Crikey sets its sights on “human rights abuse” of China’s LGBTQI+ community relying on a single source for its investigation – the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. The recent Nine Newspapers “Red Alert” series was lambasted from many quarters, including Crikey whose David Hardaker called the report “alarmist” and an “insight into the kind of pompous, Continue reading »
politics
Little that was distinctive about Penny Wong’s foreign policy has survived the signing of the AUKUS agreement. In her first speech to DFAT staff she observed that the department had lost influence under the outgoing coalition administrations and she intended to bring it back to the centre of government. And here we are now with Continue reading »
Lest we forget the consequences, today we recall the great lie of ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ in Iraq which led to the smashing of that country and the slaughter of hundreds of thousand of innocent men, women and children. Peace Rally – Address, 18 March 2023 When the lie was revealed, our precious alliance with Continue reading »
I was recently sent an interesting article titled “Who Stands for Freedom” by the Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz. The article is a review of the book “The Big Myth” by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway. It raised a fundamental question: Does China have more true freedom than the United States? Stiglitz’s message Continue reading »
Don’t cut spending, raise taxes; what’s wrong with the government’s carbon credit proposal?; and Stan Grant on the wounds of history. Read on for the weekly roundup of links to articles, reports, podcasts and other media on current political and economic issues in public policy. Don’t cut spending, raise taxes Even before AUKUS, and before Continue reading »
In the Canberra press gallery, policy analysis takes second place to ephemeral politics, as highlighted by the response to Paul Keating’s criticisms of the AUKUS submarine deal. The former PM’s blistering National Press Club attack on AUKUS – and on journalists for the quality of their questions – provoked a curious Twitter response from Anna Continue reading »
What are the budgetary implications of the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine deal? Here are some numbers provided by a Defence spokesman to select journalists. It is expressed in today’s dollars so does not include future inflation. Since it was a background briefing not an official communique it’s not clear who takes responsibility should these costings prove Continue reading »
Why renting is even more expensive than ever, even pinching the soi-disant middle class.
Israel is facing the most significant challenge to its existence since the establishment of the State in 1949. For the first time in its short history this is not a military threat of annihilation from an Arab neighbour with two of which (Egypt and Jordan) it has since formed peace treaties and a normalisation of Continue reading »
When a severe political cancer returns after a period of remission, we have a recurrence. In serious cases, cells from the original cancer regrow and spread virulently. One of America’s best-known commentators, Fareed Zakaria, recently compared the current grave dysfunctionality and panic-driven decision making in Washington to the worst of the McCarthy era in the Continue reading »