The present crisis in the childcare industry in Australia has been in the making for the past 50 years. (more…)
Category: Policy
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Achieving health equity in Australia
The recently launched World Report on the Social Determinants of Health Equity, by the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2025), paints a stark picture of the differences in ill-health, poor well-being, disease and mortality within and between countries, that arise from unfair and avoidable social conditions. (more…)
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Flood management: Science, technology and people’s responses
To reduce the risks posed by floods requires both scientific input and appropriate community reaction. It is not always clear that both are in evidence. (more…)
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The magic of the mandate: Now you see it, now you don’t
In 2003, then prime minister John Howard committed Australia to the US-led invasion of Iraq. (more…)
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India’s state and central governments still aren’t speaking the same language
The first rule of discussing language policy in India is to leave any expectations of a calm conversation at the door. (more…)
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Will the ‘Mr Magoo Nation’ stand up against ‘Trumpist’ geopolitics?
In the June 7-8 issue of The Australian Greg Sheridan railed against the ‘’crushing waves of [Chinese] military threat” and satirised the Albanese Government’s “pathological passivity” as reminiscent of Peter Seller’s quietly subversive Chauncey Gardner. (more…)
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Switching from a failed vape and tobacco policy to a successful one
Australia’s health policy in relation to vapes is in disarray. Yet this deeply flawed approach is currently supported by all state, federal and territory governments. (more…)
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Labor’s Left majority: A defining moment
The May 2025 election delivered something quietly historic. For the first time since the 1970s, the Labor Left faction holds a majority in caucus. (more…)
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Australian foreign policy is in the doldrums
Opinion polls indicate Australians are at last waking up to the fact that their country’s security reliance on Trump’s US is no longer tenable. (more…)
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Faster than forecast, accelerated warming creates a climate time-bomb for the Albanese government
The physical reality of accelerating climate heating and faster-than-forecast impacts have mugged climate policymaking, which now needs to be rebuilt with up-to-date scientific observations and understandings, and a risk-management approach that gives particular attention to the most-damaging, plausible high-end scenarios. (more…)
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Regime change and blowback in Iran
According to US political scientist Chalmers Johnson, in the 1950s the CIA coined the term “blowback” to refer to “the unintended and unexpected negative consequences of covert special operations that have been kept secret from the American people and, in most cases, from their elected representatives”. (more…)
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IDF actions in Gaza directly contradict Jewish ethical tradition
The Israeli response to the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 has been massive and all-encompassing. (more…)
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The FICAC Commission of Inquiry fiasco in Fiji
What started out as a trivial story barely worthy of public attention has grown into a full-blown crisis for the Sitiveni Rabuka-led government in Fiji. (more…)
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Addressing our wicked problems
If there is one thing that the literature agrees on it is that wicked problems “…are particularly challenging as they transcend the borders of traditional policy domains, involve a wide variety of actors across different scale levels and resist our attempts to solve them”. (more…)
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Nuclear subs taking on water
There is every reason for Australia to jump on board the idea of having a review of its AUKUS defence policy. (more…)
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Australia’s quiet role in China-ASEAN dynamics
Southeast Asia’s strategic equilibrium is undergoing unprecedented stress tests. (more…)
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Hugh White and our post-American future
In his new Quarterly Essay, Hard New World, Hugh White delivers a devastating attack on Australia’s current defence policies. (more…)
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Australia should use its power as an independent voice to push for peace
Australia occupies a unique position in the global landscape, bridging East and West both geographically and culturally. Yet it continues to underuse its potential as an independent, peace-building voice in international affairs. (more…)
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Ministerial responsibility and cabinet solidarity: Are they misaligned?
When Tony Abbott brought Malcolm Turnbull back into his shadow cabinet as communications spokesman in 2010, the then Opposition leader mocked Turnbull by calling him the inventor of the internet. (more…)
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Chinese flotilla fallout still has some attempting a beat-up
There is little or no evidence that China poses a direct military threat to Australia. However, the Sinophobes among political ranks and the commentariat are trying to ensure that Beijing will treat Canberra as a hostile entity. (more…)
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China and the art of war
I have a love-hate relationship with China. As a university student, I was entranced by China’s history and rich culture. (more…)
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In one awful decision, Albanese has revealed his do-nothing plan
It didn’t take long for us to discover what a triumphantly re-elected Labor government would be like. (more…)
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A carbon tax and some key policy challenges
A carbon tax will obviously help reduce carbon emissions and achievement of the net zero target, but it will also help raise the revenue needed to fund essential government services and promote Australia’s economic development. (more…)
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Move to revoke Darwin port lease is a political decision
Moves to force divestiture of the port of Darwin damage Australia’s standing as a reliable investment destination and represents a triumph of foreign influence on policy. (more…)
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Pushing back with new urgency against neoliberalism
The era of unchallenged neoliberal dominance appears to be over, but it is too early to declare neoliberalism dead. (more…)
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Freer movement: Pacific priorities for Labor in its second term
Is the Labor Government going to take aid more seriously, and think more globally, in its second term? (more…)
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Beyond the sensible centre: A critical reflection on political imagination in the 21st century
The “sensible centre” is the most overpopulated address in Australian politics today. (more…)
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Why Australia should recognise Palestinian statehood
The question for the Australian Government is, how can we most constructively persuade Israel to change course? (more…)
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The Coalition splits, maybe not
If there was ever any question about the dire state of conservative politics in Australia after the Coalition’s comprehensive election rout, the self-indulgent posturing of the past week leaves no doubt. (more…)
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Whether due to indifference or disinterest, the media colludes with Gaza genocide
Clearly, the Australian media has little interest in reporting on any local reaction to the catastrophe in Gaza. (more…)