Noel Turnbull

Paranoid politics always seem to be with us in some form or other. It has ebbed and flowed for centuries but in the past year, it has seemed more like a flood than a flow. (more…)

Between 70% and 80% of Republican voters believe the recent Presidential election was rigged. While it’s astonishing funding it is not simply representative of the Trump years but more a reflection of steadily developing attitudes over some decades. (more…)

If Scott Morrison is to be remembered for more than knifing Malcolm Turnbull, the 2019 election, bushfires, corruption and climate denial, it will be his propensity to relentlessly deploy two or three-word slogans. (more…)

Young Australians now rank among the groups most dissatisfied with democracy in the world –better than among others like Venezuela and the US but worse than Ghana and Peru. (more…)

Since the Liberal-National Part Government came to power Australia’s ranking in Transparency International’s (TI) global corruption surveys has fallen. (more…)

In the past 75 years, there have been two authors who have profoundly demonstrated the effects when language is mangled and distorted and, conversely, how to write clearly and powerfully. (more…)

Lobbyists can be pretty shameless – from hyperbole about the ‘unintended consequences’ of some legislative or policy change they don’t like – to arguments which would shame a beginner debater. (more…)

Donald Trump thought about giving his campaign speech at Gettysburg but opted for the safety of the Rose Garden instead. (more…)

Whatever anyone thought of the first Presidential debate it doesn’t seem to have yet halted Joe Biden’s gradual increases in support as measured by a variety of US polls. (more…)

The Bracks-Macklin Victorian ALP review released its first recommendations in July 2020 – no brainer rules amendments for immediate action to end bulk membership sign-ups and ensure individual members pay for their own membership. (more…)

Whether it was ever a myth or not there has been – until recently – an ingrained belief that Australians value fairness and the fair go, as the concept was often characterised. (more…)

What has Greg Sheridan of The Australian been smoking or taking, or is it just common or garden cherry picking? (more…)

Sometimes PR campaigns to address problems cause even bigger PR problems. For instance the aged care industry is planning a major campaign to ‘change the conversation’ and ‘win the hearts and minds of middle Australia’ according to The Age (2 September 2020). (more…)

When asked during one of his long, long media conferences about speculation on whether he was planning to stand down as Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, replied “I’m not going anywhere”. (more…)

The Morrison Government’s hypocrisy ranges across many areas but one of the most galling is the disparity between the protestations about thanking veterans for their service and how they allocate veteran related budgets. (more…)

The British decision to put Rosalind Franklin’s famous Photograph 51 on the new 50p coin is a reminder that the controversy over her DNA X-ray diffusion work is but one part of a much larger scientific career. (more…)

For decades there has been a relentless chorus – rather like Orwell’s four legs good two legs bad – conditioning us to believe that private is good and public is bad. (more…)