John Menadue

  • ROD TIFFEN.  The UK Election’s Second Biggest Loser – Rupert Murdoch

    A widely circulated tweet claimed that on election night in Britain, Rupert Murdoch stalked out of the Times’s party when the exit polls suggested the Tories were in trouble.  As we know, Teresa May’s opportunistic calling of an early election backfired on her, and the Conservatives went from a parliamentary majority to a minority government, and her political authority and latitude are now much diminished.  The second biggest loser from the election though is less obvious – Rupert Murdoch.  (more…)

  • RANALD MACDONALD. Defending the ABC

    The ABC is not perfect but this country desperately needs an ABC able financially and committed to fulfilling its Charter requirements for all Australians. And for it to be free of political interference. (more…)

  • DAVID MENERE. Don’t mention the War — the latest on what isn’t being reported on Syria

    Reporting on the Syrian conflict by Australia’s media is practically non-existent. Only when events impinge directly on Australia, or involve a major incident, do they gain local coverage. Overseas mainstream reporting is little better. Where does the distinction lie between disinterest and self-censorship? (more…)

  • PETER RODGERS. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the US: the conniving and the confused

    Saudi Arabia’s ultimatum to Qatar says much about the Kingdom’s dreams of regional hegemony, its proxy war with Iran, and its glaring double-standards over ‘interventionism’. It amounts to a demand for Qatar’s total surrender. Qatar faces meaningful pain from the Saudi-led economic boycott but the chances of it acceding to the ultimatum are zero. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration struggles to develop a coherent approach.
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  • JIM COOMBS. Three Government Ministers in Contempt

    For a start what the three Federal ministers did was attack the judiciary in Victoria, for which they got a right bollocking from the Chief Justice of Victoria. Some sagely assert that they breached the doctrine of the separation of powers suggested by the Constitution. It is pretty clear that, insofar as their comments prejudiced a matter still to be determined, they had gone way too far. They attacked judges who by convention do not engage in political controversy, although sometimes having to decide matters which have varying degrees of political effect – that is, they were kicking someone who can’t really kick back. Others might say they were interfering with the independence of the judiciary, a cornerstone of the “checks and balances” enshrined in the Constitution. (more…)

  • STEVE DOVERS. Australia as world leader in conservation?

    With the environment a low political priority and few significant environmental initiatives in recent years, maybe Australia just isn’t up to being the world leader in conservation it once was. But an analysis of our past achievements shows that we could indeed show the way internationally, and a recent report identifies the many initiatives we can implement.  (more…)

  • ROBYN SAMPSON. Ending child immigration detention is just a matter of time.

    Momentum is growing around the world to end child immigration detention. All major human rights experts now agree that immigration detention is a child rights violation. Meanwhile, more and more countries are passing laws that prohibit child immigration detention. (more…)

  • JIM COOMBS. Crime Down, Gaolings Up. Why ?

    Sources of accurate information, such as the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) under their Director, Dr Don Weatherburn, have for some years reported that crimes of all types have been decreasing. This is due to better police technology and resources and security generally. So why do we hear that crime, especially violent crime, is something we should fear, and have government stamp out with “tough on crime” policies, which the courts duly do, in line with changes to the law. Why are we so misinformed, and who is to blame ? The three Ps, Police, Press and Politicians. (more…)

  • OISÍN SWEENEY & KEVIN EVANS: Coalition governments have abandoned nature. Can we turn this round?

