Senior political office is a hazardous place where job security can be fortuitous. A few jump before things sour although the temptations to hang on are strong and the ends for those who do are often fraught with bitterness, anger and recrimination. This stew may be more risky now for Prime Ministers as politics has Continue reading »
Government
The ACT’s prison is run by a clique, with detainee bashings covered up, staff bullied into silence and the library better labelled “a supermarket” where any drug desired was freely available. This is the picture that is being inked in by former detainees and staff who have shown the courage to come forward after recent Continue reading »
Last week the government launched a media campaign to “build awareness, trust, and use” of the system of aged care star ratings. The launch came a week after the Commonwealth Ombudsman told the Senate inquiry into the Aged Care Bill that “I am concerned that the current star ratings system is not sufficiently meaningful to Continue reading »
This ACT election is not an election about policies. Nor, by itself, about significant changes to the style of government. Andrew Barr, long-serving ACT Chief Minister is perfectly right in saying that it is not Labor’s fault that Labor has been in power for such a long time. Canberra voters have consistently returned Labor for Continue reading »
The prime minister is a political operator rather than a visionary. His inability to persuade and sustain arguments is beginning to show. Anthony Albanese has always been a party organiser par excellence. He has never been a big picture politician. Pushing and shoving his faction into line has long been his metier. Not articulating, as Continue reading »
In the eye of the hurricane is a moment of calm and silence, before wild chaos and destruction resume. Symbolically, the world now stands in such a place. Continue reading »
Open Letter to Antonio Guterres on the Australian Government’s failure to publicly defend the office of the United Nations Secretary General. Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations UN Plaza, NEW YORK USA Email undesa@un.org Dear Sir, We write in shame that the Australian Government has failed to join over 100 Member states Continue reading »
One year on from the defeat of the ‘Indigenous Voice’ referendum of 14 October 2023, some myths have arisen about the process and the outcome. These deserve further discussion. I supported the referendum unequivocally and would still do so today. Like many supporters of a ‘Yes’ vote, I had criticisms and doubts about the outcome, Continue reading »
In the forthcoming October 26 state elections, my prediction is that Labor in Queensland will get hammered. As it happens, Labor in Queensland is the name of a political history that I co-authored with Sigrid Thorntons’s brother, Harold Thornton. In the recent Northern Territory election there was a 23 pre cent swing against the ALP. Continue reading »
It is not surprising that so many of us believed that after the Voice Referendum 2023 Indigenous people would be recognised in the Australian Constitution and their voices valued. The Uluru Statement from the Heart was so much more than a request to be heard. It was a generous gift from First Nations offering all Continue reading »