In recent years the approach of Australia Day has been seen by the mainstream media as a time for reporting on the antics of those politicians who are intent on dividing the nation, splitting us into patriots and non-patriots, Indigenous and non-Indigenous – to which this year they have added a new divisive line between Continue reading »
Government
Anthony Albanese risks being the man who did what Scott Morrison couldn’t – easing the tax burden of the rich. I have no inside info on whether Anthony Albanese will stick to his oft-repeated promise to deliver the stage 3 tax cuts intact on July 1, or change them in some way because the cost-ofliving Continue reading »
One reason why the Republic referendum failed and why the result of another one is uncertain was confusion over just what the issues are. Like the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, our lot spent so much time fighting among themselves they had no time left to face their opponents. We need to identify the Continue reading »
As Australia Day looms it’s not surprising that Peter Dutton has yet again found another culture war to prosecute – this time against Woolworths’ decision not to stock Australia Day themed goods. The approach worked with the Voice campaign but if this is going to be his main tactic in the year or so to Continue reading »
Australian Citizenship should be revived as a positive unifying element in a cohesive multicultural society. The Australia Day citizenship ceremony controversy is just a sideshow. The real issue is the completely unacceptable waiting times for processing Australian citizenship applications. The Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison government trashed the good work of previous Coalition and Labor governments by pursuing regressive Continue reading »
The science is in. The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has overnight confirmed that 2023 was the earth’s warmest year on record: 0.16°C warmer than the previous record year (2016); 0.6°C warmer than the 1991-2020 average; 1.48°C warmer than the pre-industrial period. The report from Copernicus notes that each month from June to December Continue reading »
A day I have long prophesied, and for which I have been yearning may be at hand. It’s a pity that the Albanese government does not really deserve a place at any celebrations, and may indeed, try to frustrate them. The tide is turning for our boat people policies, and Australia’s shameful treatment of several thousand Continue reading »
In a recent speech, the Federal Treasurer hastily bundled together three things that he felt superannuation funds ought to invest in: renewable energy, defence and housing. It was a classic ‘sandwich’ communication: bracket the unpleasant item between two that sound good. I agree that super funds investing in renewable energy makes good investment sense and Continue reading »
The founding secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Mike Pezzullo, was dismissed late last year for egregiously breaching the public service code of conduct. The man who lectured public servants they should live by that code, broke it in a manner no previous secretary in living memory had done. While that should have provided an Continue reading »
To initiate a war of aggression has been described as the supreme international crime. If a regional war breaks out in the Middle East, triggered by the illegal recent strikes by the USA and UK against the Houthis, Australia could well be complicit in the commission of the supreme international crime. The United Nations Security Continue reading »