The Macquarie Thames Water saga may be coming to an end albeit at great cost – but not, of course, to Macquarie which has reinvested the billions it took out into other things. (more…)
Noel Turnbull
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Sea change in attitudes to Israel and Gaza
Profound changes in both public and elite opinion are often slow to occur but — once they start — they can shift dramatically and quickly. (more…)
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The vampire kangaroo legacy
The Financial Times has reported that Macquarie (also known in Britain as the Vampire Kangaroo) has told investors it was “very proud’ of its record as the owner of Thames Water – the company it sold seven years ago. (more…)
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The US war on science
Sadly, largely due to the media’s lack of interest in science and the drop in the number of journalists able to cover such a round, one of the most important stories about science — the Trump destruction of science — is largely being neglected. (more…)
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What the hell just happened?
What the hell just happened? Well, the first obvious thing is that Labor just won a massive record-breaking landslide election. The majority might get trimmed back a bit as further counting occurs but it suggests a third term is possible. (more…)
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RSL stands up for Welcome to Country while Dutton weaves and dodges
On 25 April, a group of Neo-Nazi protesters booed Uncle Mark Brown’s Welcome to Country at the Melbourne ANZAC Day Shrine service. (more…)
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Voters looking at the least bad option
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has a very big problem this coming Saturday, election day; he is the most distrusted political leader in Australia according to an April 2025 survey by Roy Morgan. (more…)
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The great election silence
Australian elections are often marked less by what is promised or talked about, and more by absences. There’s much about tax cuts, but little or nothing about tax rorts, such as negative gearing. Policy area after policy area has such absences. (more…)
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Dutton appears to be slowly losing ground
Peter Dutton was edging towards possibly towards winning the forthcoming election. But lately he has been moving further and further away from that. It’s possible he might still win, but it looks increasingly unlikely. (more…)
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Echoes of 500 years ago
This year marks 500 years since the end of the Peasants War in Germany (1524–25). (more…)
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What the polls are and aren’t telling us
Political junkies and the media are obsessed with opinion polls on the relative standings of the political parties. Movements within standard statistical margins of error are treated with great respect. (more…)
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Submitting to, or trying to placate, bullies never works
Europeans are doing it, the great bruiser Doug Ford is doing it, Mark Carney is gearing up to do it – even Keir Starmer is doing it. But it’s a dance our very own prime minister isn’t doing. (more…)
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Discombobulating the media election campaign coverage
The priestly pundit caste in the media is well into their election coverage rituals while the political parties are busy adjusting their strategies to tailor their offerings to these ritual needs. (more…)
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The Murdoch plague on world politics
Any company which had a history of illegality, incurred massive costs for those illegal actions, polluted public discourse and, made massive false claims about companies and institutions, the directors and managers would be facing summary sacking at an AGM. But in the case of News Limited all the evidence is that the company never learns from such lessons. (more…)
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There will always be an enemy
The English often sing There’s Always Been an England. For America the song would probably be something along the lines of there will always be an enemy. (more…)
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Dutton’s stuff-ups: Tough guy who’s not so tough
For a self-promoted tough guy — particularly if it involves refugee women and children — Peter Dutton’s career has been marked by many instances of being missing in action. (more…)
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Snouts in the trough
Ah! Peter Dutton loves the past when sheilas knew their place, blokes were blokes and boozy lunches were a key characteristic of the business environment. (more…)
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Musk – a perfume on the nose
Elon Musk may not have fallen out with Donald Trump just yet, but he is definitely on the nose with the American public. (more…)
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A massive mandate?
Donald Trump and the MAGA gang point to the ‘massive mandate’ he obtained to justify any policy he may implement. (more…)
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Saving Labor from a likely defeat
In an ideal world politics would focus on rational and intelligent debate between enlightened people — just like in Ancient Greece — without, of course, the exclusion of women and slaves. Albeit there are some serious doubts about the Liberal Party’s commitment to advancing women. (more…)
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Australian social cohesion under threat
The most comprehensive study of Australian social cohesion — The Scanlon Foundation Research Institute Social Cohesion Mapping 2024 Report — has highlighted strains in Australia society which are not yet dire, but are disturbing.
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If only… 22 reasons to regret Australia’s missed opportunities
Everyone has the odd “if only” thought from time to time. If only you had made a different career choice, if only you had not said the things you have said, or if only you had not done some of the things you have done. All those done and not done moments – those decisions and those things you did which, when you wake up at night, have you squirming with anguish and/or embarrassment. (more…)
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When will the Trump Musk bromance end?
How long will Elon Musk last in the Trump orbit? Currently he seems to be ubiquitous but that presents a problem for Donald Trump and his massive ego. (more…)
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What the Australian War Memorial should be doing about children
Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man was a Jesuit maxim attributed to Ignatius Loyola. It is probably apocryphal, but it is an approach many have taken over the years to implant ideas in young minds. (more…)
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Albo makes Dutton look electable
It is now abundantly clear that the Albanese Government is gutless. But what’s worse is that – as recent events demonstrate – it’s also politically incompetent. (more…)
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Australia at war – again, again and again
Every year or so Australia gets a bulky new book about an Australian war, military action, hero or some other military matter written by what is known as ‘storians. (more…)
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Tragedy followed by farce in Future Fund dispute
When Marx wrote “Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce” he might as well have been talking about the recent spat between former Treasurer Peter Costello and the Albanese Government Treasurer, Jim Chalmers. (more…)
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AWM one step forward one step back on Frontier Wars
The Australian War Memorial oscillates between seeming to be ready to admit that Australia’s Frontier Wars ought to be commemorated in the AWM and then leaping back in fright at the thought of backlash from the RSL and others. (more…)
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If you think the immediate future under Trump is horrific, just imagine the alternative
WTF just happened? is a question being asked around the world after the US Presidential election. (more…)
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What the insurance experts say about Queensland’s climate plans
The new Queensland Premier, David Crisafulli, has made some moderately progressive comments about climate and nuclear energy but they are, when considered in the context of the latest Zurich-Mandala Climate Risk Index, insignificant compared to the scale of the problems the State faces. (more…)