May 15, 2017

JOHN DWYER. Policy mayhem is stifling efforts to have more Australian doctors "in the bush" - part one

In this two part article, I am reviewing the basis for the serious problem we have in providing adequate health care for Australians who live in rural, and particularly, remote areas. Good intentions are, as ever, intertwined with political machinations which make policies for solutions harder to implement. Currently, yet another government review is soon to be released. Here is the background needed for judging the results.

March 9, 2017

JOHN MENADUE. A little bit of honesty would go a long way in energy policy.

We really do need some honesty from the media on energy policy. The fact is that Coalition policies have failed for at least eight years and are largely responsible for our pending crisis. Media cover-ups for failed Coalition policies will not change that fact.

April 4, 2016

Ian Marsh. Disaffected electorates? Dysfunctional political systems? Part 2 of 3.

Malcolm Turnbulls has created the grounds for a July election. This crafty electoral ploy offers short term gains. If the cross bench resist, the election is legitimate. If the cross bench cave in, he will have demonstrated bold leadership. Moreover, he will have attained legislation that is highly prized by his Liberal heartland. Then he can call the scheduled election later in the year.

But in neither election scenario is he likely to achieve a Senate majority. Further, there is talk of preferencing the Greens. There may also be guile here. This might give him leverage on social issues against the Abbott diehards.

October 14, 2016

DAVID JAMES. It will take more than a royal commission to tame the banks

The recent appearance in parliament of the chief executives of the Big Four banks was notable for its well orchestrated apologies, which were about as convincing as a life insurance ad that promises only to pay out to the immortal.

November 11, 2013

Surely the Indonesians wouldn't play politics over boat people! John Menadue

Well yes they would. They have learnt it from Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison. The blokey Australians are no match for the subtle and sophisticated Indonesians.

In Opposition, the Coalition took every opportunity to exploit boat arrivals. They were not genuinely interested in stopping the boats then. Their main objective was to stop the Labor Government stopping the boats. That was clearly spelt out in what a key Liberal strategist told the US embassy in November 2009, as revealed by Wikileaks, that the more boats that come the better. It is not hard to speculate who the key Liberal strategist was.

August 26, 2015

Bob Kinnaird. China FTA truth still elusive

Two months after releasing the China FTA text the Coalition government has still not told the Australian people the truth about the labour mobility provisions in ChAFTA.

The result is confusion even among usually well-informed commentators. Greg Sheridan Foreign Affairs Editor for The Australian says the clause in the FTA that says there is no need for labour market testing applies only to projects over $150 million (Shorten hits rock bottom with China FTA stance, The Australian, 27 August 2015).

November 4, 2015

Steve Hatfield-Dodds. Australians can be sustainable without sacrificing lifestyle or economy.

A sustainable Australia is possible but we have to choose it. Thats the finding of a paperpublished today in Nature.

The paper is the result of a larger project to deliver the first Australian National Outlook report, more than two years in the making, which CSIRO is also releasing today.

As part of this analysis we looked at whether achieving sustainability will require a shift in our values, such as rejecting consumerism. We also looked at the contributions of choices made by individuals (such as consuming less water or energy) and of choices made collectively by society (such as policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions).

April 27, 2017

IAN McAULEY. Doing without private health insurance

Every year the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission reports on competition and consumer issues in private health insurance (PHI), and recent reports show increasing consumer dissatisfaction with PHI. Most complaints relate to unexpected charges when claims are made and confusion over terms and conditions.

September 11, 2014

Richard Butler. Ukraine, not Sarajevo

In recent months, theres been no shortage of suggestions, indeed warnings, that Russias absorption of Crimea and now its pressure on eastern Ukraine, is the equivalent of the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand, in Sarajevo almost exactly 100 years ago: the shot heard around the world, which saw the beginning of the First World War just 37 days later.

This comparison is beguiling, neat, and I suspect it appeals particularly to those, such as Prime Minister Abbott, who have a very definite view that the world is simple. It includes bad people, all of whom are our enemies, and us and our friends, who are always good. Remember Abbotts use of the term baddies versus baddies when favoring Australian voters with his analysis of the situation in Syria.

June 2, 2019

MUNGO MACCALLUM. Government collective IQ shrinks further.

