The AUKUS agreement is controversial. It covers advanced military technologies whose future is contested by experts. There is also a vigorous discussion over whether the agreement has compromised Australia’s autonomy on strategic policy making and implementation. Yet this latter debate completely misses why AUKUS is at risk of failure. AUKUS’ “Tier One” objective is to Continue reading »
politics
The most important role of government is to protect its citizens. In Australia this is usually taken to mean military defence, alliances with other countries and considerable expenditure. However the governments of many countries including ours have not yet grasped the fact that we are facing defeat in the current battle against the advancing threats Continue reading »
It was almost impossible to listen to Benjamin Netanyahu speak at the United Nations General Assembly without a feeling of despair and disgust. Israel’s ‘friends’, which include Australia, must change their rhetoric in defence of Israel when they say: “Israel has the right to defend itself”. No nation has the right to use this slogan Continue reading »
Five minutes on X reveals the outrage toward the Australian government for its response to weekend protests while Israel is bombing Beirut. The Malaysian PM calls for western leaders to put the narrative right, while Craig Mokhiber calls for the arrest warrant of Netanyahu and Netanyahu offers the people of Iran a better future. The Continue reading »
Successive Australian governments have allowed the United States to carry out a program of militarisation in Western Australia which has made it a vital U.S war-fighting base and thus an inevitable target for retaliatory strikes should hostilities commence, for example between the U.S and China. Continue reading »
It’s clear that the Quad are not looking for anything remotely like an open and free Pacific, they are looking to further contain and incite China. Continue reading »
Penny Wong’s Australian fig leaf UN proposal is designed to cover Australia’s lack of support for the enforcement of the existing agreements and protections for humanitarian aid workers. Continue reading »
The Australian Electoral Commission has announced proposed redistributions of the boundaries of federal election seats with NSW losing a seat (North Sydney), while Victoria and Western Australia each gained a seat with the average number in a NSW seat, increased from the current 118,000 to 121,000 and expected to grow to about 130,000 by 2028. Continue reading »
Look at how favourably situated Australia is in the world. As the foundations were put in place for the Asian Century, most profoundly by China, Australia was in the right place at the right time and it benefitted inordinately. Looking forward, as the rise of China continues and a range of Asian countries, including India, Continue reading »
Extra revenue from winding back currently available tax breaks should be designated for social housing investment and increased Rent Assistance -a housing policy virtuous circle. For all readers aware that our flagging housing system cannot be fixed without decisive policy change, the avalanche of support for the possible reform of private landlord tax concessions this Continue reading »