     As the Coalition’s relentless internal struggles over energy ideology capture media headlines, a dramatic roll-back of protections for nature is underway. At State and Commonwealth levels Coalition governments have defunded environment programs and unpicked key legislation. Even fundamental conservation actions like the creation of protected areas have stalled as governments appear to see protections of nature as impediments to economic progress. But this is a false dichotomy. (more…)

  • FRANK JOTZO. Reviewing the Finkel Review and the political response

    Alan Finkel’s electricity review offers a chance to break the political impasse over climate and energy policy. Its key recommendations, including for a clean energy target – which would support a gradual transition from coal to renewables – are supported by cabinet, accepted by the Labor party, and embraced by large parts of Australia’s energy industry. But some Coalition parliamentarians are pushing for new coal fired plants, which would further weaken the environmental ambition of the package and lessen the prospect for a bipartisan approach. (more…)

  • TONY KEVIN. Oliver Stone’s The Putin Interviews – reflections on the first half of this current SBS miniseries

    Oliver Stone gives Vladimir Putin a comradely easy time, but elicits interesting insights into the man and his policy framework. The second half will be worth watching, as will the first half in replay for those who missed it.     (more…)

  • BISHOP VINCENT LONG. Fashioning a more equitable and participatory society

    On 16 June 2017 Bishop Vincent Long spoke at the Sydney launch of Race Mathews’ book Of Labour and Liberty: Distributism in Victoria 1891-1966. This is a transcript of his speech, in which he suggests Whitlam would have been appalled to see how governments internationally have allowed neoliberal economics to undermine social equity today, with most of the spoils going to the privileged few, leaving the many struggling to find secure, well paid work, and younger generations confronted by excessive housing costs and stagnant wages, often with casual or part-time employment. (more…)

  • JOAN STAPLES. NGOs and a clash of world views

    Coalition Governments have been trying to stop NGO advocacy for 20 years.  Current attacks on the sector are a clash between a neoliberal old world order dominated by fossil fuels and a world view based on sustainability and equity.  Unfortunately, in the process our democratic freedoms are being trampled. (more…)

  • JEAN-PIERRE LEHMANN. “Great” Britain: how low can it go?

    When I am in Hong Kong, I normally stay at Causeway Bay. Evenings and weekends, I frequently take a stroll in Victoria Park where invariably I pass in front of the majestically imposing statue of Queen Victoria. This allows me to reflect upon the remarkable rise of the British Empire of which Hong Kong was more than just a symbolic hub. In many ways, the history of Hong Kong, colonised following the First Opium War, reflected the determination and brutality of British imperialism. (more…)

  • RICHARD WOOLCOTT. The rise of China and the reaction of the United States

    It has been stated that the Chinese are the “new kids on the block” and are getting a beating from the United States,because of China’s alleged behaviour in the South China seas. (more…)

  • JEAN-PIERRE LEHMANN. Collapse of the Anglo-American Order – Implications for ASEAN and EU

    The two architects of the post-World War 2 order were British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and America President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They met (for the first time) aboard the heavy cruiser USS Augusta in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland (Canada) and from there on 14 August 1941, two years after the outbreak of war, issued what came to be known as The Atlantic Charter. (more…)

  • KAI HE. How to save the Shangri La Dialogue

    It was a sign of the Shangri-La Dialogue’s declining relevance when China sent a low-level delegation and India no delegation at all to this year’s talkfest. To ensure its future standing, this important meeting needs to shift its focus to achieving concrete security cooperation outcomes. (more…)

  • MICHAEL P. HUGHES. What went wrong with the F-35, Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter?

    The F-35 was billed as a fighter jet that could do almost everything the U.S. military desired, serving the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy – and even Britain’s Royal Air Force and Royal Navy – all in one aircraft design. It’s supposed to replace and improve upon several current – and aging – aircraft types with widely different missions. It’s marketed as a cost-effective, powerful multi-role fighter airplane significantly better than anything potential adversaries could build in the next two decades. But it’s turned out to be none of those things. (more…)

  • GREGORY CLARK. Canberra’s new identity problem.

    With its new citizenship rules requiring applicants to show proof of attachment to Australian culture and values, Canberra has triggered a national identity debate.  It is accused of showing xenophobic tendencies. But national identity could be much more complex than the critics realise. Ever wondered, for example,  why we get annoyed when people in a crowded train carriage begin speaking into their cellphones? But we do not mind so much when they talk loudly among themselves? (more…)

  • Submission on foreign policy white paper – filling the void.

