This week the Productivity Commission issued a “stocktake of the evidence” on inequality in Australia. Its findings will surprise you. But it wasn’t as even-handed as it should have been.
Category: Politics
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BATES GILL. Australia’s Political Division at Home Undermines Its Leadership Abroad.
Fractious domestic politics have made it all but impossible for the country to formulate coherent policy on critical regional and global issues.
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MEDIA ALERT: Appeal lodged against Federal Court Decision in ‘Palace Letters’ case.
Professor Jenny Hocking has lodged an appeal against the decision of the Federal Court last month in ‘Jennifer Hocking v. Director-General, National Archives of Australia’. The Court ruled that the ‘Palace letters’, between the Governor – General, Sir John Kerr, and the Queen relating to Kerr’s dismissal of the Whitlam government, are ‘personal’ not Commonwealth records, continuing the Queen’s embargo of them. (more…)
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MUNGO MacCALLUM. A ministry top-heavy with lightweights.
So this is what Scott Morrison calls his new generation of leadership.
It consists mainly of retreads from the previous ministry, with the absence of one of the very few the voters actually liked – Julie Bishop – and the resurrection of some we had thought we were well rid of.
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WILLIAM CASE. UMNO’s ethnoreligious order is not gone — just waiting.
Malaysia’s new Pakatan Harapan government rode to power on a pledge to clean up Malaysia’s foul politics. It was wise to focus on the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional’s transgressions: Pakatan’s appeal lay less in its own glowing imagery and manifesto than in the electorate’s widespread contempt for the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which leads the now opposition Barisan Nasional coalition. (more…)
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LAURIE PATTON. It’s time to clean up the Internet
This week a new CEO joined the Internet Society – the global not-for-profit overseeing the development of the Internet since1992. In his first official statement Andrew Sullivan noted that it’s a challenging time for the Internet. I agree. Which is why this article, originally posted back in June, still resonates. (more…)
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STEPHEN LONG. The reality is new coal power is not the answer for cheaper electricity bills (ABC News, 03.09.18)
The tipping point’s been reached: renewable energy is now a cheaper source of power for Australia’s future electricity needs than coal. (more…)
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DAVID SHULMAN. The Last of the Tzaddiks.
In the somewhat exotic Jewish home in Iowa where I grew up, it was axiomatic that there was an intimate link between Judaism and universal human rights. Like nearly all Eastern European Jewish families in America, my parents and grandparents were Roosevelt Democrats, to the point of fanaticism. They thought that the Jews had invented the very idea, and also the practice, of social justice; that having started our history as slaves in Egypt, we were always on the side of the underdog and the oppressed; that the core of Judaism as a religious culture was precisely this commitment to human rights, and that all the rest—the 613 commandments, the rituals, the theological assertions—was no more than a superstructure built upon a strong ethical foundation. For me, this comfortable illusion was shattered only when I moved to Israel at the age of eighteen. (more…)
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MUNGO MacCALLUM. Tony Abbott from back bench rebel to back bench envoy.
Our new, or at least our current, Prime Minister, has a plan to solve the Tony Abbott problem – make him an envoy to his indigenous Australia.
Of course he would prefer to make the man an envoy to outer space, if not beyond; but politics remains the art of the possible. So the idea is to try and get him as far out of sight as is practicable, and hope that he shuts up in the process.
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GEOFF MILLER. Challenges facing the new foreign policy team.
There are many uncertainties and unresolved issues facing the new government within its own ranks. These are paralleled by the international situation it has to deal with. As former Prime Minister Turnbull said in his introduction to last year’s Foreign Policy White Paper, “change, unprecedented in its scale and pace, is the tenor of our times.” (more…)
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KIERAN TAPSELL. Accountability, Clericalism and Culture in the Catholic Church
Pope Francis has little chance of overcoming clericalism and the toxic culture of cover up in the Catholic Church unless he changes those parts of canon law which are dripping with it. (more…)
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DUNCAN GRAHAM. A done deal – or a deal not yet done?
Trying to do business in Java on a Friday is seldom a good idea.
The chantings that Prime Minister Scott Morrison heard mid-morning last Friday were not part of the standard welcome to overseas VIPs, but calling the faithful to prayer. That included Indonesian President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo, much of his Cabinet and most senior bureaucrats.
