Older Australians are enjoying a growing share of Australia’s wealth; the wealth of younger Australians has stagnated. Structural changes to the labour market threatens to leave more young people in low wage, precarious work than any generation before them, and they face increasing debt and declining social mobility.
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John Menadue
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TIM AYRES. What We Leave Behind: The Case for Universal Inheritance, including an inheritance tax.
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Catholic Church and the Royal Commission on Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
“It would be easy to write the problems off as a few ‘bad apples’; however, the problems that have brought the [Catholic] Church to the very edge of disaster and beyond, trashing its reputation as a moral leader, were never just because of a few bad apples. The problems were institutional and cultural.” (more…)
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EVAN WHITTON. How English law does not try to find the truth.
An Australian judge, Russell Fox, said justice means fairness, and fairness requires a search for the truth otherwise the wrong side may win. English law is the only legal system in the world which does not search for
the truth. (more…) -
STEPHEN LONG. Malcolm Turnbull’s turnaround on renewable energy, from pro-carbon price to clean coal
What a stunning turnaround. The man who lost the leadership by fighting to introduce a carbon price is now railing against renewable energy.
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Local boy makes good!
Michael Kelly SJ, a regular correspondent for Pearls and Irritations, met with Pope Francis on February 9.
In the photo below Pope Francis greets Father Michael Kelly SJ, executive director of ucanews.com on the occasion of receiving the English edition of La Civita Cattolica, at the Vatican February 9 (Photo L’Osservatore Romano) (more…)
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JAMES CARROL. Pope Francis is the anti-Trump.
Who would have thought that, on an elemental point of liberal democracy, the United States could take instruction from the white-robed man in Rome? And who would have thought that liberal democracy itself could have a stake in the unfinished struggle for the soul of the Catholic Church?
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RYAN MANUEL. Belt and road: less than meets the eye
The recent unravelling of world affairs has seen many argue that China may lead closer global economic cooperation. Xi Jinping’s recent speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos encouraged this rather surprising turn of events. Xi opined that protectionism, populism, and de-globalisation were increasing and that this increase would hinder closer global economic cooperation. His remedy was more economic development, closer links between countries and what he called the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative. (more…)
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Conservatives push carbon tax to address climate crisis.
Conservatives push carbon tax to address climate crisis
By John Upton on 9 February 2017 Climate Central
With President Trump and Republicans in Congress moving swiftly to repeal regulations that slow global warming, a group of prominent conservatives on Wednesday touted a different potential solution — a carbon tax that pays cash dividends to Americans. (more…) -
CHRISTIAN DOWNIE. The security threat from climate change
The Turnbull Government’s decision to continue to back coal is not just bad economics, it also makes no sense from a national security perspective as the worsening impacts of climate change threaten international stability. (more…)
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DAVID PEETZ. Why everybody knows CEOs are overpaid, but nothing happens.
That CEOs are overpaid is something, as Leonard Cohen would say, “everybody knows”; including the directors and shareholders who ultimately decide their pay. Yet firms are unwilling to do anything about it, because to do so would damage internal relations, undermine status and run against the norms of the system. (This is a repost from an article first posted on October 24, 2015.) (more…)
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MICHAEL LESTER. ‘Draining the swamp’ : the ‘Businessman’ President
Donald J Trump is called the ‘businessman’ President. The ethics and practices of ‘private’ business, and the nature and ‘business models’ of activities undertaken, are arguably, neither consistent with the established accountabilities of ‘corporate governance’ nor with the innovative future of the’ digital economy’.’ (more…)
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STEVE GEORGAKIS. Gilchrist and Australia’s national sport, Cricket?
Until recently cricket is a sport that has rarely engaged other minority cultures, such as Indigenous Australians or newly arrived migrants. In fact, unlike other sports such as Australian Rules football, cricket has been resistant to broaden its base. … The more multicultural Australia became, the more insular cricket became. … The integrity stops with the baggy green and the sport sells its soul to the junk food and alcohol industry. (more…)
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DENNIS ALTMAN. Bringing Nauru and Manus refugees to Australia is a win-win win. If the PM is bold enough.
Ultimately this argument is about a small number of people who risked their lives in the belief that Australia would provide sanctuary and a better life. In admitting them, Australia could demonstrate basic humanity, close the camps and remove an irritation from its alliance with the United States. It’s a win-win for a PM bold enough to challenge the dominant rhetoric of both major parties. (more…)
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RICHARD WOOLCOTT. Why is the government still pushing the Trans Pacific Partnership.
An important matter facing Australia is how to find a sound balance between China’s relations with neighbouring countries and with the United States. This has become a strategic issue in the region. So far China seems to be handling it more effectively than the United States. (more…)
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RICHARD ECKERSLEY. The Trump imbroglio: confusion and contradiction everywhere
Global consumer capitalism, is reducing quality of life: stripping our lives of intrinsic worth and meaning; weakening communities; undermining health and wellbeing; creating grotesque inequities; destroying the natural environment; and undermining our faith in humanity’s future.
