It’s too late for Starmer, but Albanese has two years to take a bold stance against Hansonism and explain to the public his own plan. (more…)
Category: Politics
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The implications of the forever war in West Asia
The long-term implications of the Iran war will be a shift in geopolitics, with the decline of Western dominance in West Asia and new regional coalitions. (more…)
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CGT debate exposes States’ $11b annual asset giveaway
State governments are giving away billions in development rights that create huge private land windfalls, when pricing those rights could fund housing, infrastructure and fairer state taxes.
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The four missed moments: when social democracy failed to change course
The Sanders, Corbyn, Ardern and Shorten moments were missed chances to renew social democracy through structural reform, leaving genuine economic grievances to be harvested by the populist right.
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Summer Davos focuses on China’s standards power
A focus of Summer Davos was China’s plan to become a ‘standards maker’ that increasingly writes the rules in key technology fields. (more…)
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When women’s rights become clickbait
Attempts to reopen debate on abortion access rights in Australia show how women’s rights are made negotiable through language, media framing and political theatre – and why independent journalism matters in resisting that backlash.
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Dressing up defeat as victory
The US ‘deal’ with Iran is a humiliation. This outcome reveals not just Trump’s incompetence but flaws in the system that allowed him to rise to power. (more…)
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Subsidised but unaccountable: the religious charity gap
The Government must address a gap in the charity framework, namely the exemption for religious charities having to be transparent about the benefits they receive. (more…)
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Why so many Republicans are bailing out of Congress
A new report reveals the speed of autocratisation in the United States and how Trump is acting increasing without Congressional approval. (more…)
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David Hockney – the artist who forced Britain to make room for colour, joy and queerness
David Hockney’s legacy lies not only in colour, pleasure and innovation, but in the way he challenged class prejudice, homophobia, ageism and cultural gatekeeping by insisting that seeing itself is active, generous and political. (more…)
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Artificial stupidity…and the well-worn road to technicide
The allure of AI creating boundless productivity may lead, perversely, to zero demand and the death of society because it is too dependent on a technology. It has happened before. (more…)
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Test cricket’s struggle exposes sport’s commercial bargain
The future of Test cricket points to a wider problem in modern sport: crowds create the meaning, identity and emotional value that commercial systems increasingly seek to own and monetise. (more…)
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Football shows how belonging is built
The world game’s global appeal lies in its power to create belonging, shared experience and everyday social cohesion across cultures, reminding diverse societies that connection is built not only through policy, but through common stories.
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Confronting disruption and seeing it coming
A new book examines how to deal with the complex problems caused by natural and humanitarian disasters, technological failures and geopolitical tensions. (more…)
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Fraser, Whitlam, Albanese and national sovereignty
Malcolm Fraser and Gough Whitlam both warned against surrendering Australian sovereignty to US military and intelligence interests, but AUKUS and the Albanese government’s foreign policy have deepened that dependence. (more…)
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The revolving door is weakening trust in politics – Message from the Editor
I will leave it to others to talk about what Keir Starmer did right and wrong in his two years as UK Prime Minister. (more…)
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Where ‘we’ begins: the World Cup and multicultural Australia
The World Cup offers a simple answer to a complicated political debate: a nation is strongest when people with different pasts choose the same future. (more…)
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Pedalling into censorship
The Big Ride for Palestine SA’s agreement with a sportswear manufacturer to create a jersey for its winter ride has been stymied by concern about its branding. (more…)
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Hanson’s politics of subtraction offers her own voters less
Pauline Hanson’s National Press Club speech exposed the weakness in the old right-wing politics of subtraction: in an age of scarcity, promising to take things away no longer lands on someone else, but on the voters she needs. (more…)
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Trump is replacing capitalism with cronyism
Donald Trump’s use of state power to extract concessions from AI and technology firms is not industrial policy, but a corrupt form of crony capitalism that threatens US democracy, prosperity and the rule of law.
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Living well together despite our differences
A diverse nation is held together not by embracing monoculture but by building familiarity and then trust. (more…)
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A tale of two budgets: NSW and Queensland
The release of the NSW and Queensland state budgets reveals a stark contrast in the recognition of the role of renewable energy in securing economic and social benefits. (more…)
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Seven PMs in a decade: can Britain’s democracy deliver?
The UK’s revolving door of prime ministers raises the question whether its democratic institutions can offer a long-term vision and deliver results. (more…)
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Mamdani-backed candidates reshape New York primaries, with Israel as the fault line
Several New York Democratic primary victories by candidates critical of Israel point to a growing challenge to AIPAC-aligned politics, as Gaza, Palestinian rights and outside money become defining fault lines inside the party. (more…)
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West Papua’s red crosses are resisting rainforest destruction
West Papua’s Indigenous communities are using hundreds of red crosses as symbols of resistance against rainforest destruction, land-grabbing and militarised development, as Indonesian authorities try to suppress a documentary exposing the damage.
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Israel’s deliberate targeting of Gaza children part of genocide: UN inquiry
A UN commission of inquiry says Israel’s deliberate targeting of Palestinian children in Gaza is resulting in genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, with children killed, injured, detained and denied essential protection.
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When Hanson starts fishing in multicultural waters
Pauline Hanson’s politics is finding new resonance because it turns real pressures over housing, services, tax and insecurity into a familiar politics of exclusion, offering some migrant-background voters the dangerous comfort of a place near the gate. (more…)
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The million-dollar secretary salary question
The Remuneration Tribunal’s review of Commonwealth departmental secretary salaries should confront the large and poorly justified gap between top bureaucrats and the senior executives beneath them.
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Gambling reform was quietly taken out with the trash
Labor’s response to calls for a ban on gambling advertising was announced quietly and falls well short of the Murphy report’s recommendations, leaving children, young men and problem gamblers exposed to ongoing harm.
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We are spending billions on war and pennies on peace
Investing in the prevention of conflict is a better way to ensure a safer and more prosperous future than money spent preparing for and fighting wars. (more…)