    The election of Donald Trump has unsettled the global order. He will be the first US president to have no experience of governmental or military leadership. In his campaign statements he challenged the Western consensus on international issues, ranging from US alliances, national security, and nuclear weapons to trade, immigration, and climate change. In whatever ways he implements or moderates these policies, uncertainty and volatility will prevail from January 2017 onwards.   (more…)

  • JUSUF WANANDI. Tribute to ambassador Richard Woolcott

    Jusuf Wanandi pays tribute to Dick Woolcott, former Ambassador to Indonesia and Secretary of the Department of FOreign Affairs and Trade, on his 90th birthday.   Throughout his long career Woolcott has been a friend to Indonesia. (more…)

  • MICHAEL WALKER. Three strategies unions are considering for their survival

    There are three strategies unions, in danger of lsing their relevance,  can consider for their survival:  Teaming up with other community groups, aligning with particular professions and finding members online.

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  • JOHN CARMODY. May day was in June

    The only word to describe Theresa May’s unnecessary recent decision to call an early election in Britain is “hubris” and that hubris has now led to irremediable humiliation. “Strong and stable” could have described her political position before the election, but as a campaign slogan, delivered with numbingly motoric repetition, it became risible as “Jobson Growth” had been in Australia last year.  

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  • JOHN QUIGGIN. The OECD joins the backlash against unfettered globalisation

    The OECD, in a recent report, has recognised that globalisation has many dimensions. Its enthusiasm for globalisation is undiminished, but it does acknowledge that the costs of globalisation “have been larger, more localised and more durable than previously thought, and that this is one source of disaffection with globalisation”. In a challenge to conventional wisdom it suggests that governments should seek to restore progressivity to their tax and welfare systems. (more…)

  • David Ben-Tovim, Some private hospitals are safer than others, but we don’t know which

    Our research has shown that some private hospitals are safer than others, but from the data we analysed we couldn’t tell which. Governments should balance commercial interests against the public’s right to know which hospital is providing safe, high-quality care. (more…)

  • PETER RODGERS. Trump’s sugar hit in Israel mugged by reality

    Arriving in Israel on 22 May, Donald Trump told the Israeli President that he’d ‘just got back from the Middle East’. Not the most geographically informed start to the visit but from then on it was all schmooze, to the obvious delight of Trump’s hosts. Remarkably, Trump gave his twitter fingers a well-deserved rest and stayed on script. This might have been welcome except for the script itself. It appeared to include nothing of consequence – so even Trump’s critics acknowledged that as he had nothing to say he said it well. As Trump settled back into the White House, Saudi Arabia and Qatar – both important to US strategic interests in the Middle East – resumed their spiteful relationship.
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  • PETER OLSZEWSKI. Still banging away – Michael Kelly as a media mogul.

    Bangkok-based Father Michael Kelly – Mick to his mates – is a journalist who became a Jesuit priest who became a savvy publisher and who now runs a complex global religious media empire.   (more…)

  • BERNARD KEANE. Low emissions target: a win for both Turnbull and climate denialists, a loss for everyone.

    The beauty of a  Low Emissions Target as a climate action policy is that, as a kind of lowest common denominator, it means everyone wins — and for that matter loses. (more…)

  • CHRISTIAN DOWNIE. Time for China and Europe to lead, as Trump dumps the Paris climate deal

    President Donald Trump’s announcement overnight that he will withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement comes as no surprise.   (more…)

  • IAN BERSTEN. Tax policy and reducing financial barriers for small business in Australia.

    There is much discussion about the benefits of reducing tax so that Australia can be competitive with other countries in the world. This is only of consequence to multinational companies considering where to establish their headquarters. All small companies and medium-sized companies in Australia want more sales. From larger sales they get more profits and often lower cost of unit production. The emphasis in Australia should be to increase sales and the biggest problem is the structure of the market dominance by large companies.   (more…)