The People’s Daily of 16 July featured the meeting between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in top position on page one. (more…)
Category: Politics
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Navigating a bipolar world
The US might yet save us from ourselves by adding conditions to the nuclear submarine agreement that no Australian Government could accept. (more…)
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A memo to Albo on nuclear weapons
Sent by People for Nuclear Disarmament and the Human Survival Project
To Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, the Parliamentary Committees on Foreign Affairs and Defence and DFAT.
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Even Ken Henry’s best ideas can’t fix a system addicted to growth
“Growth for growth’s sake is the ideology of the cancer cell.” – Edward Abbey (more…)
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There’s nothing ‘liberal’ about the Liberal Party
It’s becoming increasingly untenable to describe the Liberal Party as “liberal” in either of the ways that term is used in modern politics. No wonder voters are confused about what the party stands for. (more…)
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The geopolitical context of Albanese’s China visit
Prime Minister Albanese and I have a few things in common. We were both born on 2 March and we have both been in car accidents, and as I write this, we are both in the People’s Republic of China. (more…)
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Our last, best chance – national environment laws that protect nature and power the net zero economy
“I am addressing you today in my capacity as the chair of the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation (ACBF). The ACBF is a not-for-profit, founded in 2021 to help decision-makers find means of securing the restoration of Australia’s natural environment in ways that support a thriving 21st century economy.” (more…)
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Donald Trump and his minions may yet do us a favour in ending AUKUS
The US must be told that we will not be involved in any way and at any time in a war with China over Taiwan. (more…)
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Albanese can afford to ignore noises and focus on delivering goods for voters
Although few can fault the prime minister for trying to generate more imports and exports with our biggest trading partner, everyone — ranging from an obscure Chinese social media influencer wannabe to Australian opposition luminaries such as Barnaby Joyce — has an opinion about the visit, and everyone seems to be ready to offer the prime minister a wealth of warnings and free advice. (more…)
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Federal Court rules Australian Government doesn’t have a duty of care to protect Torres Strait Islanders from climate change
The Federal Court has handed down its long-awaited judgment in a four-year climate case brought by Torres Strait Islanders. (more…)
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Trump wants us to spend a bomb on defence. We should think twice
While I was on holiday, I had a kind of nightmare: suddenly, every rich country in the world — including us — is vowing to spend many billions more on defence each year. This will cost taxpayers an absolute bomb. Why exactly are we doing this? (more…)
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An ambitious plan to combat antisemitism or an effective plan to silence Israel’s critics?
I watched the 7.30 interview with the special envoy to combat antisemitism, Jillian Segal, with mounting alarm. By the end of the interview, I was afraid for the future of Australia. (more…)
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Australia needs to recognise the rationale for a US-China war has changed
Up until the Trump era, it was understood that the United States might go to war with China to in order to defend democracy in Taiwan. (more…)
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Israeli settlers kill, destroy and steal with impunity
This week there was another attack on a religious institution. No, not in Australia but in the ancient Christian village of Taibeh, a Palestinian village in the Occupied West Bank. (more…)
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Funding models for primary health: Revolution, not evolution, required
One of the authors was recently asked to be part of a panel for a discussion whose title was “Funding models for primary health: evolution not revolution” and where one of the questions asked (in advance to be fair) was “How far did I think we should go on funding alterations to optimise the scope of practice changes that have been proposed, without upsetting too many interest groups to the point where it becomes unproductive for all parties?” (more…)
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Antisemitism and abuse of power
In order to understand that word it is necessary to de-construct it and to understand its origin and history. (more…)
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Is Australia finally coming to terms with East Asia?
Comedy and economic development have one thing in common: timing is everything. (more…)
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Who’s afraid of Donald Trump?
With his use of extreme tariffs to punish countries with trade surpluses, US President Donald Trump seems to be making an economic fool of himself. (more…)
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The Global South’s AI moment
If the Global South acts now, it can help build a future where algorithms bridge divides instead of deepening them – where they enable peace, not war. (more…)
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It’s time for another reforming and agitating attorney-general
Just last month Australia celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Whitlam Government’s Racial Discrimination Act (1975), without much fanfare it has to be said. (more…)
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The Israel lobby stands loudly condemned for its silence
Reflect for a moment, as you read this piece, what is happening in Gaza. (more…)
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What Australians think of Trump and the US
While the Murdoch media — and most of the pontificators writing op-eds for the rest of our news outlets — are having conniptions about whether and when Albanese might get a meeting with Trump, it comes at a time when the Australian public have little trust in the US and even less in Donald Trump. (more…)
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Systematic bias: how Western media reproduces the Israeli narrative
If words shape our consciousness, then the media holds the keys to minds. (more…)
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Jillian Segal ‘won’t dictate’ to husband over $50,000 to Advance
The special envoy seeking to dictate the nation’s speech has suggested it was her husband who was responsible for $50,000 given to far-right group Advance — and that she won’t “dictate” his actions. (more…)
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Humanity is ‘risking catastrophe’: UN
The full spread of the impending crisis facing humanity is, at long last, emerging into daylight with the publication by the United Nations of its 2025 Global Risks Report. (more…)
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More than 5800 Gaza children diagnosed with malnutrition in June: UNICEF
“Children’s bodies are wasting away,” the agency said. “This is not just a nutrition crisis. It’s a child survival emergency.” (more…)
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Antisemitism in Australia: a ‘pathology in our society’
There was much to read in the papers last Monday, the 7th of July. Three stories caught my attention. (more…)
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NYT report says Netanyahu prolonged war on Gaza to stay in power
“He pressed ahead with the war in April and July 2024, even as top generals told him that there was no further military advantage to continuing,” reports The New York Times. (more…)
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The politics of a police criminal organisation
In 1972, police at an Aboriginal settlement at Papunya, several hundred kilometres west of Alice Springs, closed down a travelling Slim Dusty concert after some of the young men somehow got access to alcohol and became drunk. (more…)
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Australian parliamentarians urgently need lessons in international law
As the new Parliament returns this month, it is timely to ask just how many Australian parliamentarians need urgent instruction in international law and how it impacts on government decision-making which complies with the United Nations rules-based order developed by the efforts of so many nations since 1945. (more…)