There was little to enthuse about Scott Morrisons second ministry.

The first one wasnt too flash either, but with the exodus of Christopher Pyne, Kelly ODwyer and Mitch Fifield, the collective IQ has fallen still further. Bringing back Arthur Sinodinos would have helped, but he preferred a comfortable posting to the other side of the world.

October 8, 2024

A five-minute scroll

Our five-minute scroll on X reveals testimonial of what happened on October 7. Francesca Albanese implores Malta to stop vessels carrying weapons from proceeding to Israel. A doctor reveals the horror of Israel’s attacks in Gaza, stating no toddler is shot twice by mistake. Israel has raided its own prisons holding Palestinian prisoners in a dawn operation while people in Gaza crowd for food. In Australia, why is no-one questioning the Coalition?

January 28, 2025

A five-minute scroll

Trump speaks to media about the intent to clear out Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan, while Hamas responds. Google Earth updates its visuals to reveal the apocalyptic landscapes in Gaza. Holocaust survivor Gabor Maté speaks of the longest ethnic cleansing operation in our history.

May 25, 2017

JOHN TULLOH. My first foreign news assignment 50 years ago - the Six Day War.

This article was first published in Foreign Correspondents Association Australia and South Pacific website. Next week, John Tulloh will be writing on the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War.

It was mid-afternoon Sydney time on a winters Monday 50 years ago that events were set in train which to this day remain a major running news story. On June 5, 1967, Israel staged a pre-emptive strike against Egypt to launch what became known as the Six-Day War. It ended with Israel more than trebling the land under its control stretching from the Golan Heights in Syria all the way to the Suez Canal.

May 22, 2017

MUNGO MacCALLUM So much for the miracle budget

Just a week after, it appears that nothing has really changed another bad negative Newspoll, war on two fronts with the banks and the Catholics, and, of course, more brawling in the party room. There must be times when even the unquestionably optimistic and egotistic Malcolm Turnbull wonders why he bothers.

January 5, 2017

RICHARD WOOLCOTT. Australian governments have made us more at risk from terrorism.

We should not refer to ISIS as a state. It Is not a state. It has noAir Force or navy. It has no fixed boundaries. It is really a series ofmilitant groups.It behaves in a ruthless manner, as does Saudi Arabia and its agentsin Yemen.

January 2, 2017

MUNGO MacCALLUM. Malcolm Turnbull on his knees.

The recalcitrant right is, if anything, more antagonistic than ever as the season of peace and goodwill drags on.

October 11, 2016

PETER YOUNG. Unlike Jim Molan, We must not look away from the harm we are causing.

Mondays Q&A gave a good insight into the philosophy and principles behind Australias Sovereign Borders Policy as described by one of its chief architects Jim Molan. Most telling was his argument that the means of maintaining tight border control and supposedly saving lives at sea justified the ends of indefinite cruelty, suffering and mental harm. He showed no empathy towards the suffering imposed by the policy he authored and did not have the courage to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence of the mental harm it produces resulting in mental illness, self-harm and suicide. It was clear that from the perspective of the Sovereign Borders that the continued punishment and suffering of the people in Nauru and Manus, as well as those in Australia with temporary protection visas is seen as a necessary part of the policy.

October 14, 2024

A five-minute scroll

Our five-minute scroll on X witnessed Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan telling CNN media agencies will reckon with their role in the genocide in Gaza, while the Israeli Minister for Social Equality declares she is proud of the ruins in Gaza. Doctor’s in Gaza release x-rays of bullets in children’s skulls. The French parliament erupts over a Palestinian flag. AI depicts the horror experienced by Hind Rajab and a glimpse into the future, while the horror continues for children in Gaza. The Al Jazeera documentary is making impact, with a suggestion those who support Israel should watch it. Meanwhile it is a year since 6.2 million voted Yes for the Voice Referendum.

May 30, 2017

CHRISTIAN DOWNIE. If the US cant make coal clean, what hope is there for Australia?

The Prime Ministers recent decision to back coal rests on the assumption that it can somehow be made clean, or more precisely, that carbon, capture and storage (CCS) technologies can be made to work for coal plants. The problem is that they cant and the US experience shows why.

