In-depth analysis of the day’s news, plus stories and gossip from Australian politics.
The Peter Ridd case is too important to be left to the courts
A lot rides on the case of Ridd v JCU, which was heard last Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in the High…
The woke patriarchy
The hyperbole of progressive feminism has provided a lot of fodder for conservative commentators. Just the mention of the “patriarchy”…
Laurel Hubbard is just a symptom of new chilling attacks on free speech in New Zealand
Individuals seem born with a basic sense of fair play, and perceiving hard-working, well-deserving or brave individuals treated unjustly inevitably rankles. So condemnation of the New Zealand Olympic…
A turning point on cancel culture?
“There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no…
Forget the virus. We should be panicked by lost productivity
The very definition of harmful advice is found in the Treasury’s five yearly Intergenerational Report, the latest edition of which…
What did a poobah of public health just say?
Excuse me? Excuse me? What did Queensland’s poobah of public health (and governor to be) Jeannette Young say today? Really…
Is WorkSafe Victoria grossly incompetent – or is something else going on?
We need to ask: Is WorkSafe Victoria grossly incompetent or is something else going on? Yesterday, June 29, 2021 was…
Vaccine segregation is an affront to liberty
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, supported by state premiers and territory chief ministers, is set to make the coronavirus vaccination mandatory…
Good Jon bad
Here’s an old writers trick that doesn’t involve moving to Tunisia and becoming a dope fiend. If you don’t want to say…
Tough love: NSW Lockdown 2.0 is very wrong
A regular series of rules for life by Pete Shmigel, a former senior state and federal political advisor and CEO…
Six steps ScoMo must make to take control of the Covid agenda
Australia’s current WuFlu situation is not dire in world terms, yet from the reactions of federal, state and territory governments,…
Like the mighty Murray, Covid public policy insanity never runs dry
Here we go again. Let us sip once again, dear fellow citizens, from the bottomless well of public policy insanity…
Digital darkness: the third apocalypse
Humanity is only ever one blackout away from the caves. The more advanced and complicated a civilisation, the easier it…
Covid cavaliers forget the elderly
#GladysClusterFukup was trending on Twitter yesterday. That was no surprise. Like most of Twitter, it was driven by malice. But…
REVEALED: Inside the Dark Emu Wiki Wars
Readers may remember my abortive undercover mission in the People’s Republic of Wikipedia, specifically in the Protectorate of Dark Emu. …
The procrastination pandemic
It’s a dreary day again for Sydneysiders, who face a fortnight of lockdown, maybe more. That’s despite the best efforts…
Blade Runner 2021?
After all the lurid lies and speculation about Daniel Andrews’ stumble down those stairs, have we been missing the truly…
The West is Red?
Just who really runs Western Australia? How long will it be until some Sam Dastyari-style scandal emerges in the state’s…
Dishonesty, thy name is Leftie
Now that two well-credentialed academics acceptable to the left have debunked Bruce Pascoe’s blindly acclaimed ‘history’ book Dark Emu as…
Jacinta Price: now for the real challenges
Jacinta Price has won the top spot on the Country Liberal Party’s Senate house ticket and, if usual electoral patterns…
Meet the Irukandji jellyfish: deadlier than coronavirus
The Irukandji jellyfish, Wikipedia tells us, are any of several similar, extremely venomous species of box jellyfish. with a very…
Don’t burn the budget. Bring back the firesticks
New South Wales Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has announced the latest fix for our bushfire problems. Unsurprisingly it involves big spending.…
Getting Ridd of junk science
As the High Court judges retire to consider the Science Case of the Year, Peter Ridd v James Cook University,…
Why don’t we hear about the $40,000 per household cost of decarbonisation?
The Irish Times reports that an IMF study of Ireland estimates that the nation will need to spend 20 billion euros a…
When can conservatives disobey the law?
The great English novelist Charles Dickens, based on his experiences, had a very dark view of lawyers and the legal…
