Category: Politics

  • DUNCAN MACLAREN. Scottish Independence: deferred not abandoned

    Another referendum on Scottish independence has been deferred but not, to the chagrin of Scottish Unionists, abandoned. The shrieks and howls of protest from the three leaders of Scottish Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrats in the Scottish Parliament could be heard in their party HQs in London. They wanted their nemesis, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, to take a second independence referendum completely off the table so that Scots would have to accept the English-negotiated Brexit deal no matter how destructive it would be to Scottish society and the Scottish economy. As we say in Scotland when sarcastically negating something – aye right! (more…)

  • DENNIS ARGALL. Ignore Trump’s tweets about North Korea ; the diplomacy is being handled by adults

    Since his election in May South Korea’s President Mon Jae-in has developed a productive relationship with US President Trump, particularly on the difficult issue of both countries’ dealings with North Korea. Regrettably Australian and other mainstream media is reporting Trump’s rants, intended for his domestic support base, rather than the positive outcomes from those summit meetings. (more…)

  • JAMES O’NEILL. The Belt and Road Initiative and Australian Foreign Policy: A Golden Opportunity

    The Australian Cabinet recently turned down an opportunity to join the world’s greatest infrastructure project.  The rhetoric and the approach disclose much about how Australia is failing to adjust to the realities of the 21st Century. (more…)

  • MUNGO MacCALLUM. Tony Abbott shoots first and asks questions later.

    In all, [Tony Abbott’s] program is for a regime which can best charitably be described as a socialist theocracy, somewhat along the lines of Abbott’s mentor, Bartholomew Augustine Santamaria – although the Abbott version would be considerably more totalitarian.   (more…)

  • LOUIS COOPER. Trump and Trudeau – the troubles at the 49th parallel deepen

    Given the problems with the Trump White House, Trudeau gives every appearance of being a strong, smart leader on the Canadian and world stage. (more…)

  • MICHAEL LIFFMAN. The Real Roots of Populism

    (If we are really to understand and respond to populism, we need to go deep into the human psyche. Perhaps Jung is as relevant as Marx to this inquiry, and those of us who are committed to social progress need to reassess our approach…) (more…)

  • MUNGO MacCALLUM. The Greens remain political amateurs.

    Lee Rhiannon is undoubtedly the disrupter, but in a sense the public fracturing of the Greens is largely the fault of her leader, Richard di Natale.   (more…)

  • JOHN MENADUE. By accepting funding from weapons suppliers the Australian War Memorial demeans Australia’s war dead.

    I asked the director of the Australian War Memorial, Brendan Nelson, why the Memorial is accepting funding from weapons manufacturers like BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.  In response, Brendan Nelson, wrote back that “We regard it as entirely appropriate that defence contractors support the Memorial in its mission.” (more…)

  • ROD TIFFEN.  The UK Election’s Second Biggest Loser – Rupert Murdoch

    A widely circulated tweet claimed that on election night in Britain, Rupert Murdoch stalked out of the Times’s party when the exit polls suggested the Tories were in trouble.  As we know, Teresa May’s opportunistic calling of an early election backfired on her, and the Conservatives went from a parliamentary majority to a minority government, and her political authority and latitude are now much diminished.  The second biggest loser from the election though is less obvious – Rupert Murdoch.  (more…)

  • John Menadue talks to Jon Faine about Rupert Murdoch, the great rent-seeker (Repost)

    The interview with Jon Faine was reported in The Guardian on 29 June 2017.  News Corp is a ‘disgrace’ and should not get hands on Ten, former manager says.

    Repost:  In an interview on 22 June 2017 with Jon Faine of 774 ABC Melbourne Radio, John Menadue highlights how the Murdoch media attacks people like single mothers and dole ‘bludgers’ for wanting handouts from government, yet the Murdoch organisation depends heavily on  government handouts and political favours. Right now it is seeking government favours for Sky television in the UK and Channel 10 in Australia. This has always been the Murdoch way.  (See link to interview) (more…)

  • PETER RODGERS. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the US: the conniving and the confused

    Saudi Arabia’s ultimatum to Qatar says much about the Kingdom’s dreams of regional hegemony, its proxy war with Iran, and its glaring double-standards over ‘interventionism’. It amounts to a demand for Qatar’s total surrender. Qatar faces meaningful pain from the Saudi-led economic boycott but the chances of it acceding to the ultimatum are zero. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration struggles to develop a coherent approach.
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  • MUNGO MacCALLUM. With his Gonski II win, Malcolm Turnbull has something to smile about at last.

    Turnbull can chalk up a rare and vitally important win before the winter recess closes in. It came just in time for the longest night of the year; our Prime Minister, if not all his colleagues, will hope that this is a sign that increasing hours of daylight, if not actual sunshine, will follow.  (more…)

  • JIM COOMBS. Three Government Ministers in Contempt

    For a start what the three Federal ministers did was attack the judiciary in Victoria, for which they got a right bollocking from the Chief Justice of Victoria. Some sagely assert that they breached the doctrine of the separation of powers suggested by the Constitution. It is pretty clear that, insofar as their comments prejudiced a matter still to be determined, they had gone way too far. They attacked judges who by convention do not engage in political controversy, although sometimes having to decide matters which have varying degrees of political effect – that is, they were kicking someone who can’t really kick back. Others might say they were interfering with the independence of the judiciary, a cornerstone of the “checks and balances” enshrined in the Constitution. (more…)

  • SPENCER ZIFCAK. Three Ministers vs. Three Judges: Executive Government gets Flattened

    In Victoria’s Court of Appeal last Friday, an encounter unprecedented in Australian legal and political history played itself out. Through the Commonwealth Solicitor-General (SG) three Commonwealth Government Ministers made an abject apology to the Court. (more…)

  • STEVE DOVERS. Australia as world leader in conservation?

    With the environment a low political priority and few significant environmental initiatives in recent years, maybe Australia just isn’t up to being the world leader in conservation it once was. But an analysis of our past achievements shows that we could indeed show the way internationally, and a recent report identifies the many initiatives we can implement.  (more…)

  • ALLAN PATIENCE. Anyone for disruption?

    The ugly chickens of the neoliberal era in Australian public policy are relentlessly coming home to roost: stagnating wages, high unemployment (especially among young people), declining standards in public hospitals, schools, universities, and TAFE institutes, homelessness on the increase, more beggars on the streets, increased social conflict (crime, racist violence, domestic violence, home invasions, road rage, car-jackings, sexual harassment), the death of manufacturing, more and more people experiencing anger, despair, anxiety and depression, unprecedented growth in socio-economic inequality, big corporations bullying governments and the general public (big banks, mining companies, media organisations) … (more…)

  • MUNGO MacCALLUM. We are in dreadful peril.

    You might not have known it, but Australia is in deadly peril. National security is endangered on all fronts, the most obvious indicator the imminent arrival of fleets of boats poised to descend on our sacred shores, ready to wreak havoc and despair among the populace. Terrorism is just the start of it; who can tell what horrors to which the lucky country will be subjugated.   (more…)

  • BRUCE DUNCAN. A scorecard on Pope Francis

    Unexpectedly, Pope Francis has emerged as one of the most significant world leaders. Largely unknown before his election, Jorge Bergoglio as Pope Francis has assumed the moral stature of a new Mandela, and not just among Catholics. (more…)

  • TONY SMITH. The political ugliness we cannot hide

    Half a century ago in The Australian Ugliness Robin Boyd reminded us what  happens when architectural planners embrace utilitarianism and abandon aesthetics. During the days of the Howard Coalition Government, examining the invasion of Iraq and policy on asylum seekers, moral philosopher Raimond Gaita reminded us what happens when decision-makers abandon ethical considerations. Under the Turnbull Government, mendacity, hypocrisy and arrogance are producing an observable ugliness in its spokespersons. The great fear is that this ugliness is reflecting our own grotesque faces back to us. (more…)

  • JIM COOMBS. Crime Down, Gaolings Up. Why ?

    Sources of accurate information, such as the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) under their Director, Dr Don Weatherburn, have for some years reported that crimes of all types have been decreasing. This is due to better police technology and resources and security generally. So why do we hear that crime, especially violent crime, is something we should fear, and have government stamp out with “tough on crime” policies, which the courts duly do, in line with changes to the law. Why are we so misinformed, and who is to blame ? The three Ps, Police, Press and Politicians. (more…)

  • TONY KEVIN. Oliver Stone’s The Putin Interviews – reflections on the first half of this current SBS miniseries

    Oliver Stone gives Vladimir Putin a comradely easy time, but elicits interesting insights into the man and his policy framework. The second half will be worth watching, as will the first half in replay for those who missed it.     (more…)

  • BISHOP VINCENT LONG. Fashioning a more equitable and participatory society

    On 16 June 2017 Bishop Vincent Long spoke at the Sydney launch of Race Mathews’ book Of Labour and Liberty: Distributism in Victoria 1891-1966. This is a transcript of his speech, in which he suggests Whitlam would have been appalled to see how governments internationally have allowed neoliberal economics to undermine social equity today, with most of the spoils going to the privileged few, leaving the many struggling to find secure, well paid work, and younger generations confronted by excessive housing costs and stagnant wages, often with casual or part-time employment. (more…)

  • JOAN STAPLES. NGOs and a clash of world views

    Coalition Governments have been trying to stop NGO advocacy for 20 years.  Current attacks on the sector are a clash between a neoliberal old world order dominated by fossil fuels and a world view based on sustainability and equity.  Unfortunately, in the process our democratic freedoms are being trampled. (more…)

  • JEAN-PIERRE LEHMANN. “Great” Britain: how low can it go?

    When I am in Hong Kong, I normally stay at Causeway Bay. Evenings and weekends, I frequently take a stroll in Victoria Park where invariably I pass in front of the majestically imposing statue of Queen Victoria. This allows me to reflect upon the remarkable rise of the British Empire of which Hong Kong was more than just a symbolic hub. In many ways, the history of Hong Kong, colonised following the First Opium War, reflected the determination and brutality of British imperialism. (more…)

  • JOHN MENADUE. Who can we trust?

    In the series “Fairness, Opportunity and Security” last year I drew attention to the pervasive loss of trust in institutions . Essential Research revealed that the six least trusted institutions were: the news media, state parliaments, trade unions, business groups, religious organisations and political parties. The three most trusted institutions were all public: the ABC, High Court and Reserve Bank.    (more…)

  • IAN VERRENDER. Why you’re about to pay through the nose for power

    It was a rare moment of triumph for a Prime Minister frustrated in his dealings with a difficult Senate.

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  • MUNGO MacCALLUM. Tony Abbott is winning and Peter Dutton is paying hush-money.

    Chief Scientists Alan Finkel’s report on energy is not yet dead, buried and cremated, but Abbott and his gang of avid colliers have already left it struggling on life support.  (more…)

  • GREGORY CLARK. Canberra’s new identity problem.

    With its new citizenship rules requiring applicants to show proof of attachment to Australian culture and values, Canberra has triggered a national identity debate.  It is accused of showing xenophobic tendencies. But national identity could be much more complex than the critics realise. Ever wondered, for example,  why we get annoyed when people in a crowded train carriage begin speaking into their cellphones? But we do not mind so much when they talk loudly among themselves? (more…)

  • MUNGO MacCALLUM. The Australian again supports Trump against Turnbull.

    Let’s face it, it was hardly surprising to find Malcolm Turnbull taking the piss out of Donald Trump. For starters, just about everyone does it – indeed, for much of the time The Donald seems to be doing it himself.   (more…)

  • JUSUF WANANDI. Tribute to ambassador Richard Woolcott

    Jusuf Wanandi pays tribute to Dick Woolcott, former Ambassador to Indonesia and Secretary of the Department of FOreign Affairs and Trade, on his 90th birthday.   Throughout his long career Woolcott has been a friend to Indonesia. (more…)