The Coalition’s vindictive legal campaign reveals its contempt for democratic rights and shows how easily prosecution can slide into persecution. The criminal prosecution of former ACT attorney-general Bernard Collaery is a perversion of justice. The Morrison government has spent more than $3 million on conducting a case that should never

In letters to the editor this week: Labor’s policy vacuum, how Australia is (not) handling climate change, the value of independent political candidates. Bob McMullan ruffled some feathers this week with his piece arguing that, in fact, the current Labor opposition has a good deal of policy out there. We

The ease with which the  protections of Australians from healthcare fraud can be breached can only be described as disgraceful, writes John Dwyer. We can all be grateful to the ABC’s Four Corners program for detailing the harmful, indeed quite horrific malpractice of a ”cosmetic surgeon” who caused so much

Australia’s abstention from a United Nations vote on protection of natural resources in Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights from Israeli exploitation has been condemned.  Australia was one of 14 UN members to abstain from the vote, which passed 157 to seven. The negative votes were cast by

The rejection of ethical and accountability standards that is undermining our political system has left voters cynical: here’s a package of reforms that will restore trust and protect our democracy. We are facing a national integrity crisis in which the routine abuse of power, the rejection of ethical standards and

Voter trust in the major political parties is virtually non-existent — independent candidates can restore the grassroots values that have been abandoned. Most voters are now so disenchanted with politics that they avoid identifying with the major parties. There is no trust in parties that have branches of minimal size