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TONY KEVIN. Trump, Putin and the priming of the impeachment trigger.
A game plan is now evident for the possible expulsion of Donald Trump from the US presidency by impeachment, unless he toes the line of Washington’s established bipartisan national security agenda. Putinophobia is central to this dark Shakespearean drama. Trump is increasingly friendless and bereft of the respect normally due to a US President. Recent polling suggests that 40% of Americans favour Trump’s impeachment: so far missing is sufficient Republican and Democrat votes in both houses of Congress to translate this mounting public antipathy into political action. If present trends continue, he will be either impeached, or politically neutered by his fear of impeachment. On Washington’s blasted heath, Trump’s enemies are marshalling their forces and priming their weapons. (more…)
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PETER DAY. Catholic Archbishops to front Royal Commission on Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
This week the Catholic archbishops of Australia will be called to give evidence at the full panel of Royal Commission in Sydney. (more…)
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FRANK JOTZO. New coal plants wouldn’t be clean, and would cost billions in taxpayer subsidies.
Following a campaign by the coal industry, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has argued for new coal-fired power stations in Australia. But these plants would be more expensive than renewables and carry a huge liability through the carbon emissions they produce.
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PETER DAY. Trump’s Tower of Babel
Indeed, “May God well bless America”, because what it needs now appears to be well beyond the scope of mere mortals.
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RICHARD WOOLCOTT. A foreign policy for Australia.
Our Prime Minister and Foreign Minister often refer to the “rules based world order.” This “order”, of course, was established primarily by the United States after the end of World War 2. The “rules” have been disregarded 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. (more…)
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ROBERT MANNE. The Muscovian candidate? Donald Trump and Russia.
This article was first published by The Monthly in December 2016.
To uncover the truth about the relations between Trump and Russia, therefore now requires not only painstaking investigation but, even more, political courage from members of the Republican Party in the Senate, the US intelligence services and the American mainstream media. The future of the Trump Presidency now rests in their hands. (more…)
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WALTER HAMILTON. Bad hombres.
Donald J. Trump likes to sound off about ‘bad hombres’ sneaking into the United States to spread terror and crime. Bad hombres come in many shapes and disguises, not only as bad people but also bad ideas. (more…)
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Welcoming the Stranger
In solidarity with refugees, young Catholics joined in a Mass in Lafayette Square outside the White House. See link below to article in ‘America, The Jesuit Review’. (more…)
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GEOFF HISCOCK. Key Indian states go to the polls in February
While most of Asia-Pacific focuses on the beginning of the Trump presidency and China’s prickly response so far, a substantial slice of the world’s biggest democracy, India, is about to enter a crucial round of state elections that will also have an impact on regional stability and economic growth. … in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, where 140 million of its 200 million people are on the electoral roll — more than the 130 million American citizens who cast votes in the US presidential election. (more…)
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GREG WOOD. The TPP is dead – so scotch ISDS
With the Trans Pacific Partnership’s (TPP) demise, Australia should take the chance to reconsider its approach to international trade negotiations. Certainly we should never again sign an agreement with wide ranging Investor State Dispute Settlement provisions (ISDS) which are definitely not in the interests of our society, democracy or economy. (more…)
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JOHN FALZON. The housing crisis in Australia is not an economic inevitability
The government is actually intervening in the market, especially through such levers as negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, to ramp up housing inequality! (more…)
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TIM LINDSEY. Indonesia’s inconvenient truths.
Concerns regarding Australian military teaching materials and remarks uncovered late last year have placed strain on relations with Indonesia. The strange affair of our on-again-off-again defence cooperation arrangements with Indonesia continues to confuse most observers. (more…)
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ROBERT BROWN. Financial advice reform – when will the journey end?
The financial advice industry is on a journey towards professionalism”. While I can’t say exactly what this tired assertion means, I can say that it is invariably offered as an impatient response to pesky commentators who dare to suggest that the latest round of reforms (responding to the latest round of financial services industry scandals) may not achieve the results that consumers deserve. (more…)
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THOMAS BABOR, DAVID JERNIGAN, CHRIS BROOKES. Alcohol marketing: the simple truth
According to the World Health Organization, there are 3.3 million deaths attributable to alcohol use worldwide each year. Alcohol marketing, promotion and sponsorship are widespread in most of the world today and marketers are moving increasingly to digital and social media, where efforts at regulation have fallen far behind industry innovations in producing audience engagement and brand ambassadorship. (more…)
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WALTER HAMILTON. Rush for the exits
When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this month stood alongside Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull near The Gap––once Sydney’s favourite suicide spot––they presented themselves as brothers-in-arms for multilateral free trade. How quickly things can change. (more…)