October 30, 2017

ANDREW FARRAN. Middle East World Cup - match schedule unravelling - a report.

The Middle East World Cup should be advancing towards the Finals but the match schedule is in disarray due to disqualifications and suspensions.

January 13, 2019

RICHARD McGREGOR. We need the Five Eyes spy network, but with oversight (SMH 12.1.2019)

After Canadian authorities seized a top Chinese executive from the telecommunications giant Huawei at Vancouver Airport last month on a US arrest warrant, Beijing immediately set about retaliating.

_A couple of Canadians who, until then, had been working openly in China, were detained. Top-level meetings for Canadian diplomats dried up. And Beijing made clear more was to come, threatening grave consequences unless the Huawei executive was released.

December 18, 2018

DUNCAN GRAHAM. ASEAN: Wethers, not rams.

Half a century ago five neighbouring nations got together with a set of fine ideals. These included boosting economic growth, promoting peace and lifting living standards. That was the excuse. The real purpose was to block the spread of Communism, now a spent force outside China and satellites like North Korea. So why keep the Association of Southeast Asian Nations alive?

July 16, 2016

PETER GIBILISCO. Five years in retrospect: Life without control

I look back on the last five years and come to a sad conclusion. For some considerable time, I have been losing control of my movements. But from July 2011 there has occurred a progressive loss of control that is potentially more fundamental than the biological loss of muscular power. It has not been physiological so much as social and personal. What am I referring to? July 2011, five years ago, was when I move into a group-home for people with high support needs.

February 13, 2019

Scott John Morrison: Where the bloody hell did he come from? (Michael West)

Its not every Prime Minister who loses a vote on his governments own legislation. The man who ended an80 year run not only definitely deserves a special mention in Australias political history but a closer look at just where the hell he came from. Michael Sainsbury unpacks the peripatetic pre-parliamentary adventures of Scott John Morrison.

December 26, 2017

MUNGO MACCALLUM. Turnbull ship still laden with barnacles

The renaissance of Malcolm Turnbulls leadership proclaimed with such jubilation by John Alexander after regaining the seat of Bennelong lasted just 24 hours.

March 1, 2018

DAVID MACILWAIN. Standing up Against America.

Arguing that Australia should cut all support for US forces in Syria, and support the Syrian government and its allies in the fight against the terrorist insurgency. This starts with a recognition that the White Helmets are allies of Al Qaeda, supported by the US and UK.

January 23, 2018

BERNARD KEANE. If milk prices went up like private health insurance ...

The forthcoming round of private health insurance (PHI) premium increases touted by the government as the lowest in a decade will mean premiums have risen nearly 80% since 2008, far ahead of inflation and a good demonstration of why PHI companies have racked up big profit increases in recent years.

January 7, 2020

GEOFF MILLER: Trump, North Korea, Iran.

Trumps decision to order the assassination of Iranian General Soleimani is understandably dominating coverage and analysis of world affairs, completely overshadowing consideration of Kim Jong Uns end of year statement, even though it had been somewhat anxiously awaited.

July 9, 2018

RANALD MACDONALD. A wonderfully Sydney-style rally was held on Sunday to galvanise support for the ABC

It was emotional, noisy, sweaty, energetic and organised chaos, as 1000 public broadcasting enthusiasts scrambled and fought their way into the 400 seat NSW Teachers Federation auditorium in Surry Hills.

April 19, 2018

DAVID BLOWERS. Australias slow march towards a National Energy Guarantee is gatheringpace.

The finer policy details of the of the proposed National Energy Guarantee (NEG) have begun to leak onto newspaper front pages and websites, ahead of Fridays crucial meeting of federal and state energy ministers.

The good news is that the leaked information suggests solid progress has been made over the past couple of months on both the emissions and reliability components of the policy.

December 17, 2015

Rod Tiffen. Chris Mitchell at The Australian.

Chris Mitchells place in Australian journalism history is secure. The newspaper he edited lost more money during his tenure than any other paper ever has or will be allowed to again. Mitchell was editor in chief of The__Australian for 13 years, and while News Corp is studiously coy about how much profit or loss the paper has made each year, it has certainly been losing money in recent years and probably on a grand scale. News Corps star columnist Andrew Bolt said recently The__Australian was losing $20 million a year.

August 31, 2019

Sunday environmental round up, 1 September 2019

Ship owners start to clean up their highly polluting fuel; forests are being felled and burned around the world but ordinary Brazilians want more done to prevent the loss of their iconic rainforest; and the fashion industry starts walking the talk on environmental sustainability. Finally, Saudi Arabia ? and Timor Leste ? have different feelings about Australia.

December 4, 2018

Public Schools Are Swindled by Billions Under New Education Agreements.

Public schools in NSW and South Australia will be swindled by about $7.5 billion over the next decade under new special deals incorporated in education agreements recently negotiated with the Commonwealth Government. The loss to NSW public schools is about $6.1 billion over the ten years and about $1.4 billion for South Australian public schools. Public schools around the country will lose about $16.5 billion over ten years if the swindle is extended to other states, as is likely.

January 2, 2018

MICHAEL LAMBERT. Overweight and Obesity Part 1: A Global and Australian Perspective

In part 1 of this two-part post Michael Lambert sets out the broad position on overweight and obesity as both a global development and the Australian situation, the costs involved and the case for national action . The second part of this post will focus on the position with indigenous Australians, its contribution to the health gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians and the need for action to target overweight and obesity in indigenous children and adolescents.

October 10, 2019

MICHAEL McKINLEY. Australias Domestic War Parties: The Colonisation of the Australian Strategic Mind

National Defence and Security questions in Australia are, like so many areas of government policy, difficult to follow, let alone master, and debate about them tends to attract only a small attentive public. The answers to them, in the form of various forms of cost, however, are frequently in the currency of death and destruction.

October 30, 2018

KIM WINGEREI. The dearth of accountable leadership

As much as we like to talk about the failures - or absence - of political leadership in Australia over the last decade, there is an equal dearth of responsible and accountable leadership in both the business sector and elsewhere in society.

December 26, 2017

JASON HOROWITZ. Cardinal's death highlights sex abuse divide.

Early on Wednesday morning, hours after Cardinal Bernard F. Law died in a Rome hospital, a priest unlocked a small chapel at the Basilica of St. Mary Major and pointed to the spot under the marble altar and life-size crucifix where the once-mighty American prelate had arranged to be buried.

October 7, 2019

MUNGO MACCALLUM. Reserve Bank gives up on Morrison

The Reserve Bank, like so many economic pundits, has finally given up on the government of Scott Morrison.

After months, years, of pleading for a sensible stimulus policy to drag Australia out of its torpor, Philip Lowe has conceded that it just not going to happen and all he can do is bet the farm on interest rates, his only effective weapon.

June 17, 2019

Money Really Does Matter in Education

Three new US studies have found that increasing funding for disadvantaged students increases school results. They bring to 21 the number of studies in the last five years showing that funding increases targeted at disadvantaged students improves achievement. This is a remarkable degree of unanimity amongst education economists. Even notorious sceptics of the worth of increasing school spending such as Professor Eric Hanushek from Stanford University (USA) and The Economist magazine have been forced to concede that money matters for disadvantaged students.

October 8, 2017

ELIZABETH EVATT. Our Rights and Civil liberties- Death by a Thousand Cuts

Its time to give the Courts power to determine whether our anti-terrorism laws violate our fundamental rights of liberty and freedom from arbitrary detention.

December 15, 2015

John Menadue. The claytons NBN

In his statement on innovation, Malcolm Turnbull said the internet and the technology it enables means we are now part of the truly global market place. It means there are few barriers to entry for Australian businesses, no matter where they are located, right across Australia and they can sell their products and services to just about every corner of the globe.

The internet is the bedrock for innovation today. But unfortunately, Malcolm Turnbull, as our former Minister for Commerce, damaged the internet. He introduced an internet censorship scheme at the instigation of the copyright cartel. He presided over a pervasive data retention scheme that has imposed a heavy burden on the whole communications sector.

September 20, 2018

JERRY ROBERTS. The Cuckoo and the Nest.

Of all the abuse heaped on the head of Malcolm Turnbull the heaviest spray came from Noel Crichton-Browne, a past President of the West Australian Division of the Liberal Party, a Senator and political power-broker par excellence.

October 31, 2018

ROSS GITTINS. World growth a toxic danger for the environment. (SMH 27.10.2018)

_If the worlds population keeps growing, and the poor worlds living standards keep catching up with the rich worlds, how on earth will the environment cope with the huge increase in extraction, processing and disposal of material resources?

December 22, 2019

ERIC HODGENS.- Migration and the Christmas Story.

The Christmas story characters are mainly on the move migrants in fact.

October 3, 2017

Mounting housing stress underscores need for expert council to guide wayward policymaking

A recent policy pledge by Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen has given fresh heart to campaigners for the restoration of the former National Housing Supply Council (NHSC).

June 18, 2019

CONOR FOWLER. Singapore and China Move to Enhance Defence Relations (Future Directions)

On 29 May, Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe met with his Singaporean counterpart, Ng Eng Hen, and announced the revision of the Agreement on Defence Exchanges and Security Co-operation (ADESC), which was first signed in 2008. The revision is designed to deepen military ties between the two countries. The two ministers met in Singapore ahead of the upcoming Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit. It will be the first time since 2011 that such a high-ranking Chinese government official has attended the annual event. There are several implications for the region arising from this agreement, as well as for other interested parties, such as the United States and Australia. While those implications may not be great, it is important that they be considered.

August 15, 2019

J.A. DICK Sacralizing Politics

It happens. A few days ago I was unfriended on Facebook by a fellow who fears I have ceased being a theologian and am now a political agitator. Actually, I dont mind agitating a bit but I am still very much a theologian..

If they are true to their calling, theologians must critique social movements and political positions, when they are unethical and promote false belief. It happened in the past and is happening today. And not just in the U.S.A

June 10, 2019

ERNST WILLHEIM. Cover up of Illegal government activities continue with the AFP raids. They follow the Witness K and Bernard Collaery travesty.

_This is a talk (on 27 February 2019 at Manning ClarkHouse, ANU )about some shameful events in Australias recent history.__And I very much fear the shameful saga is about to continue.__It is about Australian commercial espionage, bugging of the cabinet office of a friendly neighbour by an Australian intelligence agency, a raid by another Australian intelligence agency and fears of a secret trial._It is also about Australias failure to abide by a rules based-order, the rule of law.

April 15, 2018

PETER MARTIN. It's time for sweetest tax of them all.

Never before has a tax been such an instant success. I am talking about what happened in Britain last Friday. Thats when new so-called sugar tax sprung into life, with much of its work already done.

The whole idea was to cut the consumption of sugar, something we have just as much need to do here, given that our rates of obesity are on a par with those in Britain - an outrage that will prevent many of us living long lives.

April 10, 2016

John Menadue. The health insurance lobby at work at the expense of the public interest.

For many years, Ian McAuley and I have been highlighting the damage to our health system and the Australian economy as a result of the $11 b. p.a. subsidy to the private health insurance industry. We have highlighted the following and never has there been a rebuttal by these vested interests.

The subsidy favours high income groups. Taxpayers money is being used to help the more wealthy jump the hospital queue
Through gap insurance PHI has underwritten enormous increases in specialist fees.
Despite the claims PHI has not taken pressure off public hospitals. It has made it worse by attracting salaried staff from public hospitals to private hospitals with much higher remuneration.
PHI discriminates against country people who have limited access to private hospitals. Yet the National Party supports the subsidy.
Premium increases for PHI over the last 15 years have been at more than double the CPI rate.
PHI has administrative costs three times those of Medicare.It aggressively conducts pointless advertising campaigns and sponsors organisations such as the Public Health Association of Australia and the most surprising of all the Grattan Institute.
The PHI industry talks about the high cost of health care but weakens Medicare’s ability to control costs.
PHI takes us down the disastrous US private health insurance path. Which Warren Buffett has described as the tape worm in the US health system?

Despite what I think is an overwhelming case against taxpayer funding of PHI I have not seen a serious response from the PHI industryever. I can only conclude that it has no confidence to defend its position, and if it attempted to do so it would open up a debate that it wants to avoid at all costs.

April 1, 2019

JOHN MANT. It's not less population but better planning.

_Its not the excessive population growth, its the failures of city planning, it is said in defence of high immigration levels._Planning has been a mess for a long time. But in NSW there may be signs of hope with the Greater Sydney Commission now reporting to the Premier.

May 5, 2019

ALEXANDER HOLDEN and HEIKO SPALLEK. Labors Pensioner Dental Plan: Long in the Tooth or a Novel Idea?

A step in the right direction for Australias oral health? Following the release of the Grattan Institutes report; Filling the gap: A universal dental care scheme for Australia, we have seen the Greens announce theirpolicyof a universal dental scheme, Denticare funded through Medicare, and now, on 28thApril, the Australia Labor Party announced their commitment to a targeted scheme, thePensioner Dental Plan.

June 15, 2016

FAZAL RIZVI. Migration Aint What It Used to Be

That Asian-Australians are making a substantial contribution to the Australian economy is a fact that can no longer be contested. This contribution is of enormous significance, especially as Australia seeks to become integrated into the regional economy.

The issues of how this contribution might be mapped and enhanced are examined in a report released by the Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA). The report provides a discussion of the business opportunities that Asian Australians have, as well as the challenges they face. It also provides a discussion of how Australia, and its major institutions, might address these challenges. The report was released by Australias Chief Scientist on May 26.

March 7, 2019

MAX COSTELLO. Christmas Island, an update.

MAX COSTELLO. At his recent, expensive, tropical island media conference, the Prime Minister gave two reasons for reopening the Christmas Island detention centre. One: all the mainland centres are full. Two: Christmas Island, a hardened centre, is needed to protect mainland Australians from 57 adverse characters offshore. Since the first reason is an outright lie and the second implied that mainland hardened centres are non-existent or insecure, all he really conveyed was shameless mendacity. Then there are the issues of massive cost, medical inadequacy, and executive government sabotage of the legislatures law. Its time to expose the real reasons for the reopening.

September 4, 2019

NICHOLAS KRISTOF. What religion would Jesus belong to?

ONE puzzle of the world is that religions often dont resemble their founders. Jesus never mentioned gays or abortion but focused on the sick and the poor, yet some Christian leaders have prospered by demonizing gays. Muhammad raised the status of women in his time, yet today some Islamic clerics bar women from driving, or cite religion as a reason to hack off the genitals of young girls. Buddha presumably would be aghast at the apartheid imposed on the Rohingya minority by Buddhists in Myanmar.

January 2, 2020

DAVID SOLOMON. Morrison mis-fires. Leadership or Photo Opportunities!

Since Scott Morrison declared, back in November, that this was not the time to be talking about climate change, people have been talking about nothing else but the fires, and climate change, and Scott Morrisons attempts to pretend (or pray) them out of existence. But in the past week or so its all gone wrong for him, through his own deeds and his own words. With just a little help from his political allies.

July 12, 2018

JOHN MENADUE. The litany of anti social and failed privatisations. ( Edited repost from 21 July 2017)

Coalition politicians, bankers, accountants and lawyers still persist with their fixation with privatisation despite the fact that it is failing in one area after another and the electorate shows very clearly that it does not want it.

June 9, 2016

BRAD CHILCOTT. The war on generosity - rewards for meanness!

An interesting aspect of the Coalitions suggestion that the ALP had committed to restoring $19 billion to the Australian Aid budget is that pro-Aid campaigners themselves had previously only mentioned $11 billion of cuts. That is, they intentionally inflate the level of cuts to more powerfully demonstrate their commitment to balancing the budget on the backs of the worlds poor. While politicians and Australias humanitarians war over the dollar figures in the forward estimates theres another battle thats less about our national budget and more about our national character - a war on generosity.

November 12, 2019

MICHAEL KEATING. Australia's Political Fault Lines.

This article takes issue with a recent article by John Menadue which argues that a largely unchallenged and powerful oligarchy is wielding untrammelled political power. Instead, a number of other reasons are proposed as to why our political parties have fragmented, and how that has made the achievement of necessary policy compromises more difficult. Nevertheless, there is a way forward for a progressive party.

October 8, 2019

NOEL TURNBULL. The Kurds. Yearning for a new Saladin

Over centuries when faced with adversity, invasions and threats much of the Arab world has often yearned for a new Saladin.

October 10, 2016

MUNGO MacCALLUM. Royal Commissions for Labor prime ministers and trade union officials, but not bankers.

So the great inquisition is over, and the tycoons have laughed all the way back to their respective banks.

As the gleeful business spruikers pointed out, the politicians did not lay a glove on them they were lashed with a feather, flogged with a limp lettuce leaf. But did anyone seriously expect that it would be different even (perhaps especially) Malcolm Turnbull?

February 17, 2019

FRANK BRENNAN. Safe Turnbacks and Appropriate Medical Care for Asylum Seekers (Eureka Street, 18 February 2019)

We are all gearing up for the third election in a row when boat turnbacks and the punitive treatment of refugees and asylum seekers feature. It need not be so. Its time voters sent a message that it should not be so. The overwhelming majority of our politicians and the overwhelming majority of voters are agreed that the boats from Indonesia carrying asylum seekers transiting Indonesia should be stopped, and the refugees and asylum seekers who have been languishing on Nauru and Manus Island should be treated decently and humanely. The disagreement is over whether after five and more years of aimless waiting and suspension, all those who are sick can be given appropriate medical attention either on site or in Australia. A recent swathe of court cases demonstrates that when the decision whether to conduct a medical evacuation is left to Mr Duttons public servants, the decision cannot always be classed as decent and humane. A narrow majority of our politicians thought it was time to insist that such medical decisions always be decent and humane. They remain insistent that the boats remain stopped, with turnbacks in place.

March 1, 2018

The rant in The Australian on the Department of Foreign and Trade

On 17 February, The Australian published an article by former Australian ambassador to the EU and former adviser to Tony Abbott Mark Higgie that was sharply critical of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Unfortunately, the initial takeaway from reading it was that it is more of a rant than a critical analysis of all that ails DFAT.

August 12, 2018

DEREK ABBOTT. Time to play to the ALPs strengths

The outcome of the super Saturday by-elections have settled the question of Bill Shortens leadership at least until after the next general election. Malcolm Turnbulls leadership also seems secure, if for no other reason than the lack of plausible alternatives. Both are unpopular and the by-elections (and polls) suggest that the electorate is sick of the focus on the leadership challenges and three word slogans masquerading as policy.

June 5, 2019

JOSH RUEBNER. Kushner's plan to sugarcoat the occupation of Palestine (The New Arab)

In 2018, prosecutors in Brooklyn subpoenaed information from the family-run real estate development business Kushner Companies to investigate how it “routinely filed false paperwork that resulted in the company netting millions during a three-year period” when presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner was its CEO.

October 1, 2018

MUNGO MACCALLUM. Turnbull's cronies.

Thats what happens when you make a captains pick, choose your mates to fill important jobs because well, basically because they are your mates.

December 21, 2019

MICHELLE HIGELIN & KATHERINE TU. Australias climate inaction is far worse when you look beyond our borders

Australias contribution to the climate crisis is bigger than we think. ActionAid Australia uncovered that Australian companies are expanding coal, oil and gas operations with little oversight in some of the poorest areas in the world and women are paying a high price.

February 27, 2019

BARNEY ZWARTZ. George Pell has fallen, but the cardinal's legacy casts a long shadow

So Cardinal George Pell by far Australia’s best-known church leader of the past 25 years, the highest-ranked Australian ever at the Vatican, a confidant of prime ministers faces a jail sentence for child sexual abuse. The dispenser of God’s grace (through the sacrament) has surely reached the nadir of human disgrace.

Pearls and Irritations

John Menadue's Public Policy Journal