politics

Created
Wed, 18/10/2023 - 04:53
I am glad the article of Professor Trevor Parmenter “Rights are necessary but insufficient for the achievement of the full inclusion of people with disabilities” (P&I Sep 22, 2023) has been published. I am writing to say so, but as I send this off, I realize that I am involved in the very inter-dependent reciprocity Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 18/10/2023 - 04:54
The high levels of loss of Yes voters to the No camp during the referendum campaign add indicators that the once social democratic contributions to governance are in trouble. Where once policies for fairness were seen as integral parts of good democracies, these have been replaced by neo liberal market models. This shows up too Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 18/10/2023 - 04:57
The deputy prime minister Richard Marles was asked by Insider’s host David Speers if the voters of Australia were right to roundly reject the constitutional recognition of Indigenous peoples and the Voice to parliament. Of course they were right, said Marles, they’re always right. In a press conference and later during question time in parliament, Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 18/10/2023 - 04:51
As the former managing director and editor in chief of The Age newspaper (and founder of the Australian Press Council), this is a hard piece to write. In my view the mainstream media – journalists and commentators – have failed this country during the debate on the Voice. I have needed time to consider this Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 18/10/2023 - 04:54
Following Hamas’s heinous attack on innocent Israeli civilians, senior Israeli military strategists are threatening the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. This would be another Nakba (Arabic for catastrophe), akin to the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their homes and land in 1948. If Israel commits massive war crimes in Gaza in the face of global calls for restraint, Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 18/10/2023 - 04:56
Six years ago New Zealand’s Sixth Labour Government aimed to make New Zealand a better place in which to live. Its first term of three years was almost a dream run. It didn’t last. Disruption by outside influences including the COVID Pandemic and international inflation, and a disciplined election campaign by the political opposition combined Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 18/10/2023 - 04:58
Australia’s biased friendship towards Israel undermines peace and forsakes justice for Palestinians, while serving neither Australian nor Israeli interests, writes Ben Saul. Former prime minister Gough Whitlam wrote in 1985 that while Australian governments always claimed to take a balanced approach to Israeli-Arab disputes before his own government was elected, “in practice they were thought Continue reading »