Nothing coming from Albanese and the Labor government offers any hope for public schools. Minister for Education Jason Clare’s recent public sermons, in response to the latest Product Commissions findings on Australia’s failure to produce a quality education system, will challenge his courage and integrity. His declared position ‘I don’t want us to be a Continue reading »
Government
Nuclear weapons are deadly, indiscriminate, and have the potential to wipe out life on earth. But they are still held by a handful of states who believe that they bring security and who are so wedded to them that they cannot see what is in front of their noses. Not all states think that their Continue reading »
It’s time for the Australian Republic Movement to move on from the minimalist campaign of the 1990s and embrace reform of our archaic constitution. In 1999 those who campaigned for a Republic during the 1990s were at pains to point out that nothing else would change. Only the Head of State would be an Australian Continue reading »
An extremist Israeli government insists that apartheid policies will be permanent, that the 2022 slaughter of Palestinians will be repeated, that settler stealing and violence will be ignored and international law derided. In these circumstances, surely no Australian citizen, let alone a politician, could justify such policies? Incredulity about Israeli army, police and settler impunity Continue reading »
Economic growth has been the holy grail of post-industrial society, but there is now mounting evidence that it needs to be slowed down for the sake of the environment. It is therefore a welcome sign that Mark Diesendorf reiterates the call for ‘Limits to Growth’ which has been voiced since the 1970s – largely to no Continue reading »
The implications for the AUKUS security pact were always going to be grave, significant, and unnecessary. It further subordinated Australia to participating in future conflicts; it has brought into question Australia’s own already whittled down sovereignty; and it has also raised the spectre of regional nuclear proliferation. The other feature of this whole enterprise, as Continue reading »
Data suggests that US dollar reserves in central banks are dwindling, as is the influence of the US on the world economy. This presents a unique opportunity for regional currencies and alternative payment systems to enter the vacuum. First published in The Cradle January 13 2023 The imposition of US trade restrictions and sanctions against a Continue reading »
Japan’s Ambassador to Australia, HE Shingo Yamagami, enjoys his media profile. He appears frequently on Sky News, advises Australia publicly on how it should manage its official relations with China, and describes himself as a former spymaster. Maybe the Ambassador aspires to be a legend in his own lunchtime. In the olden days, diplomatic cadets Continue reading »
Hannah Dickinson, an asylum lawyer from the Asylum Seeker Rights Centre, is reported in The Canberra Times to “have rubbished suggestions people are seizing on huge backlogs of asylum applications to lodge bogus claims for protection”. Yet in the same article, the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) is reported to have said asylum “backlogs (have) Continue reading »
The announcement this month by the Albanese government that Australia would be acquiring HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) batteries from the United States can be put down to a few factors. One is that sense of being left out of the club. If European states can have such launchers with seemingly devastating effect, why Continue reading »