May 2024
Made in Australia is just copying US and China protectionism
Anthony Albanese has replicated the economic strategies of Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping. The small mercy so far is no increased tariffs on imports.
Look to South America to see Made in Australia in practice
The Albanese government’s Peronist-like policies won’t add to growth and investment, despite the prime minister and treasurer’s rhetoric.
April 2024
Appeasing Iran has proven weak and provocative
If Tehran’s power can be contained and then reduced, the Middle East will be a much more peaceful place.
Albanese and Biden’s opportunism on aid deaths is contemptible
The confected outrage over the deaths of Australian Zomi Frankcom and her fellow Gaza aid workers goes way beyond the reaction to earlier wartime tragedies.
March 2024
A British friend with important lessons for Australia
The UK is a good strategic partner for us. It is also a public policy laboratory for what works – and what does not.
Australia’s under-investment in ASEAN is about them, not us
South-East Asian nations need to become attractive to foreign investors through deregulation and establishing independent and incorruptible legal systems.
February 2024
Keating’s quaint defence of Australia doesn’t grasp regional power politics
Labor has put aside two absurd features of the Keating era: a defence policy designed to deal with direct invasion and the diminution of our US alliance
One Nation pales in comparison with vicious and evil Greens
Never has a political party so racist, confrontational and divisive been elected to the Australian parliament.
January 2024
Voters want visionary leaders, not managers with a plan
Populists are thriving in the huge gulf between what the masses want for their countries, and what elites think they should have.
Taiwan’s vote is a crack in the new axis of autocracy
Jiang Zemin told me that liberal democracy is not for China’s people. Taiwan has once again shown this to be nonsense.
The unknown unknowns of a global year of elections
There will be more than 70 elections worldwide. Given that several of those elections will be in significant countries and the results are unpredictable, 2024 will be a year of uncertainty.
December 2023
Israel-Hamas tangled up in Ivy League identity politics row
The war in Gaza has exposed the splits within Western societies between those who believe in critical theory and those who still believe in the egalitarian genius of liberal democracy.
What Kissinger would have advised on Israel-Hamas
The Australian government has been trying to balance domestic opinion, rather than articulate clear and simple objectives.
November 2023
Activists should know they are marching to destroy Israel
No Palestinian leader would survive conceding to a two-state solution. Most Palestinians want Israel eliminated.
Economic irrationalism would have Bert Kelly turning in his grave
As our productivity declines and living standards stagnate, we need to find a path back to the formula that helped to transform our economic debate.
October 2023
Is the planet staggering towards global conflict?
The best way to stop war spreading is to make it clear to our adversaries the incalculable price they would pay for their bellicose behaviour.
Yes or No won’t affect Australia’s standing on the world stage
But like Brexit, after the Voice referendum it will take many years for the country to come back together again regardless of the outcome.
September 2023
Blowtorch of reality is conservatives’ greatest ally
The Liberal Party should study UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak rather than tacking like a yacht to accommodate trends, fashions and fads.
Australian establishment should learn a lesson from Qantas
If corporate elites want to prosper, they need to get back to their core business of providing quality goods and services to the punters and get out of the virtue signalling game.
August 2023
Political class has settled for the new Peronism
China and post-war Argentina tell us what happens when politics trumps economic policy. Now we’ve been warned by the Intergenerational Report.