November 12, 2018

JONATHAN FREEDLAND. US democracy is in crisis. But Trump is only the symptom (the Guardian, 10.11.18)

The talk in the US is of constitutional crisis. Its been looming for a while, thanks to the Mueller investigation into suspected collusion between the Trump campaign and Kremlin efforts to swing the 2016 election. At some point perhaps when special counsel Robert Mueller issues a subpoena, demanding Donald Trump answers his questions a clash was bound to come. But it may already be upon us.

October 28, 2019

LINDA BURNEY. The Way Forward on Uluru 2019 Frank Walker Memorial Lecture

I think there are three things we can learn from Frank Walkers life and legacy. First, his willingness to make personal sacrifices for fairness and justice. Second, his pragmatism to know the best possible outcome when you see it, and to not let it go. Third, to be able to provide a calm and sensible voice in the midst of emotion and hysteria. These lessons are no more relevant than to the current national discussion about the Uluru Statement, constitutional recognition and an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

February 27, 2019

PETER HUGHES The Coalition Governments immigration shambles Part 2: What an incoming Labor government could do

The Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison government will go down as the worst Coalition Government in history in its handling of immigration. This is how an incoming Labor government might go about dealing with the shambles it will confront.

August 8, 2020

Sunday environmental round up, 9 August 2020

Renewables may be cheaper and growing faster than fossils but its emissions that matter and countries Paris agreement ambitions are a long way short of salvation. Maybe Doughnut Economics holds the key to a happier, more sustainable society and maybe mangroves can save Africas eastern coastline. A talented 13 year-old sings for the truth.

December 16, 2019

JACK WATERFORD. Morrison resists the salvation temptation

Pressure to be seen to be doing something immediately about results of bad policy.

September 19, 2018

JOHN MENADUE. The scourge of lobbyists is likely to continue if there is a change of government.A Repost from June 22 2018

Lobbyists are back in the news but it looks as if the scourge of lobbyists will continue in Canberra if Bill Shorten wins the next election. There is no sign that the ALP, like the Coalition is prepared to curb the way lobbyists are corrupting public policy in Australia.. The media reports that lobby firms are taking on labor staffers so that they can influence a future Labor Government.

December 8, 2024

The Melbourne synagogue fire: Antisemitism, political meddling and exceptional victimhood

In his ongoing campaign to pad and shield criticism of Israel in the conduct of its war of gross bloodletting in Gaza, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rarely misses a beat to attack critics. It has become clear that even mere disagreement from long standing allies suggests wobbliness and tilting in the direction of antisemitism.

February 3, 2019

MIKE SCRAFTON. The Problem with the Nationhood Power

When influential public officials take the podium to tell us whats what we should pay attention, close attention, to their words. Mike Pezzullo is one of the most powerful Federal public servants and therefore his view of the Australian political system in which he operates and the arguments he puts forward in support of those views are important.

November 26, 2019

ALAN AUSTIN. Which party runs the economy better and how do we know? Part two.

There are two ways to demonstrate that Australias Labor governments have managed the national economy better than the Coalition has. First, by comparing outcomes over time in Australia. Second, by comparing how Australia has ranked in the world under different administrations. The second accounts for global conditions which, as we saw in part one, are critical. Lets start with some simple charts comparing outcomes before and after the 2013 change of government.

May 10, 2018

RAMESH THAKUR. Spring blossoms on the Korean Peninsula.

The leaders of North and South Korea have met, shaken hands, taken symbolic yet hugely consequential steps across into each others territory, talked about possible pathways to peace on the peninsula, issued a joint communique, and returned home well satisfied with the breakneck speed of progress thus far. Who deserves the most credit for this outbreak of goodwill induced by the spring of summits?

May 29, 2019

JOSEPH ANTHONY CAMILLERI. Was this 'the election we had to have'?

It is two weeks since Australia went to the polls, but are we any wiser as to what actually transpired at the ballot box and during the preceding weeks of mind numbing electioneering? Politicians and commentators alike have single-mindedly focused on the surprising election result shocking for some, miraculous for others. But few if any of the explanations ring true.

December 21, 2019

JOHN MENADUE.- Pearls and Irritations over the Holidays

There will be no posts on December 26, 27 and 28. Ian McAuley and Peter Sainsbury will have some weekend breaks. There will be some scheduled ‘holiday’ and some ’new’ posts on other days.

Many thanks to readers and contributors.

Have a peaceful and happy Christmas and Hanukkah and .. other.

