Opportunism, hypocrisy, manipulation, and deceit come quickly to mind when delving into the behaviour of politicians. Against this background, two Australian former prime ministers who have thrust themselves into the headlines over the genocide in Gaza, Julia Gillard and Scott Morrison, come to mind. Gillard was one of six former Prime Ministers (along with Kevin Continue reading »
politics
Opposition leader, Peter Dutton, was left fuming yesterday after an Australian journalist dared to ask him when his much feted nuclear policy would be released. After the Dark Lord promised to release the details over 12 weeks ago. ”The journalists... Read More ›
John Menadue recently asked Pearls and Irritations (P&I) readers to suggest how to go about raising the bar in relation to content and relevance. My response would be to suggest that P&I facilitate a means to achieve a true democracy here in Australia; by harnessing all of the intelligence, observation, nous, wit and political awareness Continue reading »
If this scenario had been written into a novel at the turn of 19th century it would have been too unthinkable to believe it could actually take place – assisting in the bombing of innocent civilians, then charging in to feed them, appearing like the saviour of your victims. It is a strange situation when Continue reading »
Politics have come to this in America. Several former US presidents committed extremely serious war crimes that killed, maimed and displaced huge numbers of people without any suggestion that they be charged with these crimes. However, a former president Donald Trump has been found guilty of the crime of trying to cover up a brief Continue reading »
The almost total lack of any positive coverage of China in the British media further closes off the scope even for making arguments that policy should reflect opportunities from dealing with China. Foreword by Gemma Cheng’er Deng, PhD student, Lau China Institute: By the end of 2022, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the end Continue reading »
Next time you hear a news story on violence against women, please do not say we pray for victims of domestic violence. If you want change, here’s what to pray for instead. Planning to get some useful advice, and assuming it existed, I went to the office for the Marriage Tribunal, as I think it Continue reading »
On 28 May, a Defending Australia Summit was held in Sydney by “The Australian Newspaper” which showcased three former Australian defence officials who seemed confused by their old age and indulged in ignorant and historically romantic group think. Kim Beazley is a former Australian Minister of Defence and Ambassador to the US, Denis Richardson is Continue reading »
Try to imagine for a moment a time not long past when Scott Morrison was Australian Prime Minister and Joe Hockey was the Australian Ambassador to the United States. A former Labor Party leader – say Paul Keating, Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd or Bill Shorten – has written a book for an American audience and Continue reading »
The Prime Ministers of China, Japan and South Korea met in Seoul on 27 May to resume regular annual meetings which began in 2008 and were held annually until 2019, when they were interrupted by COVID and “aspects of the international situation”. The PMs issued a joint statement after their meeting which was strong on Continue reading »