With only days until the US Presidential election on 5 November and with polls calling the race 50:50. Michael Lester in discussion with Amelia Lester, Deputy Editor, Foreign Policy magazine, Washington DC, discuss what the conduct of the campaign tells us about the health of American democracy and the integrity of its electoral processes and Continue reading »
Government
Private schools have seized on an opportunity provided by an Amendment Bill before the Parliament to attempt to lock-in billions in Commonwealth over-funding for years to come. In a submission to a Senate inquiry on the Bill, Independent Schools Australia (ISA) has proposed that the current cap on Commonwealth funding be replaced by a floor. Continue reading »
On October 11, I attended a vigil for Palestinians in Federation Square, Melbourne. The event did not attract politicians’ censure as it was sufficiently distanced in time from Jewish vigils on 7 October. In the week before 7 October, Labor and Coalition politicians criticised organisers of events to memorialise the slaughter of more than 42,000 Continue reading »
The nation’s public hospital system is sicker than it looks. There are practical, affordable ways to make it better — but not if governments go on doing the same things. Public hospitals all over the country are overcrowded, inefficient, bad for staff and worse for patients. They badly need more space, more staff. But why, Continue reading »
If the upcoming drug summit is anything like its predecessor in 1999 then some invited people will present research results and facts which most policy makers ignore now. It will suggest ways in which laws might be altered beneficially. It might suggest changes to make our approach to drug use more humane and more effective Continue reading »
So Bridget McKenzie thinks Lidia Thorpe’s protest against King Charles raises some “quite tricky constitutional questions”. Yes it does, but not the ones she thinks. When Australians go to the polls for each federal election it is not a top of mind consideration for most that anyone we elect will be prohibited from taking up Continue reading »
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong has finally acknowledged that Israel is in gross breach of international law, and must not ignore the United Nations, as it continues its ruthless military attacks on the people of Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. In a statement this week rejecting the decision of the Israeli Parliament to ban Continue reading »
The Canberra community decided on 19 October to remove from its parliament the two most recent ministers for corrections, Mick Gentleman (Labor) and Emma Davidson (Green). In mid-2023, Minister Gentleman chose not to act on the findings of the second and final report of Neil McAllister, the then independent inspector of correctional services. Instead, Gentleman Continue reading »
By focusing on punitive programs instead of community-driven support over a ‘youth crime crisis’ that did not exist, the incoming Queensland LNP government appears to be blind to the systemic issues that drive children toward vulnerability. Their policies will reinforce a cycle of criminalisation that will haunt our communities for generations. It’s several days after Continue reading »
The second New South Wales Drug Summit will be held in regional centres for two days in October and the final two days will be in Sydney on the 4th and 5th December to be co-chaired by Carmel Tebbutt and John Brogden – a balance of politics. Do summits achieve worthwhile outcomes? The first Drug Continue reading »