Albanese’s practice of preferring to govern and legislate through deals with the coalition rather than with Greens and Independents is plainly because of a theory or strategy of what is in Labor’s long-term interests. It presumably includes the fear that Labor itself could atomise, as the coalition has done, if the influence and power of Continue reading »
politics
We are getting used to mega-sized investment announcements from the government – a couple of billion for hydrogen projects, four or maybe six billion for “critical minerals” and now a billion for solar panel manufacturing. Of course, these numbers are small compared to government commitments such as the NDIS or of course AUKUS, but they Continue reading »
The Western press is filled with stories of foreboding about the Chinese economy. We are told regularly that China’s fast growth is over, that China’s data are manipulated, that a Chinese financial crisis looms, and that China will suffer the same stagnation as Japan during the past quarter century. This is U.S. propaganda, not reality. Continue reading »
As paediatricians and child health professionals we have committed our professional lives to promoting the physical and psychological health of children. Every society places great importance on the care and protection of its children in addition to the dignity it attributes to all human lives. War harms children disproportionately. It destroys their right to thrive Continue reading »
The death of young aid worker Zomi Frankcom in Gaza last week was a tragic reminder that we have all failed to stop this unrelenting violence against the innocent. Many Australians have been horrified that the six months war continues, because governments fail to uphold international law and even our own leaders have hidden from Continue reading »
In 1890 Henry Parkes spoke of “The crimson thread of kinship running through us all.” He believed this “crimson thread” – evocative of blood – united all white people in the Australian colonies and bound them to Britain. The federation he was advocating for Australia was to be exclusively white and eternally British. In contemporary Continue reading »
A few years ago, I gave a talk at the annual conference of the Australian Institute for International Affairs. Afterwards, one of the local luminaries observed that it sounded like I was channelling Bernie Sanders. It was not meant as a compliment. On the contrary, both of us were clearly regarded as unrealistic and naïve, Continue reading »
This former leader of PNG’s state energy supplier says we should take a leaf from the China playbook by using a “tied aid” model. The leadership turnstile at Papua New Guinea’s state energy provider, PNG Power (PPL), is spinning once again as the search is on for another chief executive. This latest shift at one Continue reading »
Peter Dutton thinks the Coalition is on a winner by promoting nuclear power but unbiased opinion polls find that support for nuclear power in Australia falls short of a majority, that Australians much prefer renewables, and most do not want nuclear reactors built near where they live. A February 26 page-one article in The Australian Continue reading »
Writing on the heels of Stuart Rees’s recent article in P&I, A Plea for Gaza: ‘Remember humanity & forget the rest’, and as a participant in last Wednesday’s Gaza plea for humanity event at Parliament House, Canberra, I’d like to commend Stuart for his leadership, courage and tireless efforts to bring peace with justice to Continue reading »