Rawdon Dalrymple was a senior diplomat and career officer in the Australian foreign service, from 1957-1994. The iterations of his departments morphed from: External Affairs, Foreign Affairs to Foreign Affairs and Trade. He had a distinguished record of high achievement and he was posted overseas to many capitals, initially including: Bonn, London, Manila and Jakarta. Continue reading »
politics
Proposals for Gaza by the EU’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell reflect long-standing European concerns, and show an aspiration to become more involved in a cooperative solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict. Can these European concerns and aspirations have some tangible bearing on Palestinian political prospects? Five weeks after Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, European Continue reading »
Neoliberalist theory and practice went so horribly wrong because governments that put their faith in markets forgot one word – competition. From the early-1980s, much of the Western world began turning to neoliberalism – a faith in free markets and smaller government. The collapse of the Soviet Union by the end of that decade confirmed Continue reading »
When people consider the many threats facing our planet today, too often the threat of nuclear weapons is overlooked. Yet it is perhaps the most acute of them all, because the existential danger is ever-present for as long as the weapons exist. Anyone concerned about the climate crisis, about environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, needs Continue reading »
Israeli children sing, “We will annihilate everyone” in Gaza. The song was played on Israel’s national broadcaster Kan. This fact was exposed by the Electronic Intifada – Ali Abunimah – on 19 November. It pretty well says it all. So, what can you do about it? Well, one thing you might do is support BDS. Continue reading »
On 21 August 2013 there was an alleged sarin gas attack in Syria, in which hundreds of people, including scores of children, were killed. This is what led the US and its allies to threaten military strikes against Syria. Since August 2013, western governments, mainstream media outlets, and NGOs have routinely blamed the Syrian government Continue reading »
A week ago today, I and several hundred other members of Rising Tide and were paddling around the entrance to Newcastle Harbour preventing the export of coal from the world’s largest coal port. The event was incredibly well organised and extremely safe for everyone involved. It lasted from Friday until Monday but the actual blockade was Continue reading »
The grand housing cartel, a couple from Point Piper resurrect Gough Whitlam’s ideas on urban development, CPI data confirms that the RBA can declare itself redundant, Australians disappointed because they thought they elected a Labor government. Read on for the weekly roundup of links to articles, podcasts, reports and other media on current economic and Continue reading »
Objectivity does not exist – it cannot exist… The word is a hypocrisy which is sustained by the lie that the truth stays in the middle. No sir: sometimes truth stays on one side only. – Oriana Fallaci The journalist who penned an open letter to Australian media organisations calling for ethical reporting of the Continue reading »
The Reserve Bank is widely expected to increase interest rates further. However, what is now critical to achieving the Bank’s inflation target is the future increase in labour costs, and this may come down sufficiently without any further interest rate rises. The inflation outlook and interest rates As has been widely reported, interest rates have Continue reading »