Category: Politics

  • MUNGO MACCALLUM. Turnbull overhauls his hyperbole

    You may have missed it in all the excitement and jubilation of the passage of same sex marriage, but last week Malcolm Turnbull announced the most significant overhaul of Australia’s espionage laws in decades. (more…)

  • MICHAEL MULLINS. It’s likely Pope Francis would support ‘killing off confession’ to support abuse victims

    At his media conference following Friday’s release of the report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Archbishop Anthony Fisher said that ‘killing off confession is not going to help anybody’. The report recommended legal strictures against the ‘seal of confession’ to allow the reporting of sex abuse. A Melbourne canon law expert is much less worried than Archbishop Fisher, and it seems that even Pope Francis would give less priority to the ‘seal’ than addressing the needs of the most vulnerable. (more…)

  • Instead of congratulating ICAN on its Nobel Peace Prize, Australia is resisting efforts to ban the bomb

    Last week in Oslo, the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize was officially given to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a global campaign that was launched in Melbourne in 2007. (more…)

  • MUNGO MACCALLUM. Alexander wins return to obscurity

    So after all that, the bomb did not drop, the world has not ended. John Alexander has been re-elected and Australia’s champion, Bennelong’s champion, will relapse into the obscurity of the backbench whence he came. (more…)

  • JERRY ROBERTS. Will today’s Labor Government in Western Australia repeat the mistakes of 1983?

    Dominating the front page of Wednesday’s West Australian newspaper (6 December) was a picture of the State’s Premier, Mark McGowan, striking a tough-guy pose.  Ghosted over the photo of the Premier was a big headline saying “Fat Cat Cull.”  The fat cats are public service chiefs and the story revived memories of Premier Brian Burke in the days following Labor’s election victory in 1983.  The difference lies in what happened to the public service between then and now.  (more…)

  • MARK BEESON: Agents of influence

    A form of groupthink about relations with China and the United States has become pervasive in Canberra. Ironically, this situation is encouraged by the influence of the US, despite the current hysteria surrounding relations with the PRC. (more…)

  • CAVAN HOGUE. More blessed to give than to receive?

    Provoking China to score cheap political points domestically does not advance Australian interests. While most Australians would prefer the US domestic political model to the Chinese, we are not going to change the Chinese system and so must learn to live with it. Complaints about Chinese attempts to influence Australian attitudes are naive.  All countries, including Australia, try to influence the policies of others and China is no different. Our American ally has a long history of influencing other countries clandestinely and of overthrowing democratic governments that didn’t suit its interests. Nobody is in a position to cast the first stone. The government’s unnecessary public attacks on China achieve nothing and pose the risk of threats to Australian interests from China. If you lead with your chin you are asking for trouble.  (more…)

  • GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND …

    In case you missed Geraldine Doogue last week on Saturday Extra, she conducted three thought-provoking interviews. First was Professor Julian Le Grand of the London School of Economics, on the possibilities of employee-led mutuals contracting to the public sector. Then Sarah Barker and Karl Mallon talked about how firms are incorporating climate risk into their financial analysis. And former Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten warned about the politics of identity – a political movement that “savages democracy”. He described how in Northern Ireland he developed practical methods to move beyond identity politics.

    In the Fairfax press Peter Martin explains why low pay rises have become routine. Going back to the Howard era, he explains how successive Coalition governments, fearful of wage inflation, have weakened trade unions and other mechanisms to keep wages rising in line with productivity.

    Writing in the Canberra Times Andrew Leigh (Federal member for Canberra) explains how the super-rich – “the top 1/10,000 th of the population” are using offshore tax havens to avoid tax, and Labor’s proposals to close tax loopholes.

    “We should rescue economics from the folly of neoliberalism” writes Ross Gittins, in an outline of the work of Harvard’s Dani Rodrik. Neoliberalism is simply “bad economics”.

    Ireland is still debating the scandal of child abuse in the Catholic Church, eight years after a royal commission into the matter delivered its groundbreaking report  – ABC News

    Grappling with Rome: David Marr’s lessons from the royal commission – the Guardian

    Public service boss Martin Parkinson proposes national survey on government – Canberra Times

    AGL says batteries are coming, but coal is uninvestable – RenewEconomy

    Is the Rohingya repatriation to Myanmar a reality or illusion – La Croix International

    A study has found that the new penalty rate cut has not stimulated jobs – Sydney Morning Herald

    The Audit Office has slammed the Federal Government’s dud investments in ‘clean coal’ RenewableEnergy

     

     

  • LAURIE PATTON. Setting the Record Straight – The Australian newspaper publishes rebuttal to Internet Australia attacks

    For former journalist and media executive Laurie Patton, spearheading Internet Australia’s campaign for #BetterBroadband meant becoming accustomed to the occasional sledge from the pro-NBN Co forces. However, a series of false and defamatory newspaper articles led to an out-of-court settlement and the publication of an ‘op-ed’ setting the record straight. (more…)

  • RAMESH THAKUR. Australia charts a flawed foreign policy course

    Australia’s 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper sketches the global geopolitical transition with remarkable precision and elegance and the document is exceptionally strong on principles, rules and norms as the foundation of world order. The word “rules” is used 70 times, “norms” 22 times, “principles” 15 times and “international law” 26 times. (more…)

  • KIM WINGEREI. Political Donations Must End!

    Political donations are a scourge on democracy.  No business, corporation, organisation or individual gives without the expectation or hope of an outcome, and it fundamentally undermines the democratic decision making process.  Banning all donations to political candidates, representatives and political parties is the simple solution. (more…)

  • HENRY REYNOLDS. The destruction of Dastyari chills an independent foreign policy

    In his recent searching commentary on Australia’s foreign policy Hugh White left us with many challenging observations. Two of them lodged in my mind. In his Quarterly Essay: Without America he argued that Australia is going to have a more independent foreign policy in the new Asia—more independent of Washington that is ‘whether it likes it or not.’ While commenting on the recently released Foreign Policy White Paper he observed that the document failed ‘ the essential ingredient for effective diplomacy when weight of power is not on your side: new ideas.’ It was, he remarked, ’a telling omission.’ (more…)

  • MICHAEL KEATING. The Productivity Commission on more effective government. Part 2 of 2.

    The Productivity Commission’s findings regarding the effectiveness of Australia’s public services reflect the findings of many previous reviews. Fundamentally a change of culture is needed in favour of well-calculated risk taking and, I would add, greater independence based on the pursuit of evidence through comprehensive program and policy evaluation.  (more…)

  • LUKE FRASER. Is Sydney in thrall to an infrastructure cargo cult? Part 2 of 3

    This is the second of three articles considering transport infrastructure spending levels, shortcomings in transport governance and strategy and the potential for doing better.  (more…)

  • Jared Kushner is wreaking havoc in the Middle East

    The entire Middle East, from Palestine to Yemen, appears set to burst into flames after this week. The region was already teetering on the edge, but recent events have only made things worse. And while the mayhem should be apparent to any casual observer, what’s less obvious is Jared Kushner’s role in the chaos. (more…)

  • BRIAN TOOHEY. So just who is a Chinese agent?

    Chinese attempts to influence Australian policy haven’t stopped Malcolm Turnbull’s government making increasingly tough criticisms of the nation’s largest trading partner. Despite China’s waning policy influence, the government is introducing onorous espionage and foreign interference legislation to counter the problem. If this stops foreign countries from covertly influencing Australian policy, that’s fine. But the legislation could potentially curtail public discussion and free speech, neither of which is assisted by some commentators and unnamed intelligence sources who brand just about anyone with any contact with China as an “agent of influence”. (more…)

  • MICHAEL KEATING. The Productivity Commission on more effective government. Part 1 of 2.

    This article, the first of two which discuss the Productivity Commission’s recommendations for more effective government, focuses on how to improve Commonwealth-State relations, and fiscal disciplines and accountability. The conclusion is that the Commission’s recommendations are for the most part disappointing. They fail to take account of the practical difficulties in better matching taxable capacity with expenditure responsibilities, and the extent to which governments are already held to account for achieving budget targets.  (more…)

  • ANDREW GREENE. Spies need scrutiny, new NXT senator warns.

    Federal Parliament lacks the power to properly monitor Australia’s “growing” intelligence community and the billions spent on their clandestine activities, the country’s newest senator has warned.  (more…)

  • JIM COOMBS. Get a better court, eh, what?

    The electors rightly regard the “citizenship saga” as a pile of nonsense. It did not need to be so, but the High Court was not up to its job. Worse, latter day xenophobia is being fed by the “security industry” to interfere with our freedoms and our capacity to deal with other nations (except the US). (more…)

  • RICHARD BUTLER. The ring seems to be closing on the Trump Presidency

    Every day brings deeper levels of concern about Trump’s conduct of his office. There is widening and, given American respect for the office itself, uncharacteristically public speculation about his fitness for it. The ring appears to be closing.        (more…)

  • JOAN STAPLES: Incredulous disbelief at Gary Johns to head charities regulator.

    The appointment of Gary Johns last week as director of the regulator, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), has created incredulous disbelief and concern amongst NGO leaders.  For decades, Johns has been proactive in criticising the public advocacy of NGOs and even their very existence. (more…)

  • MUNGO MacCALLUM. Malcolm Turnbull ran dead on SSM

    Malcolm Turnbull may not have wished to appear churlish last Thursday after the final vote on the same sex marriage bill, but he had no choice: that was his job.  So rather than following the parliament to embrace bipartisanship at the long and tortuous procedure, he had the obligatory swipe at Bill Shorten. (more…)

  • ANDREW FARRAN. An alternative perspective for a realistic defence policy for Australia

    In defence terms how do we operate in a region where China will by 2030 have a GDP 25 times greater than ours and whose current military expenditure is already 25 times greater, when the US will be concentrating increasingly on issues of its own elsewhere?

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  • Gonski 2.0 is the best special deal private schools have ever had

    The Prime Minister says that Gonski 2.0 is “fair, it’s needs-based and it’s consistent”. However, confidential data released by the Commonwealth Department of Education under FOI contradicts his claim. It shows a massive increase in over-funding of private schools by 2027 and continuing under-funding of public schools. (more…)

  • ALLAN PATIENCE. Confecting a new China hysteria.

    Australia’s diplomacy with its Asian neighbours and contenders has always been awkward. In a similar manner to Britain’s awkward partnering with Europe, so Australia is Asia’s awkward partner. In the past we could calm our fears by relying on great and powerful friends. Those days are over. Australia needs urgently to plan for an independent future while integrating itself knowledgeably and sensitively into its region. First and foremost, that means learning how to relate intelligently to China, the emerging regional hegemon. (more…)

  • GREG BAILEY. The Institute of Public Affairs, finance and the contradiction between individualism and corporatism.

    Readers of Pearls and Irritations will be fully appreciative of the considerable influence exercised by the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) on the commentariat and political decision-making through its representatives in various parliaments and its presence in the media. And given its discernible influence or occasional lack of it – witness James Paterson’s aborted attempt to neuter the outcome of the marriage equality survey – on shaping political opinion, we might ask whether it too will be required to open the books relating to its financial sources as part of an investigation of foreign influence on Australian lobby groups. If it is good enough for Get Up and various environmental groups to be targeted in this way, why not the so-called libertarian groups which are all really public relations fronts for the corporatization of government and the private sector.  (more…)

  • MUNGO MacCALLUM. Malcolm Turnbull and Sam Dastyari.

    There is an old science fiction story about a totalitarian state which regularly paraded dissidents before a packed arena bent on retribution and punishment.   (more…)

  • MARGARET BEAVIS. Will the Nobel Peace Prize change Australia’s double speak?

    On December 10th the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to ICAN – the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear weapons –  which was founded here in Melbourne in 2006. The Nobel Committee made the award “for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.”   (more…)

  • ROSS BURNS. The Art of the Pushover

    There are perhaps no negotiations more fraught, or with higher stakes, than those surrounding Israel-Palestine. Has the self-professed “world’s greatest deal-maker” dropped the ball after making his first major play in the region? (more…)

  • RICHARD BUTLER. Jerusalem: US Foreign Policy begins at home.

    In fulfilling a campaign promise made to what he discerned to be an important part of his base, Christian evangelicals and Jewish Americans, that is, to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Trump has: trashed all prior iterations of US policy; taken a position opposed by every other nation, except Israel; and, sunk all existing frameworks for a resolution of the Israel/Palestine problem. He was motivated by domestic political concerns but also by the growing US alignment with Saudi Arabia in the current power struggle in the Middle East.       (more…)