A farewell to our summer (of cricket) we once knew
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Category: Independent Commentary
Recent Independent Commentary
Coronial inquest finds no one to blame for David Dungay Jnr’s death in custody
Indigenous rightsJonathan LockhartRachel EvansIssue 1246AustraliaBlack deaths in custodySydneyNovember 22, 2019Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee found on November 22 that no one was to blame for the death of Dungatti man David Dungay Jnr, who died in the Long Bay Prison Hospital in 2015, and recommended no charges or sanctions against the
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Climate action: Why only the most radical approach will work
ClimateDave HolmesIssue 1246AustraliaNovember 22, 2019The climate crisis is the greatest threat ever faced by humanity. The survival of the human race is at stake. The reality of the heating of the planet can no longer rationally be denied. Carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise. The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide is
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We need a just climate transition
ClimateMeghan StreetIssue 1246AustraliaNovember 22, 2019The climate movement has to take up the issues of refugees, war and global inequality to ensure a just climate for all. The climate crisis is generating instability and a scarcity of resources via rising sea levels and more intense and extreme weather events, such as floods,
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Fighting for social change in a time of climate crisis
ClimatecapitalismJacob AndrewarthaIssue 1246AustraliaNovember 22, 2019As the climate crisis pushes the planet past certain tipping points, inequality between the rich and the poor continues to grow. At the same time, we are also witnessing a resurgence in protests and resistance. In September, more than 4 million people in about 150 countries
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More Independent Commentary
Still no justice for Patrick Fisher
Indigenous rightsJonathan LockhartIssue 1246AustraliaBlack deaths in custodySydneyNovember 22, 2019Waka Waka man Patrick Fisher fell to his death while fleeing police trying to gain entry to his girlfriend’s apartment on February 7 last year. A father of three, Fisher fell from the 13th floor balcony of a housing block in Waterloo, Sydney.
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Water for Rivers group formed in Newcastle
environmentKerry SmithIssue 1246AustraliaWater For RiversNewcastleNovember 22, 2019A new grassroots group, Water for Rivers, has been set up in Newcastle with the aim of raising awareness about the causes of about the dire situation in the Murray Darling Basin and helping to bring life back to the rivers. The group follows
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Netanyahu and Packer: the bromance that could bring down a PM
Benjamin Netanyahu and James Packer’s friendship is once more under the microscope following criminal charges brought against the Israeli PM. The post Netanyahu and Packer: the bromance that could bring
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Through the Yellow Looking Glass: Australia’s China Wars
This year, China as Intimidating Monster has become the popular motif in Canberra circles. Australian government members Andrew Hastie and Senator James Paterson have become vigorous moral, if hollow enthusiasts. Their criticism of China has led to the revocation of visas to the country, something that has given reason to
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Remembering US-funded state terror in Central America
Amid a year of important anniversaries, a forgotten massacre in Salvador reminds us of the danger state-sanctioned terror. The post Remembering US-funded state terror in Central America appeared first on
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Lambie sells out her voters
If Lambie is purporting to represent the non-elites, and Tasmania, and especially northern Tasmania, then hobbling union power is a hell of a way to go about it. The post
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Gina Rinehart wants her own personal G20 filled with farming friends
Sounds like fun… The post Gina Rinehart wants her own personal G20 filled with farming friends appeared first on Crikey.
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Westpac has crossed the Rubicon
Even within the frame of our lowered faith in the banking sector, Westpac’s alleged 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering laws may be a bridge too far. The post Westpac
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Rupert denies deniers, but no one told The Oz
Rupert says there are no climate deniers at News Corp. Just don’t read The Australian… The post Rupert denies deniers, but no one told The Oz appeared first on Crikey.
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Getting the first woman to the moon by 2024 needs diversity: NASA’s Dr Christyl Johnson
NASA’s Dr Christyl Johnson has told a Sydney audience of startups, investors and innovators about the power of diversity in innovation, sharing why it will be key to space exploration and ultimately the future of the planet. Noting NASA’s ambitions to get the first woman and next man on the
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Is Trial by Kyle soon to face its judgement day?
Meanwhile The Front Bar, rebranding as a cricket show, won the night for Seven in more ways than one. The post Is Trial by Kyle soon to face its
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Home Affairs has more important things to do than comply with the FOI Act: Michael Pezzullo
Complying with the Freedom of Information Act is a second-order priority for the Minister and the Department of Home Affairs, according to secretary Michael Pezzullo, who thinks his FOI team’s performance is “commendable” considering the limited resources it has to work with. The secretary will not allocate more resources to
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‘Sham’ deals and dodgy donations take focus in IBAC investigation
A major inquiry in Victoria has heard a former MP had delivered hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cash to a local councillor on behalf of a property developer. The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission has been investigating corruption allegations in Melbourne’s City of Casey council in a number of
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I’m not his wife, I’m an MP
Earlier this week, we published a piece from founder Kathryn Van Kuyk, who shared her experience of being overlooked as her male co-founder’s ‘plus one’ at a tech conference. It struck a nerve. Below South Australian MP Paula Luethen writes about similar experiences she’s had in politics. As a new
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Kevin Rudd writes…
‘We on the centre-left who are committed to climate action have never let up on this fight.’ The post Kevin Rudd writes… appeared first on Crikey.