December 19, 2013

No Room at the Inn - Asylum Seekers in Australia, Christmas 2013. Guest blogger: Kerry Murphy

In the time approaching Christmas, asylum seekers in Australia have been the target for increasingly harsh and punitive policies from the new Government. None of this is really surprising as the Coalition policy documents stated the broad outline of their intentions. It may help to outline the recent major events and to put them in context.

No one is illegal

Mr Abbott has often stated This government will never allow people who come here illegally by boat to gain permanent residency in Australia. [1]. This is an example of the incorrect use of the word illegal. Under the Migration Act, people are either lawful non-citizens (s 13) or unlawful non-citizens (s14) illegal is not mentioned. There is no punishment for being unlawful, but you face detention and removal from Australia unless you have a visa application in process. Until September 1994, it was an offence to be llegal but the offence was repealed in September 1994.

January 22, 2017

IAN WEBSTER. A tribute to Anne Deveson understanding the homeless mentally ill

Anne Deveson s media presence spearheaded the medias involvement in public health and mental health. She contributed at so many levels - social commentaries and documentaries -which challenged our sensibilities.

April 9, 2014

John Menadue. Tony Abbott in Japan

Tony Abbott has just completed his visit to Japan. The media has been full of stories about the improvement particularly in agricultural exports from Australia to Japan. It should all be taken with a grain of salt. There have been some improvements particularly for our beef exports but the hype and spin does not obscure the fact that the so-called deal in Japan is only of marginal benefit.It is a third rate result. The best result would be a multilateral result. The second best result would be unilateral tariff reductions. Bilateral Free Trade Agreements are third rate.

October 27, 2016

JENNIFER DOGGETT. Seven Key messages in Health.

This week the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released its Health expenditure Australia201415 report.

This document contains a wealth of information about the way in which we allocate resources across our health system.

There are many interesting stories in this data which can help us understand how our health system works and what we can do to improve it.

May 3, 2016

Richard Broinowski. French submarines for RAN - Why?

The 2016 Defence White paper asserts that Australia’s future acquisition of 12 French submarines costing around $50 billion is the largest defence procurement program in Australia’s history. The first vessel is to be delivered ‘in the early 2030s’, the twelfth in ’the 2040s or 2050s’. They are said to be for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, not only in Australia’s maritime zones, but in our maritime approaches and further afield. They are to be ‘regionally superior, with a high degree of interoperability with the United States’.

September 13, 2016

JOHN TULLOH: Vladimir Putin reaches back to the past to define his and Russias future.

Tsar Vladimir Putin plots his place in Russian history**.**

It would appear that Vladimir Putins current modus operandi is aimed at defining his legacy. Ideally, he would like to be remembered as Vladimir the Great, the most illustrious Russian of his times. As those with the same honorific, Peter and Catherine, did, he is busy expanding his influence and trying to restore Russia to the feared and formidable country and head of an empire it once was.

April 30, 2013

A canary in the coal mine. John Menadue

When environmental activist, Jonathon Moylan, sent a hoax email concerning Whitehaven Coal to the ANZ in January this year, there was outrage and tut-tutting by business journalists about his action.

A few months later, it is becoming clear that the future of new thermal coal mines is doubtful. Australian resource companies have let over-optimism skew their investment decisions.

Would any sensible investor take not only the political risk but also the financial risk of investing in new thermal coal mines in Australia?

April 29, 2018

CHARLES LIVINGSTONE. Crown Casino -Too big to regulate?

Last week, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation imposed a record fine, of $300,000, on Crown Casino. The fine, and a letter of censure, were imposed following revelations that Crown employees had tampered with electronic gambling machines (EGMs, also known as pokies) by removing buttons from some of them. The effect of this was to reduce the available betting options, encouraging gamblers to bet more than they may have intended. Crown denied this was deliberate, blaming the unauthorized actions of a group of employees; and disputed whether it breached regulations. Nonetheless, in a statement, they copped the penalty.

February 1, 2017

RICHARD WOOLCOTT. A foreign policy for Australia.

Our Prime Minister and Foreign Minister often refer to the “rulesbasedworld order.” This “order”, of course, was established primarily by the United States after the end of World War 2. The “rules” have beendisregarded by the US itself when it has suited it to do so. As a result It is not accepted by some major countries, especially China, which would want to be involved in the development of any new rules based order. In this context,the dominant influence of the defence and intelligence communities in Australia and in the US must be restrained.

