to protect those in distress and promote social inclusion and universal human values.

May 21, 2018

IAN McAULEY. Duttons extended police powers wont be confined to airports

Duttons proposal to allow police to stop people at random at airports has little if anything to do with community safety, and everything to do with his desire to extend police powers and to help the government in its bid for re-election.

October 26, 2018

JOHN STAPLETON: Could There Be a Greater Betrayal?

So it is done.

The Coalition government has admitted defeat.

August 11, 2019

CHRISTOPHER SHEIL & FRANK STILWELL. The continuing redistribution of Australias wealth, upwards

The recent release of the results of the ABSs biennial survey of income and wealth met a critical response, perhaps due to a slip-shod press release. The official statisticians headline read: Inequality stable since 2013-14. In summary, the ABS announced, income and wealth inequality has remained relatively stable since 2013-14. The immediate difficulty was that neither the media release nor the official summary of the key findings included any statistics from the benchmark, the 2013-14 survey. To make sense of the news, commentators had to dive into the ABSs data cubes, where they found a different story, particularly for wealth inequality, our main focus here.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal