The failures of privatised child care and aged care have starkly illustrated the inability of markets to deliver quality service. The failure applies to all human services. (more…)
Category: Politics
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Yousef Aljamal: The war on memory and writing through a genocide
Sitting opposite me in my black leather captain’s chair, looking more like a bouncer than a writer, was Yousef Aljamal, co-author of Displaced in Gaza – stories from the Gaza Genocide. (more…)
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Fifty years since that little green card came into being
Gough Whitlam had to do plenty of hard yakka to introduce an universal healthcare system. Today, it is central part of Australia life, and one of our great policy achievements.
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Message from the editor
Welcome to the week, the first sitting week of the 48th Australian Parliament, where we will see, for the first time, 94 ALP MPs, 43 Coalition members, 10 Independent MPs and three from minor parties on the floor of the House of Representatives. (more…)
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Israel kills three in Gaza Catholic church sheltering elderly, children
At least three people were killed and 10 others wounded, including a priest, in Israel’s attack on the church. (more…)
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From media darling to persona non Grata: Greta Thunberg’s journey
Alan MacLeod looks at how the Swedish climate activist widened her focus to the capitalist system and Israeli genocide in Gaza and lost the attention of the corporate press. (more…)
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Let’s combat antisemitism, not use it to dehumanise others – Part 1
The state of Israel’s heinous conduct must not be seen solely as a “Jewish problem”. (more…)
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No simple solutions for specialist problems
A referral to a specialist doctor should set patients on a smooth path to the care they need. But it can be more like an alpine hike, with steep fees and treacherously long waiting lists. It’s putting lives at risk. (more…)
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Vive la resistance! The heroes who oppose genocide
Nobody has a bad word to say about the French Resistance in World War II, right? Who would criticise a group confronting fascism, right? (more…)
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Orientalism and casus belli in the Middle East
There can surely have been few times in recent history when Edward Said’s seminal notion of Orientalism has had more tragic and pointed immediacy and relevance than now. (more…)
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Spare more than a thought for Iran’s protesters
Members of the National Council of Resistance of Iran ask the world to take notice of impressively brave protests against a cruel and repressive Iranian regime. (more…)
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How deals are trumping port dispute on Australian PM Albanese’s China visit
Source says the two sides have decided to step back from Darwin Port controversy amid trade tensions with US. (more…)
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An open letter from the presidents of Gaza universities
Our campuses may have been razed, but our universities continue to exist. (more…)
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Environment: Forget 1.5 degrees C, even 2 degrees C, while forests and peat disappear and natural gas booms
Peatlands are vital for human survival, but we are destroying the few that are left. Australia’s gas industry facing a volatile future. Chinese banks funding the destruction of tropical forests – not good for humans or tigers. (more…)
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Military operations seen through Gauguin, the Colosseum and responsibility
Public policy in general, and the military operations given the titles “Swords of Iron”, “Gideon’s Chariots” (by Israel) and “Midnight Hammer” (by the Pentagon), more specifically, need to be understood in terms that transcend the purely strategic and which can be dismissed only at the risk of condoning barbarism. (more…)
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The world governed from the Black House
In a world where international politics intertwine, the White House stands as a symbol of American power and influence, from which global affairs are managed through the decisions of the current US administration. (more…)
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Time for Foreign Minister Wong to put her foot down
In an ideal world, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) should be the government’s principal agency in seeing that relations with other countries best serve Australia’s interests. (more…)
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The collapse of civilisation
Days after turning 100, former Malaysian prime minister Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad posted his reflections on the state of the world. (more…)
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Trump makes tariffs example of Korea, Japan – Asian Media Report
In Asian media this week: No trade deal exceptions for US allies. Plus: An expert in a government of flunkies; Sex-scandal monks had lives of status and privilege; Corruption stymies Myanmar earthquake recovery; Anwar’s leadership glow starting to fade; ‘Comrade’ is out-of-fashion in Communist China. (more…)
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Common interests the basis for stronger China-Australia relations
Neither a port controversy nor any third-party interference cast a shadow over the trade and business focus of Albanese’s trip to China. (more…)
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12 years on, are we not yet tired of cruel policies towards asylum-seekers?
In Australia, 2025, Progressive Patriotism is now, apparently, our political modus operandi and, as Anthony Albanese ambitiously explained, it can be “a symbol for the globe in how humanity can move forward”. (more…)
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Tasmania’s snap election 2025: How did we get here and where are we going?
Tasmanians are going to the polls on 19 July as the result of a snap election more than two years early. (more…)
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Collateral damage? Focus on the principle, not the fallout
Among his many defects, Donald Trump is a vengeful obsessive. Which is why poor Indonesians (that’s about 40 million of the 285 million rice-eaters) could soon be paying more for their essential starches. (more…)
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Antisemitism, free speech and a dangerous redefinition: How one envoy is rewriting the rules
The recent synagogue fire in Melbourne is being used as a blueprint for sweeping changes to Australian law. (more…)
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Slaying the juggernauts
Barbara Preston’s recent reflection on Australia’s school funding system offers a quietly devastating insight into the paradox of public education reform. (more…)
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Israel’s final Gaza solution
Reports of a shocking Israeli Gaza “solution” that aims to ethnically cleanse Gaza of all Palestinians by establishing so-called Humanitarian Transit Areas or concentration camps has surfaced in Israeli and other media. (more…)
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The Tasmanian election on 19 July won’t fix the mess
A Joint Commonwealth/State Health Commission could help address health failure. (more…)
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Sectarian tension, Israeli intervention: What led to the violence in Syria?
Israel continues to bomb Syria, ostensibly in support of Druze forces in the southwest, even after ceasefire is declared. (more…)
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Round up the usual Chinese suspects
It’s a big week for headlines – and an even bigger week for fear. With Prime Minister Albanese landing in China, our media wasted no time rounding up their usual suspects. (more…)
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Despite denials, Australia has exported F-35 parts to Israel
Leaked documents show Canberra has been supplying Israel with the means to maintain F-35 fighter jets so it can continue its genocidal campaign in Gaza, Peter Cronau and Kellie Tranter report. (more…)