The foundation for effective climate change adaptation must be the preservation of ecological life support systems for humans and all other species. We must prioritise the protection and expansion of water, biodiversity and ecological services to provide food security for future generations instead of environmentally damaging industries, especially fossil fuels. The devastating consequences of increased Continue reading »
politics
When Election Day ended in Taiwan the local and foreign media, pundits, and others almost in unison reported Vice President Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party won handily, democracy had prevailed, and China (which opposed Lai and interfered in the campaign) lost, and the scene might escalate into conflict and even war. But the Continue reading »
Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard has visited on Australia the whole spectre of terrorism, through his craven and ill-judged support of the United States and its invasion of Iraq. Now we live perpetually with the spectre of terrorism and racial strife, visited upon us by his prejudices and lack of judgment. This statement was Continue reading »
When I was approached to write the forward to Scott Morrison’s new book, my first reaction was, who? Then after being told that he was the former Prime Minister of Australia, a Christian and a tourism ambassador for the State... Read More ›
The outcome of US-led conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia will have a profound impact on the developing world order. Washington has already lost the former, and its major adversaries are vested in making sure it loses the latter too. Republished from The Cradle, 2 January 2024 Geopolitical analysts broadly agree that the war in Continue reading »
In all our lives we get to a point where we have to draw lines in the sand. Sometimes those lines are in the relationships we forge, and sometimes they are in the movements we occupy. Many criminalised people struggle with drawing those lines. For many of us, our boundaries and lines haven’t been respected Continue reading »
Climate experts have issued a grim warning for Australians this summer, predicting that 2023 will be the hottest year on record. While the Australian government has recognised the threat of climate change and has committed billions of dollars in disaster relief and the energy transition, the challenges and opportunities they present are unlikely to be Continue reading »
Australia has just completed major reviews of two of its largest public expenditures – the NDIS and Employment Services. Each program manifests problems predicted by two lesser-known economic theories: the Jevons Paradox in the case of the NDIS and Goodhart’s Law in the case of employment services. Neither were mentioned in either review. Today I Continue reading »
Josh Burns, Labor MP for Macnamara, in Victoria, has been visiting Israel. During this visit he did not even follow his own party’s weak calls for a ceasefire. He said there must not be a ceasefire in Gaza. We live in Macnamara and the following poster appeared at the Sunday rally protesting the obscenity of Continue reading »
Western nations are always ready to proclaim their system of governance as superior, particularly in regards to China, dismissed as being authoritarian. Increasingly however, ‘western liberal democracy’ finds itself under scrutiny with trust in government falling. Growing numbers feel alienated, believing that the democratic system has been taken over by elites with little or no Continue reading »