The government’s traditional scare campaign having failed to work – because Medevac transfers have not re-started the ‘people smuggler’ boats – a very frustrated Home Affairs Minister Dutton is running a new ‘repeal Medevac’ line: he says the Medevac law is a con because no transferees are in hospital. But it’s his own Australian Border Force that is keeping them out of hospital. (more…)
John Menadue
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ALFRED M. WU. The failings of ‘one country, two systems’ (East Asia Forum, 29 October 2019)
The ‘one country, two systems’ framework is coming under increasing pressure as unprecedented protests and months of unrest rock Hong Kong. Sustaining local autonomy against the background of an increasingly assertive Chinese centre has become a progressively tricky issue. (more…)
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DEAN BAKER. Mark Zuckerberg is a Rich Jerk (Counterpunch, 5 November 2019)
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JOHN MENADUE. Democracy or oligarchy .
Our political contest used to be between Left and Right, Labor and Conservative. That has changed with growing anger that power is now rigged in favour of a largely unchallenged and powerful oligarchy. Our democratic system including our traditional parties are just not properly responding .Voters are fleeing the major parties and particularly Labor. (more…)
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ANDREA HAMBLIN. More than 11,000 scientists endorse a global ‘climate emergency’ declaration (New Daily, 06 November 2019)
The Australian parliament voted against it.
But now 11,000 people who might know one or two more facts than a bubble of politicians have confirmed it is, indeed, happening: the whole world is in the midst of a climate emergency. (more…)
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HAL PAWSON. The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme: Housing affordability action – or just more busy work? (UNSW Blogs 31-10-19)
The Australian Government has this week revealed the policy details for the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS). From 1 January qualifying first home buyers (FHBs) become eligible for a government guarantee that will enable them to access a mortgage with a 5% deposit rather than the normal 20%, at no extra cost to the borrower. (more…)
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GARRY WILLS. Changing the ‘Changeless’ Church. A view of John O’ Malley’s ‘When Bishops Meet: An Essay Comparing Trent, Vatican I , and Vatican II’
In John O’Malley’s When Bishops Meet—the latest of his five books on ecumenical church councils—he compares and contrasts what he has written on the three last councils and argues that there should be a new one.
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TOM SWANN. Morrison’s claim of an Australian gold in per capita renewables is not true (Renew Economy 27-10-19)
Despite promises to cut emissions, Australia’s emissions are still rising. But at the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month, prime minister Scott Morrison rejected criticism by claiming that “Australia now has the highest per capita investment in clean energy technologies of anywhere in the world”. (more…)
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J.A. DICK. Faith Development or Stunted growth.
Thinking about some well-known public personalities who, despite their age, are still rather adolescent in their beliefs and behaviour, I went back to James Fowler’s understanding of faith development.
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ROB STEWART. Labor’s Vision Thing: Jobs and the future of work. Really?
Anthony Albanese delivered his first major “Vision Statement” last Tuesday. However, after 6 months wait, the Statement is a disappointing, damp squib of a thing. I hope future Statements are more…um, visionary.
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RAMZY BAROUD. The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinian Christians that Nobody is Talking About (CounterPunch 31-10-19)
Palestine’s Christian population is dwindling at an alarming rate. The world’s most ancient Christian community is moving elsewhere. And the reason for this is Israel.
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ARTHUR CHESTERFIELD-EVANS. Government Inaction may be a significant cause of Australia’s World-Leading Cancer Rates
Australia has the highest rate for cancer according to the World Cancer Research Fund[1]. At 468 /100,000 we are 7% ahead of NZ (who have 438), 33% ahead of the US (352), 40% ahead of Canada (334), 47% ahead of the UK (319), 59% ahead of Sweden (295) and 89% ahead of Japan (248)[2]. It might also be noted that Australia has gone from a rate of 383 in 1982 to 468 in 2019, a 22% increase. (more…)
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CHARLES LIVINGSTONE. Crown has an AGM, amidst the scandals
Crown Resorts Limited has been under siege recently. Multiple inquiries are currently underway across multiple jurisdictions. Allegations include breaches of money laundering regulations, use of the casino by criminal figures, including an arms dealer the subject of UN sanctions, and that immigration and customs requirements have been effectively waived for high rollers from overseas, including some with Interpol red notices for criminal activity. (more…)
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CRISTY CLARK. Clean ocean win shows it’s worth dreaming big. In a time when bad news abounds, it is welcome that someone’s audacious plan to tackle a seemingly insurmountable environmental problem is having success
In 1997, oceanographer and boat captain Charles Moore made a shocking discovery. After deciding to cut through the North Pacific Gyre on his way back to California from Hawaii, Moore gazed into the ocean and, instead of pristine waters, found a vast vortex of floating plastic debris.
