In-depth analysis of the day’s news, plus stories and gossip from Australian politics.
Will we follow the EU’s attacks on web freedom?
The European Parliament’s decision to approve two articles in the name of copyright protection sets a worrying precedent for our…
Boys won’t be boys
In the Oxford dictionary, the word ‘erasure’ is defined as: The act of removing or destroying something. (Synonyms of erasure…
Sorry Yassmin, but the market for Muslim moaners just got more crowded
It seems that the “young Muslim refugee woman with head covered who bags her adopted country and gets lionised for…
Do you feel triggered, snowflake?
The 2018 university environment is held hostage by political correctness and an Orwellian sense of authoritarianism and censorship. The long-purported…
Hunt finally sees sense on vaping
It took a while, but yesterday there was a strange burst of rationality from the ship of fools also known…
Red shoes, chat groups and #MeToo blinkers
Apparently at some point while many of us were expecting politicians to be running the country they were busying themselves…
Aussie breasts spoil Deutsche fest
Is it still cultural appropriation when we do it to the people responsible for World Wars I and II? Whatever: Oktoberfest,…
Are multinationals now more powerful than the nation state?
If you look outside your window, the world is telling us that neoliberal globalisation has transferred too much power from…
Media botch: The Guardian, The Wiggles — and The Age relies on London to report Melbourne news
Another week in the death of Australian media is off to a strong start. Indeed, it could barely be better.…
When education is a waste of time and money
Think back to university or high school. Were you or your classmates ever left bored or wondering whether one of…
Tinker, tailor, Downer, spy?
It is a great pity that the Australian Senate does not have the same sort of inquisitorial role that the…
Bullying a child isn’t political debate
My great-grandfather, Hugh de Largie was a Labor senator in Australia’s first parliament. He followed Prime Minister Billy Hughes out…
It’s all over for Tony Abbott. Allegedly all over…
Updated: 7:30 pm, September 17 It’s all over for Tony Abbott — or so they claim. Fairfax boy wonder Bevan…
In praise of Peter King
When the news broke that Peter King would seek preselection for his old seat, there was a brief prospect of…
The camera never lies, but Fairfax does
For once, the idiot children at The Age appeared to have a pretty good story this week. They didn’t even…
The non-spy who didn’t shag me
Oh, not to be young and Russian in Washington DC. Politico reports: Nothing prepared the young Russians of Washington for the wintry…
Listen: The full recording of The Anglo-Australian Forum
In a day full of laughs and vibrant, honest debate, a stellar panel explored the trade, political and cultural bonds…
Tiberius on Twitter
So now we know what really motivates Malcolm Turnbull. His tweets from far away New York make it very clear:…
Abortion and the Deep South
In one of the many forgotten decisive moments in the history of the United States of America, the question of…
No basis in bias science
News that the Australian Taxation Office has been running unconscious bias training courses raises the question: why are taxpayers footing the bill…
A Christian’s advice to Christians about our Christian PM
I received an email with suggestions from Scott Morrison’s former pastor to all Australian Christians. I don’t know their name…
Watch: the fun and highlights of Andrew Neil with Nigel Farage, Tony Abbott and John Howard in Sydney
It was a sparkling Sydney harbour that greeted guests at the second Spectator Anglo-Australian Forum. A wonderful crowd of Speccie…
Deep State Downer?
“Russiagate” has its genesis in a strange meeting in London in May 2016 between the then junior policy adviser on…
What religious protections?
When Senator Matt Canavan addressed a conference hosted by the Australian Christian Lobby following the same-sex marriage plebiscite in 2017,…
The inequality storm in a teacup
The idea that economic inequality is a problem — and an increasing one — demanding public policy remedies has taken…