My mother worked as a servant girl at the station on the Murray where this event took place … She heard it told by the station owner to a guest one night after dinner. Those stations in those days were almost like miniature kingdoms on their own. It is one
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In refusing to introduce acceptable air pollution standards, Australia’s politicians are essentially saying our lives and health do not matter. read now…
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The absorption of solar energy by the earth is getting faster and faster. This is having dramatic effects on the dynamics, chemistry and life of the oceans, and bringing ‘Hothouse Earth’ closer. Over half of residents of the USA are … Continue reading →
read now As we gather here in the Lady Chapel at Newman College, people are gathered in socially distant numbers at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney for the state funeral of Susan Maree Ryan. Susan was a good friend. At the funeral … Continue reading →
read now Mr Shaoquett Moselmane MLC returned to the NSW Parliament on Thursday 22 October 2020 following months of controversy after the Parliamentary Privileges Committee exonerated him and cleared the way for his dignified return to the House. During his return speech … Continue reading →
read now US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo intended to meet his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha on 7 October. But the visit was cancelled after US President Donald Trump contracted Covid-19. He was expected to discuss prospects of South Korea deepening … Continue reading →
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The federal agency that revealed the sports rorts scandal has had its funding cut — again. For the tenth year in a row, the Australian National Audit Office, the agency that brought us the sports rorts affair and revealed that the federal … Continue reading →
read now The new social encyclical of Pope Francis is a cry for those oppressed by poverty, hunger and exclusion, protesting against the injustice in a world with so much wealth. Not surprisingly Francis drew from the parable of the Good Samaritan: … Continue reading →
read now The encyclical aims to promote a universal movement toward fraternity and social friendship grounded in compassionate love, following the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37)….How do we make sense of this in a church that does not regard women … Continue reading →
read now Donald Trump’s re-election campaign poses the greatest threat to American democracy since World War II. Mr. Trump’s ruinous tenure already has gravely damaged the United States at home and around the world. He has abused the power of his office … Continue reading →
read now Pope Francis and his Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith have recently made pronouncements on these life and death issues. The Church’s teaching on the taking of human life has never been particularly coherent. As a religious institution, the … Continue reading →
read now Instead of relying on experienced public health experts with a successful record in finding, containing and isolating people infected with HIV and TB, the government handed the project over to the private sector, pouring great sums of money into the … Continue reading →
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As the U.S. Election competes with COVID-19 to fill our TV screens with doom and gloom, entertainment editor John Turnbull checks out a couple of escapist comedies. read now…
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The role of think tanks and lobby groups in the political landscape is one of the most underestimated in shaping the decision making of leaders and the wider population. read now…
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Watch brands do not tend to circulate as discussion topics in the Australian federal parliament. Time watching is a more functional affair. But Australia Post’s Chief Executive Christine Holgate gave politicians their chance to shine on October 21 in what can only be described as a mauling. In Senate Estimates,
read now By Keith Antonysen There is one thing that those sceptical of human caused climate change get right, they say the climate has always changed. Except, that is not the end of the matter; the irony being for sceptics that greenhouse gases have been the reason for climate changing in the past. Please
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Black lives matter. It’s become a rallying cry for those seeking social and racial justice. These three words express the idea, symbolized by the death of George Floyd, that race defines the fault line fracturing our society. Racism doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It always has an economic context. When
read now Continued from: Of Eugenicists, Oligarchs and Psychopaths (part 4) By Outsider After the second world war, the practice of “imposing measures intended to prevent births within [a national, ethnical, racial or religious] group” fell within the definition of the new international crime of genocide, set out in the Convention on
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The forced removal of a child or children from their parents is indisputably one of the most traumatic events, with long-term effects. read now…
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The Greens had luck running their way. Sometimes everything just comes together: you play the perfect game, cook the perfect meal or make the perfect coffee. In the ACT, the Greens just had the perfect election. They went in aspiring to treble their representation from two members to six in
