From a distance, I no longer recognise my Australia
There’s not much joy returning from holiday to a country whose government once promised a new way in politics but instead has delivered cynical, self-serving cronyism, writes Mike O’Connor.
There’s not much joy returning from holiday to a country whose government once promised a new way in politics but instead has delivered cynical, self-serving cronyism, writes Mike O’Connor.
Unfortunately the Voice referendum has created Them and Us and no amount of ad nauseam playing of John Farnham’s anthemic song will change that, writes Mike O’Connor.
The Palaszczuk government is like a punch-drunk prize fighter, taking wild policy swings on issues such as youth crime, population growth and infrastructure needs as if they occurred yesterday, writes Mike O’Connor.
It’s not racist to be disinterested in activities from other cultures, such as the Welcome to Country, writes Mike O’Connor.
There’s a trendy new euphemism for transforming the city we love and the lifestyle we enjoy – and not for the better, writes Mike O’Connor.
Qantas’ CEO insists he gets no political favours from the Prime Minister, but perception doesn’t help, writes Mike O’Connor.
On issues such as net zero, welcome-to-country ceremonies and the Voice, Australians have become like the sheep at the Ekka – herded, urged and cajoled, writes Mike O’Connor.
It’s too late to “do a Dan Andrews” and cancel the 2032 Games, but Queensland’s disastrous record in managing infrastructure costs does not bode well, writes Mike O’Connor.
An attempted attack on free speech in the US could be imported Down Under, giving the Albanese government unprecedented power to control what you see and hear on social media, writes Mike O’Connor.
Just because the ABC has a workforce from “all corners of the community” doesn’t mean they’ve hired the right people for the job and are delivering taxpayers value, writes Mike O’Connor.
Returning home from an overseas holiday, I am met with the insistence on Voice truth-telling or rather one group’s version of it at the expense of everyone else’s, writes Mike O’Connor.
Queenslanders struggling with the cost of living might be wondering why former governor-general Peter Hollingworth has been paid more than $7m in pension and expenses since he was sacked, writes Mike O’Connor.
OPINION: Who knew that Cleopatra was black or Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind was a homicidal white supremacist? Welcome to 2023, where the ‘torturous search for grievance grinds on’, writes Mike O’Connor.
Opinion: The more Anthony Albanese and the Yes camp try to pressure me in their direction, the more I will push back, writes Mike O’Connor.
Many people of a certain age are discovering their dream of post-retirement travel won’t be realised or will be curtailed because they are not wealthy enough to take out travel insurance, writes Mike O’Connor.
Don’t ever forget how armed police banned us from crossing the border to visit a dying relative as an inept bureaucracy failed spectacularly, writes Mike O’Connor.
OPINION: An Australian prime minister shedding tears in public is not unprecedented. But Anthony Albanese’s ‘lip-quivering performance’ over the Voice to parliament made me suspicious, writes Mike O’Connor.
OPINION: Queensland and other states are complicit in the failed NDIS, which has become a $100m-a-day financial sinkhole, writes Mike O’Connor.
While politicians trade insults, the people of Brisbane suffer for the harsh truth that no one will acknowledge our road system is at breaking point, writes Mike O’Connor.
Portraying successful people to be the bad guys sends the wrong message to emerging generations of Australians, when the message should be financial rewards are honourable goals, writes Mike O’Connor.
OPINION: It’s unlikely changes to super only just occurred to the PM and the Treasurer, so what about that ‘core’ promise before the election, writes Mike O’Connor.
OPINION: It’s difficult to see how adding another level of bureaucracy – the Voice – will achieve a brighter future for young Indigenous people, writes Mike O’Connor.
Some in the Queensland judicial system are failing to protect the innocent from those with absolutely no regard for the law, writes Mike O’Connor.
Now that the Rent-A-Ratbag mob have moved on from Australia Day, what will be the next target of their woke fury? Uh oh, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, warns Mike O’Connor.
