Let’s not reject forty years of cooperation and exchange with China. Australia has greatly benefitted from trade, investment, cultural exchange and collaboration over these decades. Now, as the United States and Europe threaten to raise tariffs, erect barriers to exchanges and prioritise security concerns, it is time to remember when we espoused multilateralism and openness. Continue reading »
politics
By 2021 it was apparent that we were witnessing the accelerating but creeping collapse of the American Empire. That collapse has passed an inflection point – the Empire is now in free fall. Thomas Homer-Dixon, in his brilliant book The Upside of Down, noted that the Roman empire eventually reached the point where “the empire Continue reading »
The deep and crucial reason why Trump could win again. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 29th January 2024 Many explanations are proposed for the continued rise of Donald Trump, and the steadfastness of his support, even as the outrages and criminal charges pile up. Some of these explanations are powerful. But there is […]
Australian Opposition leader, Donald Dutton, has warned the nation to be wary of American singer Taylor Swift, after Donald’s news station of choice, Sky News Australia, ran a story on the singer somehow being linked to a plot to destroy... Read More ›
With the announcement last week of Kim Williams as the new ABC Chair, it’s timely to consider not only what needs to be done to address recent controversies but, more broadly, what we as a society want from our major public media institution and what is needed for it to thrive. There will always be Continue reading »
Former Foreign Ministers Bob Carr and Gareth Evans, other former Cabinet Ministers, former State Premiers, a Nobel Laureate, diplomats, writers, academics and human rights advocates are among 50 Australians supporting an appeal to establish détente between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China. ‘Détente’ – meaning an easing of hostility or Continue reading »
Renowned reggae artist, Ziggy Marley, the headline artist at WOMADelaide 2024 (World Music Adelaide), is an outspoken supporter of Israel even during its current genocidal operation in Gaza. In 2018, fans worldwide were shocked by his attendance at a star studded benefit for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). This event raised $60 million for a Continue reading »
Despite its $160 million package to better manage asylum seekers, time is running out for the Albanese Government to get on top of the asylum seeker issue prior to the 2025 election. Asylum applications at both the primary and AAT stages fell in December 2023 but the number of applications processed also fell leading to Continue reading »
Doctors, Teachers, Journalists, Academics are being disciplined, hauled before disciplinary bodies and even sacked for criticising the slaughter in Gaza and, most heinous sin of all, for mentioning genocide. Arrayed against those professionals is a lobby promoting the notion that criticism of Israeli government policies is anti-Semitic, hence the need to censor commentary about the Continue reading »
It is easy to be cynical about the international rule of law. No sooner had the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel is plausibly committing genocide against the Palestinian people than the U.S. State Department declared, “We continue to believe that allegations of genocide are unfounded and note the court did not make Continue reading »