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The Regulatory Enemies of Promise
One disturbing factor regarding the Australian economy is its sluggish growth. Per capita growth was negative in 2018/9 and has not had a sustained run above 2 per cent since the pre-2007 Howard/Costello years. The key drivers of growth are capital investment (with its associated technological gains) and freedom
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Liberals hide behind PTSD to justify their military fetish
The government is using veterans’ PTSD to justify a wasteful expansion of the War Memorial in the name of military glorification. The post Liberals hide behind PTSD to justify their
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Why New Zealand courts should take poverty into account in sentencing decisions
An analysis of some of the most serious cases of financial fraud in New Zealand shows white-collar offenders received discounted sentences despite a range of aggravating factors. from www.shutterstock.com, CC BY-NDA Court of Appeal decision in New Zealand set a precedent last month, allowing offenders to argue their drug addiction
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We need to put money into promoting women in STEM: Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull has declared the slow pace of women studying computer science and engineering is a “big conundrum” facing Australia. Speaking at StartCon 2019 today in Sydney, the former Australian prime minister said that more money needs to be put behind promoting women in STEM. ______ Check out The STEM
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NT ICAC tries to reassure community of independence, ends up accused of bias
The decision of Northern Territory Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Ken Fleming to step aside from a review related to the alleged murder of Kumanjayi Walker by a police officer demonstrates how hard it is for such bodies to maintain an air of genuine independence. This week the commissioner stepped aside
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Don’t expect anything to change in the broken banking sector
Crikey readers respond to recent revelations of transgressions by Westpac, and question whether we’ll ever see the effects of the banking royal commission (or even an adequate response from the
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ANU Policy Forum turns five
The Australian National University’s Asia & the Pacific Policy Society has relaunched its leadership team in celebration of its policy blog’s five-year anniversary. Professor Helen Sullivan has been appointed president of the society, replacing Professor Tom Kompas. Sullivan will be assisted by the convenor, Professor Quentin Grafton. Run by ANU’s
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All the things you don’t want to miss in Sydney this Christmas Season
Heading to Sydney over the next month or so? You’re in for a treat. The sunny city will be at its most spectacular as the Christmas season gets into full swing. Below we have a complete guide of things to do. First up, you’ll be needing to stretch your legs
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Has our “himpathy” for powerful abusers finally been exhausted?
In her 2017 book, “Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny” Cornell philosophy professor Kate Manne coined a new term, “himpathy”. Like “mansplaining” and “manspreading” before it, other new words that entered the feminist lexicon giving women a word for something they long experienced but struggled to articulate, himpathy was quickly
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Opinion: almost four in 10 government entities fail to implement basic cyber security measures — six years after they became mandatory
The latest Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) compliance report confirms that the Morrison government has fallen asleep at the wheel when it comes to cybersecurity, with almost 40% of government entities still not implementing basic cybersecurity measures. The report was released last week, but the federal government is hoping you didn’t
read now Albanese promises a ‘productivity project’ in an economic vision statement harking back to Hawke and Keating
Anthony Albanese puts a “productivity project” at the centre of his economic agenda in the second of his “vision statements”, which seeks to further distance him from the Shorten era. “Productivity is the key to economic growth, international competitiveness and, ultimately, rising living standards underpinned in large part by long-term,
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DAVID SOLOMON. The climate strikes.
The political consensus on climate change is changing – has already changed. Prime Minister Scott Morrison knows it, but is in an awful, strangling bind. He knows he has to adopt policies that recognise climate change and will help alleviate its impact (all the while remaining reluctant to join those
read now RAMESH THAKUR. The invisibility of Asian–Australians is a national scandal. The silence on this scandal is a disgrace
As I read through the opinion articles in The Canberra Times and The Australian on Saturday 9 November, I grew increasingly exasperated at the total absence of any Asian voice. I then did an online search of opinion articles in the Fairfax media (The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald), plus
read now MICHAEL KELLY SJ. What is to become of us?
I used to think I was part of a religion founded by Jesus Christ. The older I’ve got and the more I’ve come to know Jesus, the more I’m convinced I got that wrong and have outgrown it. Not that pressure to keep up religious appearances is flagging. It is
read now ALI KAZAK. The UN exposes Australia’s shameful votes on the Israeli occupation.
The UN General Assembly’s decolonization committee, which includes all 193 member states, on Friday 15th November 2019 adopted eight resolutions condemning Israel’s occupation and violations against the Palestinians, its repressive measures against Syrian citizens in the Golan Heights, renewed the mandate of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and
read now DAVID MARR. Blood, brains and foul murder: evidence of Australia’s massacres is in its newspapers (The Guardian, 17 November 2019)
We’re only human. We hang on to lies that comfort us. A big consoling lie that still hangs around this history of slaughter and dispossession is that we can’t apply the outlook of the 21st century to killings on the frontier. Tell that to those who denounced the crimes as
read now GEOFF RABY. Beijing’s Own Goal on Hastie and Johnson (Australian Financial Review, 21 November 2019)
These days there is never a dull moment in Australia-China relations. After a seeming slight thaw with the recent meeting between Prime Minister Morrison and Premier LI Keqiang in Thailand on the margins of the recent ASEAN meeting, Beijing has now spectacularly kicked an own-goal. The decision to deny Parliamentarians
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ASIO’s very own call-out culture
Good morning, early birds. A former ASIO director is urging Chinese-Australians to assist security agencies in weeding out Chinese interference, and the immigration minister wants to help new refugees adjust
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