One question relating to the upcoming referendum on ‘The Voice’ that has recently come to prominence concerns the question of sovereignty. Who or what is ‘sovereign’ as the term is applied to the governance of Australia? Is there any such thing as Indigenous sovereignty? Might it be said that in Australia sovereignty is or could Continue reading »
politics
Africa’s renaissance is already underway through partnerships with Eurasian powers Russia and China, whose significant contributions are already visible in security, economic, and institutional sectors throughout the continent. First published in THE CRADLE September 19, 2023 In Africa, injustice looms large, marked by poverty, warfare, and famine. Despite post-WWII political gains, economic independence, a vital Continue reading »
Will the Mike Pezzullo case be a line in the sand? The case of the Head of the Department of Home Affairs, Mike Pezzullo, now stood down on full pay, is an extreme manifestation of the fact that in our democracy, too often public servants flout what the High Court said in 2019 is essential: Continue reading »
The Australian Government has a big problem with its security narrative. Preparing for a putative war with China is the nation’s top security priority, while the government’s knowledge of the growing existential threat of climate disruption and their security consequences remains a closely-guarded secret. It is embarrassing for the government that it will not share Continue reading »
The recently concluded Federal Court case brought against Brighton Secondary College in Victoria, resulting in a distressing confirmation of antisemitism during 2013-2020 is a case study in institutional bias against members of a minority group. The insights into institutional behaviour extend far beyond its effects on Jewish students, and remember that the evidence was tested Continue reading »
“Nowhere in the world, I would venture, is the message more stark than it is in Australia. We simply cannot sweep injustice aside. … the starting point might be to recognise that the problem starts with us non-Aboriginal Australians. It begins, I think, with that act of recognition. … Down the years, there has been Continue reading »
With the announcement that Rupert Murdoch is stepping down from the board of FoxNews and Newscorp, I thought was it an apt moment to reprint one of the most detailed portraits ever written of the press mogul: Alexander Cockburn’s 1976 profile and interview with Murdoch published in the Village Voice in 1976, shortly after Murdoch had acquired Continue reading »
Seemingly out of nowhere, Canada and India are embroiled in an escalating diplomatic crisis after PM Justin Trudeau implicated India in the June 18 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent British Columbia (BC) Sikh leader. India has strongly rejected the ‘unsubstantiated’ charge as ‘absurd’. I fear Sam Varghese has allowed his anti-Modi animus to Continue reading »
Tuesday 26 September is the anniversary of the Biden administration’s destruction of three of the four pipelines of Nord Stream 1 and 2. There is more I have to say about it, but it will have to wait. Why? Because the war between Russia and Ukraine, with the White House continuing to reject any talk Continue reading »
During Australia’s Covid-19 pandemic response, some companies received billions in contracts made without tender, sometimes by ministerial intervention. It would be too much, of course, to hope that anything the inquiry into the pandemic response does to address this issue will be taken up with any enthusiasm by the Albanese government. It seems to have Continue reading »