In-depth analysis of the day’s news, plus stories and gossip from Australian politics.
A letter from COVID jail
I’ve been a very bad girl. I have come home to Australia to be with my husband. I travelled by…
Budget 2020: we need a strict supply side focus to fix this government induced recession
The dictum that “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” rings very true in the run-up to the federal budget.…
Danandrewstan’s new health minister is off to a flying start
Lessons have been learnt — or, as the modern bureaucrat might ask — learnings have been made? Not quite. The…
Clever virus, stupid Premier
For something made in China, Coronavirus is surprisingly good. How else to make sense of the latest non-sensical restrictions aimed…
The hotel quarantine fiasco must damn Dan’s indefinite detention bill
Evidence given at the Hotel Quarantine Inquiry gives no confidence that the government would be able to manage the implementation…
Vale, Giles Auty
It is with great sadness that we must inform SpecOz readers that the wonderful Giles Auty passed away last week…
Proved again: the(ir) ABC couldn’t be more out of touch
Ask anyone sane: there is absolutely no doubt that that episode of ABC’s Q&A was outrageous and unacceptable. You know,…
Our decision making ghosts
When it comes to making decisions, the Victorian hotel quarantine disaster shows neither politicians nor public servants seem to know…
EXCLUSIVE: Coate inquiry asked to investigate union links to hotel quarantine disaster
“I saw nothing. I heard nothing. I know nothing.” This is the recurring theme that has been the hallmark of…
Netball Australia held its Indigenous Round last week. That’s where things started to get interesting…
Netball Australia decided to hold an Indigenous Round last weekend to celebrate diversity and inclusion. What could possibly go wrong?…
Democracy is dead in Danandrewstan
The great wartime British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is attributed with the expression “Indeed it has been said that democracy…
The 2020 Archibald winner and systemic racism
In a year of ongoing global protests involving Black Lives Matter ™, any artwork addressing racial inequality was always going…
Taking out the trash in Victoria: bureaucrats, not just ministers, need to go
Other Victorian Ministers will inevitably soon join Jenny Mikakos on the political scrapheap, but the spotlight should be turned to…
Why we have so much at stake this presidential poll
Outside the United States, few people are as interested in American politics as Australians. Understandably so given our peace and prosperity remain closely tied to America. The…
Brute force cannot defeat COVID-19
Whether it is Daniel Andrews in Victoria, Gladys Berejyklian in New South Wales, Annastacia Palaszczuck in Queensland or the Novocastrian…
When irrelevant is relevant
‘Annus Horribilis’ was how Queen Elizabeth II described 1992, a tough year at the palace. The Latin term means ‘horrible…
‘I realise Everybody wants to point the finger at Somebody but it was Anybody’s guess how these decisions were made and the fact is that Nobody knew’
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews has insisted that Nobody made the decision to hire private security guards used in the state’s…
Crime’s up, but what about VicPol’s success against recalcitrant grannies and outspoken pregnant women?
Criminals have been busy committing crimes while Victorian Police have been busy keeping people who have committed no crime locked…
Australia is fed up watching premiers engage in bondage-play with the free market
When a nation has as many public servants as there are genders, you’d bank on a few geniuses being mixed…
Inside the federal by-election you may not have heard about
Due to the impending Queensland state election, there has been little discussion about the federal seat of Groom, which is…
LISTEN: They’re now talking about Daniel Andrews’ Omnibus Bill in Sydney too
Ian Hanke spoke with Michael McLaren on Sydney’s 2GB last night about his Spectator Australia exclusives on Daniel Andrews egregious…
Priorities, priorities. Please welcome Victoria’s first Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner
In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Victorian Government last week decided to announce the appointment of the first…
Politicians are chipping away at our democracy. What will be left for the next generation?
It is reasonable to say that young people, in this country, are entitled to feel apprehensive over how Australia is…
No news, but the ABC is still serving up the soft and gooey guff
The ABC ended its 7.45 am main morning radio news broadcasts this week, a punishment for the public for not…
No end to the NBN nonsense
The latest skirmish has erupted in the never-ending, highly partisan, NBN civil war. The NBN was a disaster at the…
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