Biden, Trump and the leaders of Western Europe have succeeded by their incoherent behaviour in doing what would have been unimaginable 20 years ago: alienating the very nations that they most needed to keep on their side. They are now weeping into their beer (or Diet Coke, in The Donald’s case). (more…)
Category: Politics
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Murdoch resolves succession drama – a win for Lachlan, a loss for public interest journalism
Rupert Murdoch has succeeded in securing his vision for the future of News Corporation, the global media empire he has always thought of as his family business. (more…)
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Our future prosperity is bright. We’ve hidden an ace up our sleeve
As you may have noticed, the nation’s economists are in a gloomy mood and warning of tough times ahead. (more…)
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A good captain can stop this Senator’s social cohesion ‘Titanic’
After the largest public rally with racist associations for migrants we have witnessed since the demise of the White Australia policy, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s comments really hurt. (more…)
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Climate change risk to our coastal cities
Confronting the nation’s coastal urban cities as it approaches 2055, 30 years on, will be both higher sea levels and air and water temperatures. (more…)
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Indonesia’s protests hit a brick wall of elite unity
The eruption of protests across Indonesia from 25 August expressed pent-up anger at the greed and hubris of political elites, prompting comparisons with the 1998 mass mobilisation that helped end Soeharto’s dictatorship. (more…)
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Israel and the Palestinians: Just one piece of the American plan
In his P&I article ’The Real death toll in Gaza’ posted on 5 September, John Menadue reminded us that “Israel has become a criminal state” and “Now it is committing genocide”. (more…)
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The suppression of the Arab voice and the genocide in Gaza
The United States’ unwavering military and political support for Israel is now accepted as the key enabling factor in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. (more…)
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Xi targets Prabowo and ditches Trump
For the past decade, the most geostrategic country in Southeast Asia and the world’s third-largest democracy has been wooed by Washington and Beijing. (more…)
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Courts brace for next wave of ‘sovereign citizens’
When I wrote about the “Cavalcade of the Cretinous” in February 2022, I thought the anti-vaccination early incarnations of “sovereign citizens” were just a hopeless joke (“Summernats without the sophistication”) that would quietly go away. (more…)
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Albanese’s sliding doors moment on climate
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has just been handed an unflinching mirror at the Pacific Islands Forum. (more…)
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The central role of government support for the Arts in defining our national culture
Australians emerged from our cultural cringe in the late sixties when our film and television industries thrived. Has that belief and pride in Australia gone for good? (more…)
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Why we’d be mugs to cut the company tax rate
Ask any businessperson if we should cut the rate of our company tax and, almost to a pale and stale male, they’ll unhesitatingly tell you we should. (more…)
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Xi’s parade tips the diplomatic balance sheet in Asia
Beijing’s rapid military transformation and capacity to ultimately confront the US and its allies in policy and military terms was on full display recently. (more…)
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Savage American justice
Imagine you are a country faced with drug smuggling by a nearby neighbour. As a government, what might you do about this? (more…)
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Vale Adrian Buzo (1948–2025)
In August 2025, the historian, diplomat, linguist, and Korean Studies pioneer, Dr Adrian Buzo passed away after a long battle with illness. (more…)
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The ABC is inventing China’s war history
When interviewing a guest, journalists are free to ask whatever questions they want. But they can’t have their own facts. (more…)
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In a Trumpian world, Australia needs friends like India
Images of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a huddle with the leaders of China and Russia do not presage the reordering of the international system. (more…)
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The Liberal Party and Israel
The Liberal Party is correct in claiming Australia’s relations with Israel are at their lowest point ever. The real questions to be asked are: who is responsible, and how much does it matter? (more…)
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Albo is breaking the moral contract with voters
It seems impossible that the Coalition could hope to win government with policies more popular than Labor’s over the next two terms of parliament. (more…)
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Thailand has another new prime minister and an opening for progress. But will anything change?
Thai politics is often chaotic. But this past week has been especially tumultuous, even by Thailand’s standards. (more…)
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Who is a terrorist?
Since 7 October 2023 there has been a growth of the use of the allegation of terrorism for propaganda purposes. (more…)
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Intergenerational equity and tax reform
Much of the discussion about the need for tax reform to preserve intergenerational equity is confused. The main challenges facing young people, in particular, are the limitations on the supply of housing and climate change. (more…)
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The State of the ‘State of Palestine’
The upcoming United Nations General Assembly may show whether those nations who have pledged to support a Palestinian state really mean business. (more…)
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‘Like us’: Australia’s uneasy dance with immigration
Over dinner on a recent group tour in Australia, conversation turned to the wave of anti-immigration demonstrations and political statements that have flared across the country. (more…)
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The desecration of Camp Sovereignty has not been reflected in the criminal charges
“Australia doesn’t see the crimes in its own country, and we have genocide occurring here” said Krauatungalung elder Uncle Robbie Thorpe, in response to a question on a clip in the wake of the devasting attack on Camp Sovereignty on Sunday, 31 August 2025. (more…)
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From public good to corporate enterprise: The financialisation of universities (Part II)
A dominant challenge for universities now is the expectation that they produce graduates who are immediately “job-ready”. (more…)
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NATO in Asia-Pacific: Dragging us into a fight we can’t win
Is the future of Australia and New Zealand really as NATO forts, armed to the teeth glaring menacingly at an ever-rising China? (more…)
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Message from the editor
If you had any doubt that global power dynamics are shifting, one image from the past week put paid to that. (more…)
