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 »
Government
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 »
After the Super Tuesday results signalled Trump would become the Republican presidential candidate in November, a first promise was that “We’re going to drill baby drill.” One of the most important reasons to watch American politics this year is that a Trump victory will push the world faster towards catastrophic climate heating. The global community Continue reading »
Will a grid based around wind and solar kill manufacturing and industry? It’s what the naysayers – the Coalition and conservative agitators – want you to believe, but the experience in South Australia, which leads the world in the uptake of wind and solar, proves the opposite. The state’s transmission operator ElectraNet says wind and Continue reading »