Burdens of proof and blatant bias
The non-lawyer readers of this fine publication may not be aware of a key premise (really it is a trade-off…
Classic whodunnit
How many readers know the answer to the question, ‘After the Bible and Shakespeare, who is the biggest selling author…
Conserve what?
If, like me, you are a small government, strong borders and national defence, lots of free speech and as little…
New Year’s musings
Love me do I think we all understand how ‘user pays’ works. Say you go to the local municipal swimming…
Australian notes
Compare and contrast So it’s coming up to a year since one Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president…
Australian notes
The Textorising of the right Let me make a confession, one that should you utter it out loud would mark…
Australian notes
The Bennelong bedwetter Some say that this innovative and agile Team Turnbull government continues to go from strength to strength.…
Even worse in WA
We all know that the Liberal party MPs are in a world of pain. The polls are diabolical. Political death…
Australian notes
John Howard and the black hand It is not particularly far-fetched to claim that the Liberal Party is in big…
Trump notes
Lefties on their knees Just when you thought political life in the United States simply could not become more polarised,…
Why Turnbull cannot be English
There is a school of thought that Malcolm Turnbull can still salvage his leadership of the Liberal Party here in…
The Senate is dysfunctional
Look across the entire democratic world and you will notice that some countries have only one legislative chamber. New Zealand…
Coming soon to a campus near you
If you are not worried about the state of free enquiry in universities around the Anglosphere then you are probably…
Bottom drawer
Deep in the bowels of the Australian Safe Schools Supporters (ASSS) headquarters, a planning session was taking place. All those…
Australian notes
On Noel and Richo Last week in the Australian Noel Pearson wrote a piece responding to Graham Richardson’s earlier claim…
I believe the children are our future?
What do German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon,…
A politically incorrect three-point plan for government
Same-sex marriage off the agenda? Here is my politically incorrect list of what any right-of-centre political party in Australia needs…
Australian notes
Sensible centre is for suckers I am going to point to the US, the UK and modern mainstream protestant…
Gillian Triggs: the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth
In today’s Australian Chris Kenny has a wholly accurate piece on Gillian Triggs. Kenny sets out the ways in which Triggs…
Australian notes
On expertise The Wealth of Nations, by the Scottish Enlightenment thinker Adam Smith, is a great book. When you read…
The crucial left/right divide
Forget all the recent talk about labels and who gets to wear the tag of ‘centrist’ or ‘liberal’ or ‘conservative’…
Australian notes
Malleable expectations Gary Johns is a fellow Speccie contributor. He’s also a friend. In fact, next month my wife and…
The black hands of Liberalism
Somewhere near Liberal Party HQ the comrades of the Black Hand gathered to discuss their next move in the overthrow…
Australian notes
The new aristocrats Listen these days to some of the world’s elite politicians, commentators and officials pontificate and you’d think…
Turnbull’s twilight urgatory
‘I Told You So!’. These are not words that listeners usually enjoy hearing. In fact, if you’re looking for a…