I have long been a fan of the British parliament’s system of having independent commissioners for standards who review complaints that MPs have breached their Code of Conduct or the Nolan Committee’s set of standards of public life. By comparison, the Australian way — privileges committees, or ad hoc bodies of officials chosen just for Continue reading »
politics
Recent commentary has suggested politics in 2022 witnessed a “progressive wave” – a global trend towards parties of the Left. While this is legitimate if you are content to look at just the UK and USA, the global picture is much more complex. I noticed George Megalogenis’ recent article about the possibility of a “progressive Continue reading »
Just in time, the fundamental faults of AUKUS are being exposed in Canberra and Washington. This development is not only due to the mounting concern among Australian civil society groups. The Australian mainstream media are now discussing the hitherto unmentionable drawbacks of AUKUS. But it’s because two US Senators, Democrat Jack Reed and Republican James Continue reading »
And the Japanese Embassy in Canberra is leading the anti China campaign in Australia. Penny Wong should have a serious discussion with the Ambassador. With QUAD and maybe JAUKUS, Japan is anxious to recruit us and others as spear carriers against China. As Michael Auslin in the AFR put it, ‘A new QUAD is coalescing Continue reading »
Cardinal Pell has spent his first year in hell complaining to the Devil about not being able to get coverage of Sky News Australia on the television in his suite. ”Most people on their first year in hell do have... Read More ›
The US is pressing an (over) eager Japan to develop offensive capabilities, with an eye to a conflict with China.
Brussels insists Italy must surrender more of its economic sovereignty in exchange for any assistance.
On 5 January, the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan signed a contract with Chinese companies Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co. (CAPEIC) to extract oil from the nation’s northern provinces. The oil is set to be extracted from the Amu Darya basin, marking the first time Kabul signs a public commodities extraction deal with a Continue reading »
Venezuelanalysis’ Ricardo Vaz offers a hard-hitting take on the demise of Venezuela’s self-proclaimed “interim president.” And so it ended. Not with a bang, but with a whimper. After all, it was made of cardboard. It is very rare to have a political phenomenon beautifully encapsulated in a single moment or image. But in the case Continue reading »
The German government recently arrested 25 members of a conspiratorial right-wing group plotting to overthrow the government. One of those arrested was a member of a defunct German royal family that the group hoped to install as Germany’s new leader. In the United States, the Republican Party did well enough in the mid-term elections to Continue reading »