The Dural caravan affair stinks to high heaven. If I were Anthony Albanese, I would bow, with every appearance of reluctance, to Peter Dutton’s demands for an inquiry. Far from shrouding this inquiry with a cloud of secrecy of the sort so beloved by the Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and his department, I would opt for Continue reading »
Government
On 24 December 2023, Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “This is a battle not only of Israel against these barbarians, it’s a battle of civilisation against barbarians.” His words echoed the rhetoric adopted by violent aggressors throughout history to deny their own atrocities. A hierarchy of humanity: good against evil barbarians intent on annihilating civilisation. At the Continue reading »
The AUKUS agreement aims to increase US, UK and Australian submarine capability in the Indo Pacific and the deterrence impact they offer. The current plan will fail for four fundamental reasons. Between now and 2032 the US Navy will drop from 49 nuclear powered attack submarines (SSN) to 32-35; the US will not have sufficient Continue reading »
Contrary to what Peter Dutton would like the electorate to believe, reducing administrative waste will save very little money. If Dutton is serious, he would review major capital projects which lack proper evaluation, starting with his uneconomic nuclear energy proposal. Dutton has done his best to make inflation and the cost of living the major Continue reading »
In the period since 7 October 2023, serious questions have arisen as to whether the Australian Government is properly discharging its obligations under international law in light of Israel’s devastation of Gaza, invasion of Lebanon and the escalation of settler violence in the illegally occupied West Bank. In November 2024, Senators Lidia Thorpe and Fatima Continue reading »
It’s said that what the world needs today are strong leaders whom social media and associated propagandists insist are the only ones who can bring order back into a dangerously chaotic world. Their strengths, it is claimed, outweigh their shortcomings. In Australia, attention is turning to Peter Dutton, who according to his supporters, is the Continue reading »
Senator Jacqui Lambie is incandescent about the salaries of secretaries of Commonwealth departments and she wants to “slash” them from their million dollar levels (approx) to no more than $438000, the current pay for the Commonwealth Treasurer. Senator Lambie has been immediately assailed in The Mandarin by Dr Huw McKay from the Crawford School at Continue reading »
The re-election of the Albanese Government cannot be taken for granted. That is inspite of several credible achievements by Treasurer Chalmers. Recent opinion polls suggest support for the ALP Government is insufficient for even a minority government win. Given the stunning election win by Trump, a similar disaster could happen in Australia. The approach by Continue reading »
It seems that with every utterance from certain members of the political landscape, the humanity bar is lowered. The latest from ABC News to catch the attention of anyone with a modicum of common sense is a speech at a Church by the Deputy Leader of a would-be Australian government, Sussan Ley. To use one Continue reading »
Australian inflation is almost back in the target range of 2-3%. The Reserve Bank should begin to cut interest rates now. This will help avoid a recession as well as substantially reducing cost-of-living pressures on the one third of households with a mortgage. Inflation outlook The critical economic question is when interest rates will start Continue reading »