Anthony Albanese reckons a failure to pass the Voice referendum would be a lost opportunity to showcase our arrival on the world stage as “a mature nation”, writes Mike O’Connor.
In a year we’ll be glad to see the back of, there was no shortage of absurd moments, writes Mike O’Connor. VOTE IN OUR POLL
I’ve a tip for our leaders. Voters at the next federal election won’t be thinking about net zero emissions, they’ll be thinking about the cost of housing, food, fuel and raising a family, writes Mike O’Connor.
I recently took a wrong turn and suddenly found myself in ‘no man’s land’. That’s right, I’d accidentally crossed over into NSW, writes Mike O’Connor.
When the entire parliament collapses into a giggling heap when a minister announces – smirk, snicker – an inquiry, then we have a serious problem, writes Mike O’Connor.
People are quick to declare Black Lives Matter, but how many Indigenous parents think their children matter, asks Mike O’Connor. VOTE IN OUR POLL
Were the ghosts of those fallen Australians to rise from their graves, what would they think of a French president who sulks, pouts and snarls like a spoilt child when Australia exercises its legal right to terminate a ship-building contract?
The reality is the Queensland border is not really reopening on December 17. It’s a Claytons opening, the one you have when you’re not really having one at all, writes Mike O’Connor.
One tweet has proven once and for all that the ABC now exists in a parallel universe. It’s only a matter of time before the funding tap is turned off, writes Mike O’Connor.
The Queensland Government has been dragged kicking and screaming from its inflexible border policy, writes Mike O’Connor.
Clearly becoming Olympics Chief Poobah is more important than providing some clarity to the five million Queenslanders waiting for the current madness to end, writes Mike O’Connor.
Our political masters wield more power than even Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, and the public is getting sick of being told what to do, writes Mike O’Connor.
I don’t know who is writing their material, but post-Covid-19, a career scripting comedy in Hollywood beckons, says Mike O’Connor.
Our political leaders should receive an Oscar for Best Drama after their performances in State Parliament last week. But where are the tears for these issues, asks Mike O’Connor.
When it comes to finger pointing and blame shifting, our state premiers are in a class of their own and we’ve been forced to endure their fear mongering throughout the pandemic, writes Mike O’Connor.
If only the State Government spent the same energy keeping us safe in our beds at night as it does blaming the Prime Minister and threatening lockdowns, writes Mike O’Connor. VOTE IN OUR POLL
There are many strong opinions relating to the Covid-19 pandemic, but it’s this rather weak lockdown one that really scares me, writes Mike O’Connor.
When our politicians stand up at their daily Covid briefings there’s one horrific number they won’t share with us, writes Mike O’Connor.
It’s been a tough few weeks for the English language – just ask Annastacia Palaszczuk and Jeannette Young, writes Mike O’Connor.
How convenient for Queensland that within 24 hours of NRL families touching down on our soil, the drawbridge with NSW was once again raised, writes Mike O’Connor.
Some employees are being given extra days off because of their race. How does that promote inclusiveness, asks Mike O’Connor.
Forced into home quarantine after being a ‘close contact’ I had the uneasy feeling that QH was making the rules up as they went along. Now I’m siding with the Greens, writes Mike O’Connor.
They’re the new mental health issues that could only be caused by those running Queensland’s Covid-19 response, writes Mike O’Connor. VOTE IN OUR POLL
Either through beliefs, laziness or blind stupidity, some Queenslanders will refuse the vaccine and play Covid Russian roulette instead. But those of us doing the right thing deserve more than the prospect of more lockdowns, writes Mike O’Connor.
Millions of us thought we were saving the planet, but we’ve created a new environmental hazard, writes Mike O’Connor.
As a local business is shut down over a Covid breach, the Premier is gearing up to sit in a packed Suncorp Stadium for the next State of Origin match. What a crock, writes Mike O’Connor.
Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/mike-oconnor/page/2