June 4, 2017

JOHN TULLOH. Six days of war and 50 years of conflict.

For Palestinians, Nakbar Day means the day of catastrophe. It is commemorated on May 15, the day after the anniversary of Israel’s independence in 1948. It remembers the 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were evicted from their homes and land partitioned by the UN for the new Jewish state.

February 16, 2017

RAMESH THAKUR. Australia needs to wake up, grow up.

Without abandoning ANZUS but downsizing it considerably, Australia must chart an independent foreign policy according to a Canberra-based calculation of national values and interests. Or does Australia really want to make the transition to aligning with Trumps view that if only the West had confiscated Iraqs oil and wealth after the 2003 invasion, there would have been no Islamic State militant group and all would have been honky dory?

January 7, 2016

The forgotten war - Chinese resistance to Japan.

Repost from 17/09/2015

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 – Few in the West remember the fact that China was the first country to enter what would become World War II, and it was an ally of the United States and Britain from just after Pearl Harbor in 1941 till Japan’s surrender in 1945, an Oxford expert said.

In an article titled “Forgotten ally? China’s unsung role in World War II (WWII),“circulated on U.S. TV network CNN’s website Tuesday, Rana Mitter, a professor of modern Chinese politics and history at the University of Oxford, elaborated China’s role in WorldWar II.

January 2, 2015

John Menadue. Our love affair with cars.

We are infatuated by the convenience of our cars, particularly at holiday time.

There are clearly major economic and social benefits but the costs both economic and social are going to become much more apparent. How can we continue to realise the benefits of car travel, but minimise future costs.

There are enormous political problems in addressing the cost of traffic accidents, traffic congestion and carbon pollution from cars, but we need to start thinking seriously about a suite of options to minimise the damage that cars will continue to inflict on our economy and society. It is not only a political problem in terms of disruption of our lifestyles but the political problem is intensified because of the power of the automobile lobby and the large construction firms who want to keep building more and more freeways and tollways.

May 22, 2017

CAVAN HOGUE. Trump and the Wahhabis

President Trumps visit to Saudi Arabia does not sit well with a demand to fight the Wahhabi inspired terrorists but support for a dictatorship that suits American commercial and strategic interests is a long standing US practice. We may wonder whether getting involved in religious disputes is a good idea.

December 27, 2016

JOHN MENADUE. Cricket alcohol and junk food.

Cricket has a dangerous relationship with alcohol and junk food.

December 3, 2015

NBN and the high cost of copper.

Lauraine McDonald in ‘itwire’ has just reported that ‘An NBN cost scandal has erupted with a new document revealing that copper for the Turnbull government’s hybrid MTM broadband network is going to cost ten times as much as the original estimate.’

John Menadue

See link to full article below.

http://www.itwire.com/it-industry-news/telecoms-and-nbn/70623-nbn-copper-cost-blowout-exposes-government-short-sightedness

December 12, 2016

JOSEPH CAMILLERI. New series. We can say 'no' to the Americans.

Australia at the crossroads of time and imagination

Can Australia rise to the challenge of a rapidly transforming world or is it bound to the myths of a bygone age?

October 8, 2015

Nicholas Rowley. Cleaning up the mess on climate policy.

It is one of the rarely considered consequences of the sad story of Australias national policy response to climate change, that many of our finest public servants have sadly wasted years of analysis and effort to dutifully serve the demands of their political masters.

More than ten years ago analysis by Ken Henry under then Treasurer Peter Costello recommended a national emissions trading scheme. The advice was ignored. In 2006 John Howard asked Peter Shergold, then Head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, to examine the most effective ways to achieve the emissions reductions required. He too concluded an emissions trading scheme was necessary. Wanting to adopt his own approach, the advice was ignored by incoming Prime Minister Rudd.

December 13, 2016

RAMESH THAKUR. New series. We can say 'no' to the Americans.

Without rupturing ANZUS, Australia must reclaim the space to chart an independent foreign policy according to a Canberra-based calculation of national values and interests. Indeed, a visibly independent foreign policy on matters important to Australia could be the most effective strategy for quarantining the alliance from the disruptive Trump effect.

