politics

Created
Mon, 22/07/2024 - 04:57
Twenty years’ ago the then leader of the conservative New Zealand National Party, Don Brash, got into hot water when a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) official reported that he had assured a visiting delegation from the US Senate that if his party were elected to office NZ’s ‘nuclear-free policy’ would be ‘gone Continue reading »
Created
Mon, 22/07/2024 - 04:59
The Australia China Joint Communique of December 1972 is the foundational document underpinning bilateral relations ever since. It is not a long document, and at a cursory glance appears quite simple. Recently, however, some commentators have questioned its language and suggested it is ambiguous, particularly concerning our government’s position on the status of Taiwan. A Continue reading »
Created
Mon, 22/07/2024 - 04:50
If leading central banks can grow their balance sheets by billions of dollars during the pandemic, they can do the same to fight global warming. Last year was the hottest summer on record and, while this summer is not over yet, it feels like it will break last year’s record. My air-conditioning bill has gone up because Continue reading »
Created
Mon, 22/07/2024 - 04:53
Governments and politicians should be investing in community initiatives and addressing the social determinants of crime, and health, instead of focusing on “tough on crime” policies, according to two members of the National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, Tabitha Lean and Debbie Kilroy. Tough on youth crime policies are short sighted Continue reading »
Created
Sat, 20/07/2024 - 04:59
“All States are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. […] Continue reading »
Created
Sun, 21/07/2024 - 04:50
Whether we call it “polycrisis,” like Columbia University Professor Adam Tooze, or “the age of catastrophe,” like the distinguished Marxist Alex Callinicos, there is no doubt that we are living in a period where the very foundations of the contemporary world order are cracking. There is that enigmatic line Gramsci used to describe his era Continue reading »
Created
Sun, 21/07/2024 - 04:51
Based on the response to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) proposed change to the religion question for the 2026 census, religious groups are singing from the same misprinted hymn sheet. Paul Collins’ recent article, “Religion and the census” (Pearls and Irritations, 8 June 2024), serves as a faithful echo of the article published by Continue reading »