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UN expert: Israeli occupation ‘longest’ in modern world (Middle East Monitor 23-10-19)
A UN human rights investigator on Wednesday called the Israeli occupation in Palestine “the longest occupation” in the world, Anadolu reports. (more…)
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Christopher Findlay. Can cooperation prevent the descent of a digital Iron Curtain? (East Asia Forum, 27 October 2019)
Fifth-generation mobile network technology (5G) offers higher speeds and greater capacity. This is critical for cutting-edge technologies such as autonomous vehicles and applications of virtual reality. The development of 5G is also expected to drive innovation towards many things not yet imagined. It is likely to be truly transformative.
Chinese technology firm Huawei has significant market shares in the components required for 5G telecommunications networks. Huawei is an industry leader because of its research and development spending. It offers competitive pricing, leading technology and global standards. (more…)
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TIM COSTELLO. Crown- a private company masquerading as a public one that is above the law?
The annual Crown Resorts AGM last week should have been a moment for admission to shareholders by the Board that they were in trouble and a moment to reassure investors that they had strategies to address a burning platform. Instead, they blamed everyone but themselves. (more…)
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RANDALL HEYN-LAMB. Episcopal Church officially bars investments in companies benefitting from the Israeli occupation (Mondoweiss 24-10-19)
This week, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church adopted a human rights investment screen related to Israel and Palestine and will sell its holdings in Motorola Solutions, Caterpillar, Inc., and the Israel Discount Bank. (more…)
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SADHBH WALSHE. How Brexit Put a United Ireland Back on the Map (The New York Review of Books 22-10-19)
The Irish have long been said to have a way with words—and there has been no shortage of them expended in the argument over the possibility of a Brexit-induced reinstatement of a border partitioning the island of Ireland. Since the 2016 referendum, numerous books have been published on the subject; thousands of newspaper articles have been written; famous Irish actors have taken to reciting poems to plea on the border’s behalf; and the border itself has a popular Twitter account, providing daily commentary—sometimes wry, sometimes raging—on the debate about its future. (more…)
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TERRY FEWTRELL Plenary Council – Faith and Hope in Abundance
Catholics are growing restless with their bishops. A Plenary Council process is underway to review the state of the church in Australia. But Catholics are increasingly wary, amid fears attempts are being made to stifle calls for reform from ordinary Catholics. (more…)
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JOHN MENADUE. We should stop pretending that the Coalition is a good economic or business manager
The Coalition, supported by our corporate media and billionaires like Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer, claims that it is the superior manager. This claim has become part of the public mindset. But the evidence shows that the Coalition is a very poor manager. Its priority is not to resolve problems or manage them well, but to play a political game to win votes. (more…)
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PAUL MILLS. Australia: Aligned and Independent
Last week as American vehicles withdrew troops from Northern Syria they were pelted with potatoes and rocks by outraged and betrayed Kurds. (more…)
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WILLIAM ASTORE. Killing Me Softly With Militarism (Common Dreams 24-10-19)
The militarization and decay of democracy in America.
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LINDA BURNEY. The Way Forward on Uluru – 2019 Frank Walker Memorial Lecture
I think there are three things we can learn from Frank Walker’s 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. (more…)
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DAVID MORE. Has Health Minister Hunt Been A Bit Too Clever By Half On The #myHealthRecord?
Health Minister Hunt was probably hoping that loosing the recent election would allow him to escape having to work out what to do with the problem child of the MyHealthRecord. He and his party won and now he has to work out what to do next! (more…)
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JOHN MENADUE. The National Party has deserted country people on Climate Change, NBN, Health Services and more.
The Nationals have a serious problem. It is not just a problem of Michael McCormack’s beige leadership and being pushed aside by Scott Morrison on key country issues like the drought. It has failed on numerous policy fronts. (more…)
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JEREMY SMITH. Our Climate Crisis
While local drought-affected communities are declaring a climate emergency, present proposals to mitigate the impacts of drought fail to address the real crisis. They do not recognise that this drought is not just another variation on ‘normal’ conditions, but a step towards a new climate. More radical and comprehensive planning and action are required. (more…)
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LUCY ROBINSON. Climate protests have roots that go deep into the rich history of British social change (The Guardian 13-10-19)
Extinction Rebellion draws on a radical lineage that brings together a range of beliefs and ages. (more…)
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NICOLAS SENEZE. A book sheds light on mismanagement of Vatican’s funds. Journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi reveals the tripling of the Holy See’s budget deficit and how reforms are sabotaged by a Curia that opposes any control
Is the Vatican facing a payment crisis?
Despite the denials by a Vatican finance manager on Tuesday in a interview with L’Avvenire, journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, however, said the risk will become real by 2023. His latest book, Giudizio Universale (Last Judgment), has just been published in Italy.
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PETER MILLER. How big alcohol is trying to fool the Australian public about alcohol guidelines
Over recent weeks, the alcohol industry has been drumming up media discussion about Australia’s guidelines on alcohol consumption, which are under review by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), with new draft guidelines expected to be released for public comment in November.