Daniel Andrews was not a political genius
I have heard commentators from all kinds of political positions commenting that the retiring Premier of Victoria was a person…
From hopelessness to heartlessness: the vibe seems so hollow
We are not yet halfway through the run-up to the referendum on the Voice to Parliament, and already many of…
Illiterate, innumerate, and scared: be disappointed, but not surprised
Why would anyone be surprised at the latest NAPLAN results? Yes, they are disappointing, but the amount of hand-wringing expressed…
Socialists have made the left deaf to reason
There may be a reason why Anthony Albanese and his ministers do not answer questions about their signature policies, even…
From unsettled to unhinged
Judith Sloan has decided to name our Minister for Climate Change and Energy, ‘B1’. I prefer to think of Chris…
Albanese’s Voice tears the heart from Australian politics
It was W.B. Yeats, after the first world war, who wrote his poem that contained the phrase, ‘The centre cannot…
Teachers cannot teach what they do not know
Well, here we are with another review of teaching. Australia has itself a bit of déjà vu with a well-meaning…
Twin evils
Divorced from Christianity, our leaders devalue our humanity
Character, not category
We have lost ground on what good character means. It is because it has become harder and harder to know…
Putting the ‘artificial’ in intelligence: the morality of the digital mind
Artificial intelligence is, well, artificial. And the use of ‘intelligence’ in this label is a misnomer. AI machines cannot think.…
I am what I am – a family man
‘I am what I am – a family man. Mother, father, brother.’ Fleetwood Mac, 1987. Are we allowed to say…
The supremacy of feelings
We now have various psychological contexts being determined under regulation in Australia. One example is the workplace, which has changed…
False money, false budget, false hope
Even before the Budget is given, we know it is false. That is because too much of the money on…
Help? What’s that?
I have found myself sitting in gutters a number of times in my counselling psychology career. There is some kind…
A voice of emotion, not reason – of judgment, not mercy
We humans have always been emotional. It is part of who we are as self-conscious beings. But the use of…
The devolution of Western teaching
The National Curriculum is broken. So too is the profession of instruction and teaching. Each new Education Minister – be…
The psychology of moral evasion
I heard the term ‘severe climate anxiety’ again today. It was reportedly used as a defence to help someone achieve…
Can teaching be politically neutral?
Are people involved in a spiritual enterprise when they think, and therefore, when they teach? This might seem a far-fetched…
The Prime Minister is right – and very wrong
Recently, the Prime Minister of Australia has been heard regularly professing, ‘There is enough information about the Voice out there…
There’s a hole in the bucket
Do you know the song, There’s a hole in the bucket dear Liza, dear Liza? ‘Song’ might be too strong…
A (desperate) town called ‘Alice’
The video records of what is happening in Australia’s red centre are disturbing at so many levels. This is a…
Mothers like mine
We said goodbye to my mother last week. We committed her body and then celebrated her life. As I thought…
Happy Energophobia!
It is the New Year season, so I thought we should celebrate around something that will be common to all…
Therapeutic justice: the unreligion of our age
I am not a lawyer, but if I take at face value the description of a number of cases in…
Victoria’s eyes
I recently had the experience of engaging with two Victorias. It was not planned – indeed, both ‘acquaintances’ were well…