February 21, 2018

SA Labor shoots for 75% renewables, 25% storage target

South Australias Labor government has doubled down on its commitment to renewable energy, promising to increase the share of renewables to 75 per cent by 2025 if re-elected at next months state poll, and announcing plansto install 750MW of renewable storage to go with it.

June 19, 2018

PAUL COLLINS. No longer eight cents a day.

For a lumbering, slow-moving, accident prone government, the Liberals moved like Speedy Gonzales to reassure us that they wouldnt privatize or sell the ABC as recommended by a Young Liberal motion at the recent Liberal federal council meeting. Energy minister Josh Frydenberg rushed in to assure us that the ABC is an iconic national institution, it provides valuable services. It is not going to be sold and never can be sold. Just in case you missed it, he repeated, The governments policy is not to sell the ABC. Scott Morrison chimed-in with similar sentiments.

May 21, 2019

BRIAN HOWE. Vale Bob Hawke

It was my great honour to serve as a cabinet minister and Deputy Prime Minister under R J Hawke. He was a courageous, compassionateand disciplined leader who had thegreatpoliticalgift of wanting to be engaged with people, and for Bob, it was always a two-way conversation.

December 17, 2019

MUNGO MACCALLUM.-Greta Thunberg

The coronation of Greta Thunberg as Time Magazines person of the year may finally be the end of the denial and procrastination of the reactionary rump determined to pretend that climate change is a conspiracy designed to subvert civilisation as we know it.

January 5, 2020

JOCELYN CHEY.- China Series: Where To From Here?(A repost from 23.12.2019)

A SERIES of posts on this blog in the last two weeks have highlighted aspects of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) that are often overlooked in discussion of the bilateral relationship. We have to get used to living with the Chinese elephant in our neighbourhood.

May 10, 2018

MICHAEL KEATING. 2018 Budget Comment (Part 1)

This years comment on the Government 2018 Budget is in three parts. Today, I comment on the proposed tax cuts, which are the signature feature of this years Budget. I conclude that there are real doubts about whether those tax cuts are sustainable in the longer-run. The second part of this series discusses why tax relief focussed on low-income earners is desirable and then considers the change in policies required to make that tax relief sustainable. The final Part 3 of the series will consider the governments overall priorities as revealed in the Budget.

November 5, 2018

How the 2017-18 migration program was delivered

The report on the 2017-18 migration program has now been publicly released, more than two and a half months after an exclusive to The Australian newspaper and a short time after the Home Affairs department appeared before Senate estimates. As reported in The Australian_, the outcome was indeed 162,417, over 27,500 below the ceiling of 190,000 - by far the largest program shortfall in at least 50 years._

April 30, 2018

BEVAN RAMSDEN. Glimmer of hope for peace on Korean Peninsula glows more brightly.

_Technically North and South Korea are still in a state of war. The cessation of hostilities in 1953 ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. Now South Korea says it is considering how to change a decades-old armistice with North Korea into a peace agreement. So the eyes of the world are currently on the Peace House in the village of Panmunjom, located in the heart of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea. A neutral, so-called truce town, Panmunjom was the location of the armistice signing that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War._Here a summit meeting between the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong In, and Moon Jae-in, the President of South Korea, commenced on Friday 27 April.

May 28, 2019

MIKE KELLY. A smile.

A man may smile, and smile, and be a villain.

- Shakespeare, Hamlet

October 16, 2018

MEDIA WATCH TRANSCRIPT (Paul Barry). News Corps contempt for climate science revealed in its coverage of last weeks IPCC report

Hello, Im Paul Barry, welcome to Media Watch.

And last weeks dramatic report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change really sounded the alarm on the future of our planet, with scientists predicting the Great Barrier Reef could be wiped out by 2050 if we dont act to slow down global warming..

Why does News Corp hold climate science in such contempt?…Presumably because Rupert Murdoch is a non believer….and not just in Australia. Back in 2012,America’s Union of Concerned Scientists audited News Corp’s coverage in the US and concluded:Representations of climate science on Fox News Channel and in the Wall Street Journal opinion pages are overwhelmingly misleading

June 14, 2018

ANDREW FARRAN. The fog of the Irish Sea still overhangs Brexit.

The House of Commons vote on 12th June has saved Prime Minister May for another day but has also left open the role Parliament might play in the outcome of the EU negotiations. A (definitive) White Paper on Britains negotiating terms can be expected after the European Economic Summit meets later this month.

