Independent Commentary > John Menadue >
The Australian economy has been stagnating for the last five years, with annual GDP growth averaging only 2½ per cent, and only 1¾ per cent for the last four quarters ending last September. This compares poorly with trend GDP growth in the past at an annual rate of 3½ per
read now For much of the last 30 years, New Zealand has been one of Australia’s top source countries for migrants. But since 2013-14 Australia seems to have lost its attraction to Kiwis. This is largely explained by the relative strength of the two countries’ labour market. At the 2016 Census,
read now I have a rotten cold. My eyes are watering, my head is pounding and I can’t stop sneezing. Normally I would get plenty of rest and fluids and just wait it out. This time it’s different. This is Hong Kong in the middle of the Covid 19 threat. The first
read now WHY does Peter Dutton and the Home Affairs Department need more high -tech powers when the real problem of sex abuse is in the home? But if cases of on-line access to international child-sex abuse materials, were but a drop in the ocean compared with the number and networks
read now Australian politics is too white. It is less diverse than comparable countries such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada. This is embarrassing. We cannot be “the most successful multicultural society in the world”, as former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull wrote, if our institutions do not reflect Australia’s
read now The idea that the pressures of patient care cause doctors to withdraw from direct clinical work has been in the background of my observations of my colleagues and their work since the 1970s. Dear colleague, Through your career you will interact with patients and you will see through them,
read now The principal resigned, his deputy stood aside, but apparently the school board knew nothing. ABC Four Corners recently aired a comprehensive report in which it stated: “A top Catholic boys’ school is facing accusations of a culture of cover-up, after revelations its principal and dean of sport gave references
read now Sundry crime bodies in the home affairs portfolio, operating in the new co-ordinated mode, are proving indefatigable in their search for extra powers to conduct cyber warfare against Australian criminals.Mike Pezzullo, Secretary of Home Affairs, his minister, Peter Dutton, the Australian Federal Police are as ever framing their argument on
read now One is tempted to suggest that all Australians travelling abroad should have a warning attached to their passports: “if you do anything to upset the Americans, don’t expect our help.” The common law system, which is a description of the law that applies, inter alia, in the United Kingdom, United
read now Each time Scott Morrison scandalises or shocks Australians with a new low in parliamentary, or Prime Ministerial standards, he is likely to completely blank any questions asked, or to make some sort of ‘take it or leave it’ rejoinder to the questioner, especially if the questioner is from the press.
read now Bruce Pascoe’s book Dark Emu (2018) has given a recent jolt to the declining History Wars and has invigorated some conservative commentators and writers to disagree with his conclusions (Marks 2020; Morton 2019). Having worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for decades I am inclined to agree
read now An imminent anniversary will be a painful reminder for a man who grew up as a quiet and studious person and who once had looked forward to a comfortable life as an ophthalmologist. Instead he finds himself a reviled figure soaked in the blood of tens of thousands of his
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