“What happened here in the Northern Rivers [in 2022] with Lismore as the epicentre has to be recognised as one of the worst disasters the nation has ever seen,” says Lismore City Councillor Elly Bird. The scale of the floods was immense: Australia’s “biggest natural disaster since Cyclone Tracy in 1974, the second-costliest event in Continue reading »
politics
Slow progress in cleaning up the mess after decades of Coalition neglect and economic mismanagement in immigration, labour relations, school education and economic structure, opinion polls reveal a restive electorate. Read on for the weekly roundup of links to articles, podcasts, reports and other media on current economic and political issues. This is the last Continue reading »
The Left, and certainly a number of broadly defined progressives, have a strange affinity towards violence and conflict. When the absurdly labelled Global War Against Terror was declared by the semi-literate US President George W. Bush, the use of torture and resort to illegal invasions had the support of such noted liberal figures as Michael Continue reading »
Without a large and rapid change in politics, not much in evidence, it now seems unlikely we can avoid climate apocalypse. The COP28 conference in Dubai on (allegedly) reducing greenhouse gas emissions has come and gone with the usual proclamations of triumph. Wow, this time they actually mentioned fossil fuels, and the need to ‘transition Continue reading »
Not content with expanding its membership from the original 12 to 31 nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is making a grab for a presence in the Asia Pacific as well. From 1949, NATO’s commitment to defend any member if attacked (Article 5) applied only to the North American and European mainlands and territories north Continue reading »
As Hong Kong gears up for both Christmas and the following Lunar New Year celebrations there is plenty to look forward to in this dynamic city. And against this happy backdrop we are also awaiting the start of the long-delayed trial of Jimmy Lai , of Apple Daily fame, under the much quoted National Security Continue reading »
Infectious diseases are tearing through Gaza, whose healthcare system has been rendered almost nonexistent, and people are beginning to starve in massive numbers. All of this is due to concrete policy decisions made by Israel in its horrific assault on the Gaza Strip. In an article titled “Gaza’s health system is ‘on its knees’ as Continue reading »
The Biden administration “must respond to the reported execution-style massacre of women, children, and babies,” said the spokesperson of a U.S. Muslim advocacy group. Eyewitness testimony reported Wednesday by Al Jazeera accused Israeli troops of massacring forcibly displaced women and children sheltering at a school in northern Gaza, an allegation that prompted a leading U.S. Continue reading »
As the death toll in Gaza from Israel’s bombardment and siege reaches well over 17,000 people, the Australian Government is slowly and belatedly taking steps towards ending the nightmare for the people there. On Wednesday Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced, with his counterparts in New Zealand and Canada, support for “urgent international efforts towards a Continue reading »