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The subject of bigotry is fraught with danger and it’s with trepidation that one wanders through the minefield waving their opinion for all to see. read now…
read now What people in other forums are saying about public policy The budget Uninspired, unimaginative and unworthy At his National Press Club Address on 14 October, commenting on Frydenberg’s budget and on the Coalition’s economic policies more generally, Labor’s shadow treasurer … Continue reading →
read now The Prime Minister is never short on confidence, but mostly it borders on arrogance. This was on display in Question Time this week when Scott Morrison tried to defend his lack of progress on a Federal Integrity Commission. “Where the bloody hell is it?“ boomed Albo’s voice last Wednesday during
read now In addition to studying ethics as part of my law degree, I have also served on two university ethics committees, the second one as the required legal member. The material detailing the requirements of those serving on these committees, which has to be read and responsibly applied, should be required
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Read moreOct 24, 2020NewsTime for a haircut and catch-upRick MortonAmong all the hardships of Melbourne’s lengthy Covid-19 lockdown, not being able to get a haircut has been rated by many as one of the most psychologically taxing. With salons now reopened, a palpable sense of purpose and identity is returning
read now Read moreOct 24, 2020NewsVictoria’s hotel quarantine inquiryRoyce KurmelovsWhile Victoria’s hotel quarantine inquiry has been marked by the poor recall of some politicians and senior bureaucrats, the seeds of disaster were likely sown several governments ago.
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Read moreOct 24, 2020NewsFailures of the criminal justice systemMike SeccombeAs politicians play a tough-on-crime game to win votes, pushing Australia’s incarceration rates ever upwards, an initiative led by high-profile patrons aims to reform the justice system and end a narrow-minded reliance on prison sentences.
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Read moreOct 24, 2020NewsProbe into Western Sydney airport land dealKaren MiddletonA scathing audit of the Infrastructure Department’s purchase of land for the Western Sydney airport has led to an AFP investigation. But this is only the latest controversy in a long history of scandals relating to the Badgerys Creek site.
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Read moreOct 24, 2020NewsWhat went wrong inside Australia Post?Rick MortonThe mail carrier’s chief executive has been asked to stand aside after revelations of luxury watches gifted to executives, but the company is facing much deeper crises.
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Thanks to new rules and deft moderating by Kristen Welker, the second presidential debate was nowhere near the debacle of the first, but it still did little to enlighten viewers about the policies and programs each candidate would take into their presidency next year. Like tigers, Trump hasn’t changed his
read now Looking over the events of the last couple of days, I’m trying to decide which one actually tipped the scales to make me realise that I will conclude my reflections on the year with the Deus ex Machina: “And then I woke up and it was all a dream!” In
read now James Shipton, chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, has stood aside after an adverse Audit Office report about $118,557 paid by ASIC on his behalf when he relocated from the US. The Audit Office also found payments of $69,621 for deputy chairman Daniel Crennan, to relocate from Melbourne
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Twelve days from the presidential election, leading American polling analysts at FiveThirtyEight give Joe Biden a ten percentage point lead over Donald Trump, 52.1–42.2. The other leading aggregator, RealClearPolitics, has the race somewhat closer, 50.6–43.0, giving Biden a still-comfortable lead of just under eight points. Neither site has detected anything
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There has never been a better demonstration of how corrupt, complicit and hypocritical government institutions have become in their dealings with China than what has gone down with Crown Casinos, writes Suzanne James.
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Australia’s LNP Government has developed a reliance on the Right-wing Trump Administration as a political model. read now…
read now Iran, Russia and electoral interference. It is all part of the delicious mess that any observer of US politics has come to expect. Were the US body politic capable of being examined on the clinician’s couch, historical fears, psychic disturbances, and a range of unsettling syndromes would be identified. The
read now ‘I am very sorry that these events have occurred. And as you say, this is the third occasion. I am sorry that they have occurred,’ the minister said. The post Payne ‘very sorry’ over DFAT’s accidental disclosure of email addresses appeared first on The Mandarin.
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Published in London in 1975 as a critique of progressive, New Age education and edited by C.B.Cox and Rhodes Boyson, the publication Black Paper 1975 The Fight for Education should be compulsory reading for anyone with an interest or involvement in education and schools. If ever there was a panacea for
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