There is little or no evidence that China poses a direct military threat to Australia. However, the Sinophobes among political ranks and the commentariat are trying to ensure that Beijing will treat Canberra as a hostile entity. (more…)
Category: Politics
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Australia and Japan must link energy and emissions strategies
As the US retreats into industrial protectionism, Australia faces a sobering truth: our most reliable ally may now be our biggest source of volatility. (more…)
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Australia’s latest emissions data shows a giant fossil fuel problem
Without accounting for land use, Australia’s emissions have only decreased 3% since 2005, not 27%.
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As Keating advised, it’s time for Australia to seek its security in Asia
“The world America made for us is passing away. Its place is being taken by a new and harder post-American world, and we are at a loss to know what to make of it.” (more…)
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Six more giant gas projects could join Labor’s latest carbon bomb
While Woodside’s North West Shelf gas plant approval has led to a chorus of protest, there are at least half a dozen more projects in the pipeline that could add to Australia’s emissions. (more…)
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Political parties are failing to attract new members. Not only women
Government is getting more difficult. Many voters have turned off. They are scathing of politicians and deeply cynical about their honesty and motives. (more…)
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US unlikely to be able to hold its own against China
Were the US to come up against China in a war in the Pacific, indications are that Washington would have the worse of the exchanges. (more…)
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Weaponising the Department of Justice: echoes of the Star Chamber
Instead of acting as a guardian of the law, the Justice Department will use judicial power to pursue political vendettas and silence dissent. (more…)
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‘Deadly’ sports diplomacy: why Australia’s Indigenous people must be a part of our sports strategy
The fact that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have practised sports diplomacy for more than 60,000 years is a powerful story. (more…)
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What Trump is building is the problem, not the man himself
We treat Donald Trump as the primary obstacle to a smooth trade order but he is not the problem. What he is building is the problem because it replicates the rising mechanisms of democratically elected political fascism. (more…)
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Decommissioning rates show gas heating could be gone by 2032, but oil exec bonuses might suffer
While Peter Dutton lost the election and with it his plan to force gas exporters to reserve a portion of their gas for domestic Australian consumers, concerns around availability of gas are not going away. According to AEMO, Victoria, NSW and South Australia are on the verge of gas shortages by around 2028 to 2029. (more…)
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More than 600 Australian Jews say ‘no’ to war in Gaza
More than 600 Jewish Australians have signed a statement calling on Jewish community and religious leaders to speak out against the atrocities of the Netanyahu Government in Gaza. (more…)
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Message from the editor
One of the things I love most about this job is the reading and listening (to radio). (more…)
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China takes a softly-softly approach to diplomacy in the US
China’s ambassador to Washington, Xie Feng has adopted a less assertive approach than some of his predecessors. (more…)
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Palestinian genocide gets some big-screen time
Films and the internet are proving to be a valuable way for the message of the Palestinian struggle to be publicised. (more…)
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Dozens of big industries want to plug in to Australia’s first 100 pct net renewable (wind and solar) grid
The death of manufacturing? It’s a constant refrain among the conservative nut jobs on Murdoch’s Sky After Dark and within the far right elements of the federal Coalition, who insist that more wind and solar will be the death of industry in Australia. (more…)
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The Hegseth directive: Australia, spend more!
Australia’s obsequiousness before US power was again on show at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a security forum convened by the International Institute for Strategic Studies to discuss matters relevant to the Indo-Pacific. (more…)
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Glenn Diesen and Jeffrey Sachs – NATO & Russia on the brink of nuclear war
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs is a world-renowned economics professor, an advisor to political leaders around the world, a bestselling author, and a global leader in sustainable development. Prof. Sachs discusses the decline of diplomacy, rationality and self-preservation in the West. As Russia’s nuclear forces were attacked, Western political leaders and media reacted with glee. (more…)
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‘Strategic clarity’ over Taiwan is just so much American bombast
Ally or not, no one with a decent sense of self-preservation can afford to take a security guarantee by the United States at face value nowadays. (more…)
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Gaza conditions ‘worse than hell on Earth’: Red Cross chief
“We cannot continue to watch what is happening,” said Mirjana Spoljaric. “It’s surpassing any acceptable legal, moral, and humane standard.” (more…)
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Friday essay: let’s rethink Australia’s national security – and focus on fairness and climate action, not blind fealty to the US
The change in the US after Donald Trump returned to power should make us think deeply whether Washington’s aims and policies will offer us the security we need.
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Environment: 5% of animal species currently threatened by climate change
An Australian rodent was the first mammal to be driven to extinction by climate change. Renewables will supply almost all of global electricity’s 4% per year growth. Four personal behaviour changes could remove much of the average person’s carbon footprint. (more…)
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Grounds for optimism over bilateral ties with China
As living in another country shows, mutual understanding is built on respect and openness. (more…)
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Warren Report: Musk leveraged government access for personal gain
“Since Election Day, Musk’s staggering net worth has increased by over $100 billion,” the report states. (more…)
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Build-up to the ultimate surveillance state has just begun
While most of us are transfixed daily by more horrific atrocities, potentially deadlier operations are likely to far outlast the genocide in Gaza. (more…)
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Albanese should remember his childhood – and the rhymes he learnt
There is much wisdom to be had in what was learnt in the first years of life, (more…)
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Ukraine attack will have no effect on outcome of war
The black eye given Russian security services will eventually heal while the artful destruction of a handful of bombers — like earlier high-profile, but misguided operations — will have zero effect on the war in Ukraine. (more…)
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US military waste contractor with flawed safety record backing Australian N-waste dump
A US military mega-contractor assisting an Australian company to develop a proposal for a nuclear waste dump in Central Australia has a flawed safety record in handling nuclear waste storage. (more…)
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Talk of a two-state solution may not go much further
A two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian problem has not been mentioned for ages, but was revived recently. However, it may end with just that – talk. (more…)
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Australia doing nothing to attract American scientific talent
Australia has an historic opportunity to expand its scientific research and reap significant benefits. (more…)