May 27, 2019

JOHN WARHURST. Church Governance Review Project Team Opportunity

The church governance review now underway has garnered considerable national and international interest as a forward step in church reform. This opportunity should not be over-sold as taking control of church reform, because of the considerable constraints under which the review team is working, but the balance of skills and experience in this group means that Australian Catholics can look forward to a challenging, creative yet practical report drawing on mapping, consultation and research both within Australia and more broadly.

October 8, 2019

MICHAEL KEATING. Drought Assistance: Is it efficient? Is it fair?

Australia is currently experiencing a severe drought; possibly the most severe on record. Not surprisingly there have been calls for governments to do more. Some have even claimed that Australia lacks a proper drought policy. This article discusses the key features of an ideal drought policy, and what are the respective responsibilities of those being assisted mainly farmers and governments that are the principal source of any assistance.

February 9, 2018

Women in Tehran protest head scarves

Recently Iranian women started a movement all over the country especially in Tehran . They stand on a platform, take their scarves off and drape them over a street sign. It is in protest again the Islamic dress code . In Tehran, 28 women have been caught and gaoled so far . The first woman arrested did it in Tehran’s Revolution Street so they are called “The Girls of Revolution Street.” See photos.

October 11, 2017

JON STANFORD. Australias Future Submarine. Part 3 of 3. Responding to the criticisms

At the National Press Club in Canberra on 27 September 2017, Hugh White, Professor of Strategic Studies at the ANU, launched an independent report by Insight Economics on Australias future submarine (FSM). The report, Australias Future Submarine: Getting This Key Capability Right, was commissioned by Gary Johnston, a Sydney businessman and owner of the website, submarinesforaustralia.

April 1, 2018

DUNCAN GRAHAM. Australia Plus unfit for export.

Though this starts like a fairy story its really a frightener: Once upon a time, Australian governments believed that broadcasting beyond our shores and particularly into Southeast Asia - was an important responsibility, sowing ideas, informing and influencing.

Radio Australia shortwave started in 1939 to counter Japanese propaganda. After the war, it became a soft power diplomacy tool in the jargon of Foreign Affairs. It made us globally connected, able to promote Australian values.

Now all has turned to froth. Seldom seen by taxpayers is our $20 million presentation to the world. Although called Australia Plus it adds little of value.

November 8, 2018

This warrants a John Clarke memorial award?--- ScoMo- the hop on hop off marketing man.

November 30, 2017

MICHAEL LAMBERT. The Productivity Commission on Improving Productivity and Health Reform PART 2 OF 2.

In part 1 yesterday, I outlined the five key areas or themes where the Productivity Commission believes that reform is essential and would deliver major benefits to individuals, the community and the economy. These five themes are summarised below.

February 24, 2015

John Menadue. Mother Merkel and 800,000 refugees

In September last year I posted an article about the Heroism of Angela Merkel in her generous response to asylum seekers arriving in Germany.

She is holding to her course but the difficulties are increasing. The attacks on women in Cologne by men who were reported to be of Arab or North African decent on New Year’s Eve coloured attitudes. This unfortunate event and growing concern has resulted in Angela Merkel’s approval rating dropping from a high of 75% almost a year ago to 46% now.

September 10, 2018

MUNGO MACCALLUM. Appealing to Menzies and religion - worth a try

When the world falls apart, when all those carefully plans collapse in smouldering ruins, when the present seems desolate and the future seems hopeless, there is only one recourse: invoke the ghost of Robert Menzies.

July 22, 2019

GEOFF GALLOP. Effective public servants need nuanced understanding of politics, what drives their minister and government. Geoff Gallop offers eleven theses on Australian politics in practice.

Geoff Gallopis a former premier of Western Australia. Your minister cannot avoid dealing with the politics, so you should understand the ideas behind it, and the policy compromises they must make to secure alliances.

July 16, 2020

Media in the Asian Century

Australian media lead the anti-China campaign.

June 23, 2019

LISA MARTIN. Tampa refugee taken in by New Zealand wins Fulbright scholarship (The Guardian)

Given the chance at a new life, we have grabbed it with both hands, Abbas Nazari says.

April 9, 2019

ERIC HODGENS. Catholic Governance - A Challenge for Improvement.

A monarchical organization, powered by ideology, with promotion by patronage results in bad governance. The Catholic Church has a governance problem.

December 13, 2018

LUKE FRASER. Canberra has abandoned roads to inflationary spending and policy chaos

Botched State road projects, toll road fee hikes and congestion grab big headlines and make good sport for critics of State governments.

November 5, 2018

RICHARD ECKERSLEY. The ghosts of past political failures haunt environmental challenges.

We will not solve climate change and other pressing global threats until we admit, and learn from, the repeated failures of past proclamations and promises.

