‘Old’ is defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as any person over the age of 65. This is a wildly outdated notion given our longer life expectancy and the fact that most of us will live many years beyond that arbitrary date in active service to the community. We know little about this cohort, Continue reading »
politics
China has never expressed aggressive intentions towards Taiwan, it has repeatedly maintained it is prepared to wait, but will never rule out force to defend Taiwan Continue reading »
The All-Ords share price index plunged 5.8% in the first two trading days of August and then rebounded 5.8% by 30 August. It ended the month just 0.3% short of where it started. The main reason for the sharp V-shaped trading pattern of August was initial fear that the US economy could plunge into recession Continue reading »
This is a topic difficult to raise without it sounding like a sermon. And although I happen to be writing on a Sunday (and was ordained as an Interfaith, post-denominational minister nearly 20 years ago) “sermonising” has never worked for me: not in the getting or the giving. What we “ought” to do will never Continue reading »
We can all be grateful that the acting auditor general Rona Mellor has decided to take at least a sideways glance into Commonwealth speculation, alongside a similar bet by the probably outgoing Queensland government, in an American horse in the great quantum computing race. I know nothing to say that there is anything intrinsically dodgy Continue reading »
Since the onset of the Gaza War, many Australians have urged the Albanese Government to speak up in condemning the Netanyahu regime’s constant breaches of international law and to act urgently to protect innocent civilians in Gaza and the West Bank. While the government has been strident in attacking those Green and Independent parliamentarians who Continue reading »
NSW, like Victoria before it, is demonstrating once again that the dangers of politicisation do not lie with just one side of politics. NSW, like most other States, has limited protection against politicisation of its public service. Its senior executives, whether they are departmental secretaries, other agency heads or other executives (with some specified exemptions), Continue reading »
Recent P&I contributors have drawn out sharply the consequences of American influence in Australia. Many of these influences have been beneficial, of course. The importation of American exploitation of internal combustion engines and the long-distance transmission of electricity, while not costless, has had many advantages. As for what roughly might be called the “cultural”, Australia Continue reading »
Australia and Indonesia are to have new defence cooperation agreement. A big deal for a government whose foreign policy is repeatedly trumped by defence; less of a deal for our northern neighbour which, like us, looks north for its prosperity and security. Continue reading »
Will Glasgow’s report from Beijing in the Weekend Australian of 24/25 August is cause for celebration. Since the last Australian journalist left China four years ago, reports on this most important neighbour and on matters of concern to both countries have been either second-hand or coming from non-Australian sources. Although it is ironic that the Continue reading »