Opposition Leader Peter Dutton seems bereft of the qualities required in a leader, so it’s worth pondering how he and those who support him could show leadership. There’s no fixed prescription for leaders, but imagination, vision and a concern with altruism are invaluable, as long as those traits are augmented with touches of humanity, as Continue reading »
Government
One of Lyndon Johnson’s sage pieces of political advice was that one should never get into a piss fight with a skunk. Kamala Harris should take note. But so should Anthony Albanese, who is inadequately equipped for an argument over AUKUS and the submarine deal with his predecessor Paul Keating. The want of equipment is Continue reading »
We need to cut Mandatory Accreditation Reporting down to a quarter, and start delegating Trust to care providers, so they can get back to their Core Business. Only then will Aged & Disability Care, Mental Health, NDIS, and Community Health be able to achieve Person-Centred & Community-Building Care. Continue reading »
About 10 years ago, I found myself in the office of a Coalition Senator in my role as President of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network. I and my delegation received a generous reception. At that stage the Senator did not hold an office on behalf of the Liberal Party which would now automatically prevent them Continue reading »
Only a fool would think that removing the union from the equation will rid the building industry of criminality. But that is just what the ALP government is doing: introducing draconian laws with the backing of the Liberals to neuter the entire unionised workforce. It is using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It is Continue reading »
Australia has always found a way to bring in people suffering in conflict zones - when it wants to. There are well-established procedures that have worked effectively for decades between the immigration authorities and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) to make it happen safely Continue reading »
At primary schools in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Australian children were prescribed textbooks with titles such as New Worlds to Conquer, and taught to admire the British Empire as a gift to the world. The theft and occupation of indigenous peoples’ land together with their enslavement and annihilation, was synonymous with progress and Continue reading »
I write as a child of Holocaust survivors because I am disturbed by the demagoguery engaged by the leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, labelling hapless Palestinian refugees as potential terrorists. I quote from The Guardian article: “Peter Dutton has compared Hamas to the Nazis in an opinion piece that calls the registered terrorist organisation Continue reading »
The headline in the Weekend Australian said it all: NT Bases Key to American War Plans. Republican Congressman Michael McCaul, the Chair of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Australian, after a ten day visit to Australia that our geography offered key advantages to the US “as it sought to deter Chinese Continue reading »
A number of new studies highlight an embarrassing fact: Australia is playing a not insubstantial and growing role in slowing the reduction of global carbon emissions. By diligently increasing the development of unwanted new gas and coal fields we are only adding to Trump’s exhortation ‘drill baby drill’ with ‘drill mate drill’. Reversing these policies Continue reading »