The latest Migration Act amendments reflects the fact that Pezzullo’s protégées are still running the Department of Home Affairs. They are actively papering over the mess that their own indefinite detention decisions created. A sharp new broom is needed to clear out the departmental debris. On Tuesday, a bunch of bright young refugees went to Continue reading »
Government
The government’s new deportation legislation is both radical and at the same time addresses two issues that have been around for at least 30 years. But is it good law and why the urgency? Australian governments have long been frustrated by people subject to deportation or removal not co-operating in their removal. They simply refuse Continue reading »
The Federal government’s reaction to Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza and treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is a likely reason for the significant increase in the Green’s vote. Readers may recall an earlier article by me published in P&I back in January and titled The 2025 Federal Election Continue reading »
New figures again demonstrate the bias against public schools in Australia’s school funding system. Government funding for Catholic and Independent schools has increased much more than for public schools since 2009. Government funding has enabled private schools to have a much higher income per student than public schools and to provide more teaching and material Continue reading »
Under the Morrison and Albanese governments it may well be that the FoI Act has been more restrictively administered than at any time since it came into effect in 1982. In the early 1970s the Whitlam Government set up an inter-departmental committee to prepare advice on freedom of information legislation. As that Government became burdened Continue reading »
Richard Tanter stated in Pearls and Irritations on March 21 in regard to my piece on a former Defence Deputy Secretary, Paul Dibb on 14 February, that “Media self-censorship, and acceptance – if not cultivation – of a mystique of impenetrable opacity about Pine Gap has facilitated public acceptance of government silence, misdirection and mendacity Continue reading »
Countless numbers of Gazans are facing or dying from famine, while Israel continues to make extreme statements and settler violence against Palestinians continues. There is outrage in the Australian community about Israel’s actions. It is time for Australia to act on its severe concerns. The AJDS calls for the Australian Government to ban the importation Continue reading »
The recent decision by PM Albanese not to proceed with an important ALP election promise unless the Opposition supports the proposal surely runs counter to the two-party culture often claimed to be a holy aspect of the Westminster political system. At issue is the ALP’s promise to protect the right of religious schools to practice Continue reading »
Of course, at this time of rising living costs, economic uncertainty, and impending climate disaster, subsidising the British and American submarine construction industrial bases is the obvious priority. At least it seems that way to the Albanese government. The lack of a convincing strategic justification for the AUKUS-SSNs is a separate matter from the approach Continue reading »
Andrew Hastie and Tony Abbott are trying to install a candidate in WA who has written a fictional book to scare people about a Chinese invasion of Australia. Western Australia exported $270 billion worth of goods in 2022-23, of which more than half, $147.7 billion worth, went to one country. Guess which one? China’s 54.6 Continue reading »