AUKUS. This is a horror for which I now fear for the lives of my children and their children. Every time a Labor member of parliament or senator puts foot outside their office to appear in public, turns up at a public meeting, we need to ask them: why have you betrayed us? Why have Continue reading »
Government
The Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Party Congress in October last year may be seen with the efflux of time as a watershed event, not so much for the extension of Xi Ping’s tenure in the job, but for subsequent sharp policy resets. This year began with the shock announcement that China’s zero covid policy, and Continue reading »
Defence Minister Richard Marles has now told us why we need nuclear submarines – not to defend Taiwan or attack China, but to defend our merchant shipping. Sounds credible until one does the maths. There are 26,000 ship port calls involving over 3,000 different ships at 70 Australian ports each year to exchange 580 million Continue reading »
We all want a better future for our children, and our grandchildren. The Government however seems unconcerned whether there is going to be a future at all. The late Professor Will Steffen was a preeminent climate scientist and one of the expert members of the Australian Climate Commission, which recommended the Gillard Labor government introduce Continue reading »
An open letter to the ABC, 22 March 2023. In a series of aggressions, Israel has been occupying Palestine from the river to the sea for over 74 years, by ethnically cleansing two-thirds of its people through over seventy massacres, killing and executing Palestinians daily (at least 89 Palestinians, including 16 children and a woman, Continue reading »
Yesterday, 22 March 2023, the planet observed World Water Day, which highlights the sustainable management of precious water resources and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people across the globe who are living without access to clean and safe water. But here in New South Wales, water’s big day coincides with yet another mass fish Continue reading »
As AUKUS propagandising gathers pace, the Australian public is being softened up to believe that whatever else the arrangement entails (and that still mostly remains a mystery), there will be no compromising of Australia’s sovereignty – none whatsoever. History teaches us that such reassurances can be dangerously hollow. Since its inception in the Treaty of Continue reading »
An interesting comment was made this month about the New South Wales Coalition’s intention to raise Warragamba Dam in order to store floodwaters and thus mitigate the problem of flooding downstream. The comment as retailed by ABC Online came from the Liberal MP and candidate for the seat of Hawkesbury in the coming state election, Continue reading »
Our Defence Minister said that Australia has not given any guarantees to the USA about what we would do with our submarines in the case of war but would take our own decisions at the time. This is welcome but what are the implications? Does it only apply to the submarines? As always, the devil Continue reading »
There is a simple, relatively costless government move that should give about half a million Australians confidence in homeland security. While not exactly the same sort of security, and not to be too flippant about the peril that the AUKUS deal puts us in, this move would cost 0.000000272 of the $368 billion subs’ contract Continue reading »