That Widodo took time to talk to his visitor on the Islamic holy day, when the Asian Games are concluding and campaigning about to start for next April’s presidential election, suggests he sees it’s important to maintain relationships with Australia, even if other politicians are indifferent or openly suspicious. (more…)
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JAMES CURRAN. Julie Bishop: buffeted by headwinds.
Few can quibble with the accolades that Julie Bishop has received in recent days for the manner in which she performed the role of Australian foreign minister. The first woman to hold the position, she graced the world stage with a mixture of professionalism and poise, dignity and discipline. No one can doubt Bishop’s ability to master a brief or effectively prosecute the national interest. (more…)
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BEHROUZ BOOCHANI. Australia needs a moral revolution (the Guardian 31.08.18)
Five years ago, on a boiling hot day, Australian immigration minister Scott Morrison entered Manus Prison. A number of refugees who represented various groups were invited to meet with him. In that meeting, the refugee representatives found themselves being threatened – Morrison pointed his finger at them and yelled: “You have no chance of coming to Australia and you must return to your countries.” I depict this exact scene and its aftermath in my book No Friend but the Mountains: Writing From Manus Prison. (more…)
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RICHARD BUTLER. Trump: It’s not legal, it’s political and the jury’s out on that.
It should be anticipated that Trump will be found to have broken various US laws and, obviously, trashed established political and Constitutional rules. What it is decided should be done about this will not be guided by the law but by the now dysfunctional domestic politics of the US. That dysfunctionality, in both domestic and foreign policy, cannot be overstated. This is the US’s business, but we need to think hard about its effects on us. (more…)
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MUNGO MacCALLUM. Tony Abbott – from a back bench rebel to a back bench envoy.
Our new, or at least our current, Prime Minister, has a plan to solve the Tony Abbott problem – make him an envoy to his indigenous Australia.
Of course he would prefer to make the man an envoy to outer space, if not beyond; but politics remains the art of the possible. So the idea is to try and get him as far out of sight as is practicable, and hope that he shuts up in the process.
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JOHN MENADUE Is money behind the Coalition’s addiction to coal?
It is clear to almost everyone that new coal fired generators will be not only very polluting but much more expensive to operate than the generation of power from renewables. But the Coalition keeps pressing the case for coal . Some months ago our new Prime Minister even threw lumps of coal around the Parliament to promote coal.
Coal makes no environmental or efficiency sense. But it may make selfish political sense to promote coal in return for political donations from wealthy miners.
In an interview with Emma Alberici on the ABC,Alex Turnbull said ‘there is an undue level of influence on Liberal Party policy by a very small group of miners’
Who could he be referring to!
We do know that the Liberals are short of election funds
You join the dots after reading the edited story below from Myriam Robin in the Australian Financial Review of 30 August, 2018. (more…)
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GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND
A regular collection of links to writings and broadcasts covered in other media. (more…)
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TRISTAN EDIS. Turnbull was knifed by a lie: Renewables are already bringing prices down.
Australia has replaced yet another Prime Minister mid-term via a leadership coup. (more…)
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WALEED ALY. Dutton’s au pair drama shows hypocrisy of immigration policy (SMH 31/8/2018)
“As a discretionary and humanitarian act to an individual with ongoing needs, it is in the interests of Australia as a humane and generous society to grant this person a tourist visa.”
That’s Peter Dutton, then immigration minister, in the official document by which he intervened to allow an au pair to enter the country.
And what an incredible sentence it is! A humanitarian act. An individual with ongoing needs. A humane and generous society. So … a tourist visa? What humanitarian situation serious enough to require intervention from the immigration minister himself can be relieved by a spot of tourism? (more…)
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JANE CADZOW. The watchman – Scott Morrison (Sun Herald, 3 November 2012)
Accused of inflaming racism, Scott Morrison insists people have the wrong idea about him. Jane Cadzow meets the Liberals’ immigration spokesman. This article was published in the Sun Herald on 3 November 2012 .
In his maiden speech in 2008 Scott Morrison said ‘From my faith, I derive the values of loving kindness, justice and righteousness’ (more…)
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Taylor confirms no interest in emissions, but says he’s no climate skeptic (RenewEconomy, 30.08.18)
New energy minister Angus Taylor has confirmed what was largely expected: that he has no interest in emission reductions under the remit handed him by prime minister Scott Morrison, and that his primary focus will be on reducing prices for consumers. (more…)
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KIM WINGEREI. The Political Games of Mediocrity.
John Menadue and Ian McAuley pointed out in ‘A new leader, but no sight of leadership’ the lack of leadership in the Liberal Party. And it’s not just the one party, the lack of leadership in Australian politics is firmly rooted in a political system that attracts the mediocre, rewards the conformists and preserves the status quo at the cost of progress. (more…)
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DAVID GOLDMAN. Europe, Japan, China and Russia line up against US.
Investment patterns are shifting in response to America’s new assertiveness. (more…)
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MICHAEL SAINSBURY. Payne can give proper attention to Asia that Bishop failed to do- (Crikey)
Australia’s new Foreign Minister Marise Payne has plenty to learn from Julie Bishop’s significant missteps — and indeed non-steps — in the same role. (more…)
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CNN Interview with New York Mayer BILL de BLASIO (DEM) on Rupert Murdoch’s media
BRIAN STELTER, CNN HOST: Welcome back to RELIABLE SOURCES. I’m Brian Stelter.
If you asked New York City’s mayor what lies behind a lot of the negativity and the divisiveness creeping this nation, he’s got a simple answer for you. He says it’s the media empire of Rupert Murdoch that’s at fault. Bill de Blasio has long been a critic of the hometown “New York Post” newspaper. Murdoch has owned it for years. He says it’s right-wing propaganda.
Now, he’s also been talking about Fox News as well, of course on a week when Laura Ingraham’s hateful comments are on the news. … (more…)
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NEAL BLEWETT. Establishing, defending and improving Medicare.
Neal Blewett AC delivered the Hayden Oration at Ipswich on 15 August 2018.
Neal Blewett as Minister for Health from 1983 under the Hawke government, and later Minister for Community Services and Health, implemented the Medicare universal health scheme, disability services, campaigns to reduce tobacco and alcohol abuse, and a national strategy to combat AIDS/HIV. They were all remarkable achievements.
In this oration, Neal Blewett records the development of Medicare and the unremitting hostility of conservative politicians, the AMA and others to Medicare. From page 11 of the oration, he outlines how Medicare could be strengthened and expanded to include dental care and other improvements.
See link below for full text of the oration. John Menadue. (more…)
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GREG BAILEY. Who wins from Malcolm Turnbull’s dismissal?
Who wins from last week’s disastrous week in politics and what can we expect it to give rise to if anything? Nothing occurs in a vacuum and now that the carnage has been temporarily suspended the commentariat is attempting to find continuities and discontinuities that might possess some explanatory value. (more…)
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ANDREW JAKUBOWICZ A multicultural whirlwind blowing up for the next election
Turnbull’s gone and with him, hopefully, his recurrent but incorrect mantra of Australia as the most successful multicultural society in the world. With the next federal election now just over the horizon, understanding how the ethnic vote delivered the last election to the Coalition may help us to understand how Australia’s multicultural present could shape the next government. Moreover the concerns of these over 150 different ethnic groupings, a mishmash of cultural, familial, human rights and political worries, may become vitally important once more at the tips of the voting tails.
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ANTHONY PUN. How do the Chinese settlers in Australia feel regarding the deepening dispute between China and Australia?
The “China Panic”, a phrase coined by Professor Bob Carr, ex-Australian Foreign Minister and Director of Australian China Relations Institute (ACRI), started in December 2016 when the media and the Turnbull government started to “bash” China starting with a media blitz about Chinese political donations to political parties and alleging breach of parliamentary sovereignty and followed by proposed legislation, the Foreign Interference Bills, which was subsequently passed in the Federal Parliament. These events generated xenophobic overtones against the Chinese Australians. The government seems to change direction when PM Turnbull delivered a conciliatory speech at the University of New South Wales attended by the Chinese diplomats. Despite the turnaround, there has been collateral damage done to the 1.2 million Chinese Australians. Notwithstanding recent adversities, Chinese Australians are hopeful for better times as they believe Australians are fair minded. (more…)