This Month
Hate has no place? If only that were true
The best way to start to overcome antisemitism is to encourage young people to have a bit more empathy and lot less hatred for those they disagree with.
June
‘Modern Australia’ a foreign country for Ley’s Liberals
If the limit of Sussan Ley’s hope is merely for Liberals to “reflect modern Australia”, the country’s direction will not change with her as prime minister.
Why the end of ABC Q+A was inevitable
Many journalists at the public broadcaster think their job is to be a taxpayer-funded counterweight to Rupert Murdoch.
May
Why Liberals shouldn’t have carried on with Coalition
The panicked knee-jerk reaction to rejoin with the Nationals suggests MPs don’t want to do the hard thinking so obviously necessary.
Australia’s left-wing trend is not the Liberals’ friend
For the Liberals to meet the majority of young people “where they are” would require the party to veer dramatically to the left.
Why neither Albanese nor Dutton deserve your vote
The two contenders give the impression the country is hanging on for dear life, and their job is simply to get Australia through whatever the latest crisis is.
April
Is the Liberal Party even trying to win this election?
The Coalition has been in power for about nine of the last dozen years. If Australia is not on track, then perhaps some of the responsibility rests with itself.
Why the Liberals are failing to woo a changing nation
The party is reduced to emphasising minor policy differences while leaving unchallenged the central premise of Labor’s campaign.
March
Should we deport criminal dual citizens? Dutton wants Aussies to vote
There’s a reason politicians don’t like direct democracy and why there will never be a referendum on big national debates.
Yes, America is fickle – but it’s also our best ally
The only difference between Donald Trump and his Republican and Democrat predecessors is that he is nakedly honest about America’s interests.
February
Dutton’s populist plans won’t cut your grocery bills
When politicians reach for the first ‘populist’ policy they can find to address voter concerns about rising prices, they’re doing a disservice to themselves and the electorate.
Richard Holden is wrong. Ross Gittins is right about the economics rot
Economists desperately want to convince themselves the world is as simple as C + I + G + (X - M). That’s what generations of students have been taught to believe.
January
What if Australia had its own Trump?
A local Trump would do some truth-telling, including that it’s incomprehensible a place as big as Australia has close to the world’s most unaffordable housing.
Fact is, Meta’s following Musk’s populist’s vibe
Whether Mark Zuckerberg made his decision to placate Trump or from a commitment to free speech, it’s a victory for freedom of expression.
December 2024
Biography looking for a proto-Trump is blind to Reagan’s vision
Reagan’s accomplishments as president are nitpicked into insignificance in a book that seems more intent on ransacking his administration for clues to explain the ascension of Donald Trump.
Dutton should be ‘comfortable and relaxed’ about flag stance
The opposition leader knows the better path to social cohesion in an increasingly diverse community is to find what Australians have in common.
November 2024
Australia’s social media ban is a joke
Media-manufactured moral panics come and go. That so many Labor and Coalition politicians have succumbed to this latest one, so unthinkingly, is frightening.
Why the Libs can’t do a Trump
The lesson for Peter Dutton is not to copy the Donald – which in an Australian context would be impossible anyway. What he must be, though, is authentic.
October 2024
COVID-19 bullies could get away with it again
During the pandemic, few Australians were brave enough to say “stop”. We can hope for a different future, but there’s no sign things will be different next time.
Charles III will find republicans who missed their best chance
The vibrant republican sentiment of the 1980s has been replaced by a dour, downbeat guilt-ridden version in the 2020s.