June 27, 2018

ALLAN PATIENCE: Fragmenting Australia

CEDA (the Committee for Economic Development of Australia) has recently published a report (Community Pulse 2018: The Economic Disconnect) that shows that there is a disconnect between Australias strong economic record and the communitys sense of having shared in the growth (p. 5). The report adds to others that show that today a majority of Australians is deeply distrustful of politicians and political parties; that there is disillusionment (particularly among young people) with the ideals of democracy; and that socio-inequality is increasing in Australia today. It is bizarre that the political class seems oblivious to the very serious problems inherent in these findings.

April 5, 2016

Negative gearing has created empty houses and artificial scarcity.

In the SMH on March 28, 2016, Laurence Troy and Bill Randolph discuss the problem of negative gearing encouraging owners to leave houses empty. In this article they say

‘At the last census there were nearly 120,000 empty dwellings in the greater Sydney region alone, representing nearly one fifth of the projected new housing demand to be met by 2031, or equivalent to nearly five years of projected dwelling need. When this is combined with under-utilised dwellings, such as those let out as short-term accommodation, the total number of dwellings reaches 230,000 in Sydney and 238,00 in Melbourne.’

November 7, 2017

RODNEY TIFFEN. The age of the mega-leak

The Panama Papers looked like the culmination of a new era for leakers and then the Paradise Papers came along. But can we expect action to follow?

April 30, 2018

JAMES FERNYHOUGH. Revealed: Australias richest professionals and the suburbs they live in.

If youre a surgeon living in one of the opulent suburbs on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, then congratulations: you are a member of the highest paid group in Australia. This will come as no surprise for people who have experienced fee gouging by surgeons and anaeshetists

December 16, 2019

CAIT KELLY. From skipping school toTimes person of the year: The making of Greta Thunberg (New Daily 13.12.2019)

_To some shes a disturbed teenager, to others a Messiah, and now shesTime magazines person of the year.

June 12, 2019

KISHORE MAHBUBANI. A yellow peril revival fuelling Western fears of Chinas rise (East Asia Forum)

Do we arrive at geopolitical judgements from only cool, hard-headed, rational analysis? If emotions influence our judgements, are these conscious emotions or do they operate at the level of our subterranean subconscious? Any honest answer to these questions would admit that non-rational factors always play a role. This is why it was wrong for Western media to vilify Kiron Skinner, the director of policy planning at the US State Department, for naming racial discomfort as a factor at play in the emerging geopolitical contest between the United States and China.

March 7, 2019

JOHN MENADUE. The facts on boat arrivals that the media won't face

From September 2015, almost four years ago, Peter Hughes and I have pointed out repeatedly that Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison triggered the surge in boat arrivals from September 2011 and did not stop the boats as they claim from December 2013 when Operation Sovereign Borders commenced.

January 3, 2019

ANDREW GLIKSON. The gathering climate storm: the media cover-up.

Earth is now substantially out of energy balance. The amount of solar energy that Earth absorbs exceeds the energy radiated back to space. The principal manifestations of this energy imbalance are continued global warming on decadal time scales and continued increase in ocean heat content (James Hansen 2018).

The people have no voice since they have no information No First World country has ever managed to eliminate so entirely from its media all objectivity - much less dissent (Gore Vidal)

With the exception of the few who comprehend the nature of a Faustian Bargain, some billionaires, captains of industry and their political and media mouthpieces are driving humanity toward self-destruction through the two biggest enterprises on Earth, the fossil fuel industry, which is devastating the Earth atmosphere, and the industrial-military machine leading toward nuclear war. The rest of the world is dragged subconsciously, induced by bread and circuses.

October 2, 2018

CHARLES LIVINGSTONE. Keeping the mates at arm's length in the gambling industry.

The Grattan Institutes report on access and influence in Australian politics, Whos in the room?, comes at a time when the reputation of politicians and the political system seems to be plumbing new depths.

October 26, 2017

DON EDGAR AND PATRICIA EDGAR. University reforms needed for the longevity economy.

Tinkering at the edges of university financing and student loan repayments ignores the tsunami of social change that is the real challenge for Australias future higher education system. Nick Xenophon is right to call for a full-scale inquiry into higher education; it is a mess, not catering to Australias future needs.

November 8, 2018

MRIDULA AMIN, ISABELLA KWAI. The Nauru Experience: Zero-Tolerance Immigration and Suicidal Children.

A recent visit to Nauru revealed the effects of Australias offshore detention policy and its impact on mental health.

This article was published by The New York Times on the 5th of November 2018.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal