Media coverage of “solo lewd acts’ diverted focus from the real game – was there a cover-up of the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins?; no apology from Scott Morrison for fabricating an harassment claim; and there’s always room for climate denialism in The Australian.
Tag: mw
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UK conservatives are willing to tax the rich to repair their budget, Morrison will only take from the needy
Conservative politicians in both Australia and the UK profess to believe in small government. However, UK conservatives are prepared to increase tax to fund essential government services while in Australia, our conservatives try to achieve small government by stealth by not properly funding key government responsibilities.
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Have unions healed their racist past?
When Federation occurred in 1901 trade unions and conservative politicians were agreed on one thing – keeping Australia white. (more…)
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The AFP clearing-house: more political than useful
Some of the AFP commissioners have entrenched the AFP’s reputation as the most politicised force in the country. When one considers the NSW and Victoria Police, that is really saying something. (more…)
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More talk, no action: Australia’s approach to trade rules restraining vaccine production
Papua New Guinea’s COVID-19 outbreak is a portent of the “catastrophic moral failure” the head of the World Health Organization warned of in January due to poor countries being pushed to the back of the vaccine queue.
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Vaccine misinformation on social media is out of control, but we should expect better from the mainstream media
I am surely not alone in being angry that The Australian would accept Clive Palmer’s money and let him publish dangerous, inaccurate claims about our Covid vaccination program.
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The Reserve Bank’s target for wage growth is difficult whilst the Government resists wage increases
The Reserve Bank has tied the future of monetary policy to the restoration of wage growth. But how likely is that, and what are the consequences?
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How to tackle the dangerous epidemic of fake news and conspiracy theories.
The Macquarie Dictionary recently declared ‘fake news’ the word of the decade. While the epidemic of fake news and conspiracy theories shows no signs of abating, the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communications has made a significant contribution to the fight.
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Sexual violence an issue of ideology? The Australian then stopped digging
The recovered memory line took hold after being given an outing in Crikey, although coverage showed some fundamental misunderstandings. Meanwhile the Australian Financial Review lamented the fact that Scott Morrison wasn’t receiving the glory of the vaccine rollout. Just as well, actually, because it is occurring at a snail’s pace.
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Climate war’s Catch 22: We need targets before we can deploy technology
There is a terrible circularity about saying we will only commit to a target when we know the technological path to reaching it. This is because the development of new technologies and their actual deployment, depends on governments having goals (aka targets) and signalling their firm intention to stick to them.
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The unlikely despot of Damascus
One can only hope Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, who trained for a life as an ophthalmologist, is regretting his self-inflicted myopia 10 years ago this month. When al-Assad decided to crush the widespread protests demanding political reforms, including a new leader, the ramifications for Syria were disastrous.
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Techno pickpockets: Crown bathes in misery created by toxic gambling culture
A significant proportion of Crown’s profits come from its world class electronic gaming machines (pokies) that deploy sophisticated psychological principles to maximise bet sizes and machine usage. About 75% of people experiencing gambling problems report pokies as the main source. An inquiry into the misery caused by gambling addiction is well overdue.
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The gender bias of all-boys’ schools is obvious from the books they study in English
Fiction affects students’ social empathy. The English classroom can foster inclusion and develop appreciation for gender equity. While our private school system must denounce the most conspicuous elements of misogyny, we must also contend with the profound role that classroom learning plays in affirming or challenging a culture of oppression.
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Is Christian Porter fit to hold public office?
Any proper assessment of Christian Porter’s fitness for office would not only properly assess the sexual assault allegations but would his performance as a politician and as a minister. It would appear his personal failings mirror his abuse of political principle. (more…)
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Vaccination controversy shouldn’t compromise efforts to protect Australians
The crucial fact is that all the vaccines being administered around the world provide near 100% protection from death and the need for those infected to receive intensive hospital care.
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It is way past time Attorney General Porter was dumped
The Political Right asserts that an investigation into the Porter allegation would mean the end of Western civilisation as we know it. It would trash the Rule of Law, the Presumption of Innocence, the Right to Silence, and many other rights – all individual rights that the Political Right so strongly resists putting in an Australian Bill of Rights. Which is so much poppycock. (more…)
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The Australian newspaper: Decades of disservice to climate science, education
In the penultimate paragraph of my 2020 essay 40 Years of Climate Warnings ignored by Australian politicians, I presented a “rogue’s gallery” which included the Murdoch media for waging war against climate science over more than two decades. This article explores a rather extraordinary, decade-old episode in the climate wars involving the Australian newspaper which has received less attention than it deserves.
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So many questions for Home Affairs
How did a backlog of around 100,000 partner visa applications develop when the Migration Act clearly states it is illegal to limit the number of partner visas? When the Department of Employment undertake a systemic investigation into the 22 deaths of seasonal worker visa holders? Why have we significantly tightened legal criteria for all other skill stream visas yet the Global Talent Independent visa has almost no meaningful legal requirements? So many questions the new immigration minister Alex Hawke should ask the Department of Home Affairs.
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How a nurse saved the day. And nurses do it every day.
Sadly, the critical role that nurses and midwives play in keeping people (and the health system) safe is all too often unseen and unrecognised. Maybe it is that we are so familiar and numerous that our role is somewhat taken for granted.
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Thin-skinned Widodo in Indonesia: Messengers beware
The first who told of Lucullus’ coming so angered Tigranes that he had the messenger’s head, effectively ensuring no one brought bad news. Deprived of fresh intelligence Tigranes watched while war raged, listening only to flatterers.
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The first law officer of the land must be beyond reproach
In the words of investigative journalist Michelle Fahy: “Federal attorney general Christian Porter is the first law officer of the land. The role is a uniquely powerful position, one that is supposed to sit, unblemished and above the reach of vested interests. Yet as federal attorney general Porter has demonstrated a disturbing acquiescence to powerful corporate interests.” (more…)
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Pariah state: ‘Something really ugly’ about Australia’s foreign policy
In summing up the malign influence of the Murdoch media in the UK, Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger commented: “We’ve allowed something really ugly to happen in this country…” The same has to be said about the ugliness of Australian foreign policy, with the Murdoch media bearing some responsibility for uncritical support of nefarious practices.
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Vaccine rollout: the value or otherwise of a ‘vaccination certificate’. Part 3
Those who are vaccinated can still become infectious. Therefore proof of vaccination might not be sufficient for international travel as it does not guarantee a person is infection free. A ‘vaccination certificate’ can be wrongly used as a proxy for ‘not infectious’.
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Spanner in the works: US tinkers with Mid-East foreign policy
The Biden administration has now made three significant moves in the cauldron of conflict that is the Middle East, although a deal with Iran looks set to be a sterner test.
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Julie Bishop’s travels along the Gold Brick Road. Part 2
In this second of a three-part examination of the employment of former senior Coalition ministers, we investigate former Foreign Minister Julie (“Duchess”) Bishop’s post-politics employment with the international aid group Palladium.
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‘Existential threat to our survival’: 19 Australian ecosystems already collapsing
This is not a warning but a dire wake-up call. Current changes across the continent, and their potential outcomes, pose an existential threat to our survival. But there are actions we can take to help protect or restore ecosystems.
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Two decades after 9/11, US war machine is in 85 countries
Since 2018, the US has provided “counterterrorism” training or assistance in 79 nations and its troops have carried out bombing or ground attacks in 10 countries, according to a new interactive map. Meanwhile, China has one official overseas base, in Djibouti.
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Premier of ‘Sydney’ launches farewell tour to regain dignity
Gladys Berejiklian is telling voters on the South Coast one thing: Treasurer Dominic Perrottet is regaling the CBD with quite another. They are on two different missions: she wants out; he wants in.
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Herd immunity? Not with AstraZeneca in the frame. Part 2
Because the failed immunity rate for the AstraZeneca vaccine is more than seven times that of the Pfizer vaccine, if the Australian rollout takes place as planned, about 5.5 million people (22% of the population) could still be at risk of getting ill, while some of the remaining 20 million could still become infectious but be asymptomatic.