March 30, 2017

QUENTIN DEMPSTER. Wilful ignorance and the courage to explain

The role of committed journalists, whether in a functioning democracy like Australia, or a country under a kleptocracy, totalitarian or politburo governance, is to tell the public what is really going on.

May 18, 2017

MICHAEL McKINLEY. Australia-as-Concierge: The Need for a Change of Occupation

Albert Camus, the renowned French philosopher, author and journalist, frequently recounted the story of the concierge in the Gestapo headquarters who went about her everyday business in the midst of torture explaining, I never pay attention to what my tenants do.

November 21, 2024

A five-minute scroll

Claims Israel is aiding ISIS-linked terrorists, the UN security council fails to gain the votes to call for a ceasefire, Palestine asks in there is one rule for Israel. Jeffrey Sachs sets history straight on Europe and the Ukraine war and Senator Lidia Thorpe sets the record straight on the two-party system. Senator Hanson-Young calls for Labour to get out of AUKUS now, as the 7:30 report reveals the plans for the dumping of radioactive nuclear waste.

February 28, 2017

JAMES O'NEILL. Australia and the Iraq War: some new revelations.

It is difficult not to conclude that Howards statement to Parliament on 18 March 2003 following his telephone conversation with Bush was a political statement designed to bolster what was an untenable decision to commit Australia to yet another foreign war on behalf of the Americans.

May 15, 2017

JOHN DWYER. Policy mayhem is stifling efforts to have more Australian doctors "in the bush" - part two

December 30, 2015

John Menadue. Cricket and the sound of summer.

For me, the most memorable comment of the cricket season so far has been by Steve Smith, the Australian captain, explaining that the VB logo on their jackets wasn’t really advertising alcohol. It was only ‘branding’.

I notice that he is now promoting Kentucky Fried Chicken. I am waiting for his explanation of how that helps combat obesity.

A sad feature of the current season was the untimely death of Phillip Hughes. There was much public sympathy from the players. It was surprising that they did not fund a memorial foundation. They could afford to. In 2014 out top five players had salaries of over $20 m between them.

June 5, 2019

RICHARD FLANAGAN. The AFP media raids aim to suppress the truth. Without it we head into the darkness of oppression. (The Guardian 6.6.2019)

_In March of this year police union leaders warned that theAustralian federal police was losing its independence and integrity and must be separated from Peter Duttons home affairs portfolio.

April 16, 2017

BOB DOUGLAS. Are humans headed for early extinction?

Observing the national and international political scene, one could be forgiven for believing that all we need to do is promote economic growth and jobs and everything will be okay. We have become besotted with the idea that money and markets will solve all of our problems. Nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, our commitment to endless economic growth and denial and ignorance of its ecological consequences is an integral part of the problem, which must urgently be addressed if our grandchildren are to survive.

March 14, 2016

Jon Stanford. Technology, economics and Australias future submarine. Part 1 of 3

Part 1: Technology risk

Introduction

The most important acquisition included in the governments Defence White Paper, released in February 2016, is the decision to procure twelve new submarines for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). With an acquisition cost of at least $50 billion (and with a much higher through life sustainment cost), this is by far the largest defence programme in Australias history.

Australia has made some extremely costly errors in defence procurement in the last few decades, particularly naval acquisitions. The Hawke governments decision to specify a unique requirement for the Collins class submarines and to build them locally has caused very considerable problems related to cost and availability. It is over ten years since the Howard government awarded the air warfare destroyer (AWD) project to ASC and still not one ship has been delivered, with the cost per vessel in excess of $3 billion and still climbing. As Hugh White has pointed out, if Australia had ordered three Arleigh Burke destroyers from the US at that time, they would have cost around $1 billion each for more capable ships and been delivered long ago.[1]

February 20, 2017

MUNGO MacCALLUM. Political morality and preference deals.

Turnbull, having told us that he is now an agnostic on energy policy whatever works, by which he means whatever is good politics has now become an agnostic, even an atheist, when it comes to political morality.

November 29, 2016

IAN WEBSTER. Amid chaos, ethics.

Speaking particularly of the treatment people in Manus and Nauru, Professor Ian Webster argues that in this secular and chaotic world, the values and principles of the professional codes of health workers could be used to frame their future contributions to a civil and humane society.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal