John Menadue

ROBYN MOLONEY. Learning languages early is key to making Australia more multilingual (The Conversation 3/7/2018)

Simon Birmingham recently announced the government will invest an additional A$11.8 million in a successful preschool language learning program.

Some 300 languages are spoken in Australia. In the Greater Sydney area alone, nearly 40% of households speak a language other than English and many children of these households attend weekend community language learning.

But, in New South Wales for example, less than 10% of secondary students make it through to a final end of secondary school examination (Higher School Certificate) in an additional language. A report of Chinese learning shows of all the learners who start Chinese study 96% have dropped out by senior secondary level.

The additional funding for pre-secondary school language education is a step in the right direction to making Australia a more bilingual country. Starting early is the key to making sure students continue with their language education. (more…)

Jul 18, 2018
PEPE ESCOBAR. China’s silky charming of Arabia (Asian Times, 11.07.18)

President Xi Jinping has promised more than $23 billion in loans and aid to Arab states, as Beijing ramps up ties with the Middle East; this includes aid for Palestine; Beijing foresees importing a whopping $8 trillion from Arab states up to 2025. (more…)

Jul 18, 2018
JOHN QUIGGIN. Australia’s failed energy policy needs more than just a Band-Aid (the Guardian 13.07.18)

The ACCC report is a mishmash of cognitive dissonance and half-baked suggestions for fixing the unfixable. (more…)

Jul 17, 2018
PETER DAY: The Endarkenment

“God is dead, God is Dead!”

A new Enlightenment has dawned.

Bow to its three pillars: Reason, Science, Humanism. (more…)

Jul 17, 2018
KATHRYN KELLY. Armed Neutrality for Australia?

The talks between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un give some reason for a glimmer of hope for the Korean Peninsula, but given Donald Trump’s predilection for middle of the night tweets, that could come unstuck at any moment. The international situation continues to be uncertain, with China and the US still facing off over the South China Sea and war in Syria continuing. US power is waning and there is an urgent need for Australia to rethink our security strategy for the future. I think it’s timely to revisit the concept of armed neutrality. (more…)

Jul 16, 2018
HANKYOREH EDITORIAL. President Moon’s vision for peace and prosperity after denuclearization

In a “Singapore Lecture” during the final day of his state visit to Singapore on July 13, President Moon Jae-in outlined his vision for an inter-Korean economic community and peace on the Korean Peninsula. It could be seen as his second “vision for peace,” after the one he presented in the German capital of Berlin in July of last year. It is deeply significant that he shared this vision for a future of Korean peace and prosperity in the same place as the historic North Korea-US summit one month ago. (more…)

Jul 16, 2018
JOHN HANNON. Where and who are the prophetic voices today? (a homily)

The old adage is that familiarity breeds contempt; alternatively, absence makes the heart grow fonder! But the the truest of all relating to today’s Gospel is that a prophet is not accepted in his own country, perhaps less so because he seen as just familiar and ordinary. Moreover, human nature seems to be naturally prone as resistant to change or challenge. Just this last week, it was reported that Frank Brennan SJ, the well-known Jesuit, was prevented from speaking at a Catholic conference in Hobart, apparently because he had expressed certain views about the separation of Church and State, specifically in relation to gay marriage. (more…)

Jul 16, 2018
GAURAB SHUMSHER THAPA. China and Nepal reach across the Himalayan divide (Asia Times 6/7/2018)

Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to China last month was closely watched by both domestic and international observers. (more…)

Jul 16, 2018
RAE WALKER. Is the Banking Royal Commission Australia’s Canary?

Falling levels of trust in Australian institutions is frequently raised in the media and other public discussions as a serious concern. Reports from the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry is providing an astonishing insight into the experiences of citizen and business customers of these institutions and the corporate values and management that facilitates the untrustworthiness commentators are concerned about. (more…)

Jul 14, 2018
ELIZABETH HLAVINKA. High Opioid-Use Counties Voted Trump in 2016 (Medpage Today 22/6/2018)

Opioids are symptom, symbol of ‘larger social and economic problems’. Counties with the highest rates of chronic prescription opioid use were far more likely to back Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, a new study of Medicare claims data found. (more…)

Jul 14, 2018
GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND

A regular collection of links to writings and broadcasts covered in other media. (more…)

Jul 14, 2018
JEAN-MARIE COLLIN. The Nuclear Illusion Strikes Again (La Tribune, 08/06/2018)

The issue of NW’s, everyone’s, is riddled with hypocrisy. This is a great example; from France, an ardent defender of the Iran agreement and, a country which played a major role in Israel’s acquisition of nuclear weapons. (more…)

Jul 14, 2018
‘Being Muslim’ lifestyle sweeps Indonesia (La Croix International, 07/07/18)

Japanese electronics manufacturer Sharp is claiming a first in Indonesia — halal refrigerators — after the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) granted the manufacturer halal status.

It’s the latest indication that Islam is being commoditized in the world’s most populous Muslim nation. (more…)

Jul 13, 2018
PETER DRYSALE AND SHIRO ARMONSTRONG. Getting Australia’s geopolitical and economic strategies aligned (Australian Financial Review, 08/07/18)

Australia, it has been said, is faced with hard choices in strategic policy because its principal security partner is the United States and its major trading partner, China. By deﬁning Australia’s national interest comprehensively where both China and the United States matter – and where security and economics are integrated into strategic decision making from the outset – Australia would be better placed to deal with the ongoing challenges from both countries (and others) in a complex world. (more…)

Jul 13, 2018
TERRY BARNES. Pharmacy power is a paper tiger (AFR 4/7/2018)

If something looks, walks and acts like a duck, it’s a duck. In the case of pharmacy giant Chemist Warehouse, however, it’s anything but. (more…)

Jul 13, 2018
TOM HUSSAIN. In Pakistan’s currency crisis, China is the problem and the solution. (South China Morning Post 7/7/2018)

Having racked up unsustainable bills in supporting Beijing’s infrastructure master plan, Islamabad is bailed out by China to the tune of US$1 billion – leaving it more dependent than ever on its ‘all-weather ally’.

(more…)

Jul 13, 2018
BERTIL LINTNER. As Trump turns away, China gains in Myanmar (Asia Times 4/7/2018)

US leader has left predecessor Obama’s engagement policy to wilt on the vine, giving Beijing an opening to renew its trade and security agendas

Does US President Donald Trump have a distinct policy towards Myanmar, and if so how does it differ from the engagement gambit championed by his predecessor Barack Obama? (more…)

Jul 13, 2018
BHIM BHURTEL. India’s myopic ‘muscular’ neighborhood policy (Asia Times 2/7/2018)

Despite one “muscular diplomatic” debacle after another, India has been unrelenting in its bullying attitude toward its small and weak neighbors. India is imposing another economic blockade on a third South Asian country, Maldives.

(more…)

Jul 13, 2018
TILMAN RUFF. The treaty banning nuclear weapons one year on: history made, a solid start, here to stay, and miles to go before we sleep

One year ago, on 7 July 2017 at the United Nations in New York, 122 nations took a historic step when they voted to adopt the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The Treaty filled a gaping hole in international law, providing a comprehensive prohibition on the last weapons of mass destruction to be declared illegal; the only weapons that could not only end all of us, but deny future generations of our kind and many others a right to be born. So in the race to end nuclear weapons before they end us, how is the Treaty faring one year on? (more…)

Jul 12, 2018
JULIE SONNERMANN. Kids of migrant families do better at school – and we should think about why

Children of migrant families in Australia consistently outperform their more established peers at school. And new analysis using NAPLAN data shows schools with lots of migrant-background students not only achieve at higher levels, but they have higher growth over time on average too. (more…)

Jul 12, 2018
ANDREW SALMON. South Korea unveils plan for N Korean economic enrichment (Asia Times 3/7/2018)

Ideas for the North’s development and regional integration, while ripe with promise, face obstacles and remain dependent on the US and denuclearization

South Korea presented its master plan for North Korean economic cooperation to the public last week, laying forth a roadmap not only for economic development north of the Demilitarized Zone, but also for regional economic integration in Northeast Asia – and beyond. (more…)

Jul 12, 2018
DANIEL OBERHAUS. 30 Years of Data Shows Asylum Seekers Are Not an Economic Burden (Motherboard)

A new study shows that giving migrants pathways to citizenship in European countries actually results in positive economic impacts, while asylum seekers don’t have a negative impact. (more…)

Jul 12, 2018
PAUL KRUGMAN. Big business reaps Trump’s whirlwind (New York Times)

The bill for decades of cynical politics is coming due. (more…)

Jul 12, 2018
JOHN QUIGGIN. Westward, look, the land is bright (Inside Story)

Amid more bad news from Washington come signs that attitudes are hardening against much of what the Trump presidency stands for. (more…)

Jul 11, 2018
KATHARINE MURPHY. ‘We’ve turned a corner’: farmers shift on climate change and want a say on energy.

National Farmers’ Federation head Fiona Simson says people on the land can’t ignore what is right before their eyes. (more…)

Jul 11, 2018
RICHARD A. BITZINGER. US, China cash in on Asia’s growing appetite for arms.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has just released its data on the global arms trade for 2017, and it is big news for Asia as a whole, and for China and the United States in particular. (more…)

Jul 11, 2018
ANDREW JAKUBOWICZ. A Rose by Any Other Name: Reflections on the future of race discrimination and vilification in Australia

In a penultimate spate of inter-personal hostility between the current Race Discrimination Commissioner and his opponents in government and the media, the future of a Commissioner (RDC) and the enabling Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) have been flagged by Attorney General Porter as being high on his “to do” list. (more…)

Jul 11, 2018
KERRY O’BRIEN. Speech to ABC Friends rally – Sydney 8 July 2018

Let me start with a quote: ‘…The ABC is a vital part of our nation’s polity. It is one of the great foundations of journalism and news gathering and broadcasting in the country. It has a very special place in Australia.’ That was Malcolm Turnbull in January 2014 when he announced a cut to the ABC’s budget of $254 million. (more…)

Jul 10, 2018
GRAHAM FREUDENBERG. Trump and Putin – One last word

My unfulfilled ambition was to put a new word into the English vocabulary. May I make a last attempt with an ugly word for an ugly thing? It is ‘neo-victimism’. It defines the dominant element into today’s great power relations. (more…)

Jul 10, 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.

(more…)

Jul 10, 2018