In-depth analysis of the day’s news, plus stories and gossip from Australian politics.
What would happen if church schools closed?
I’m told, on good authority, that bed-time stories in the house of some school principals include a retelling, in hushed…
Baby blues
This is a story about a senior media figure and a younger woman who discovered, perhaps to her dismay, that…
Pardoning the Breaker is unpardonable
There is an awful lot of ignorance about the English-born mercenary Henry Harbord Morant. Morant was executed for murder in…
Richard Di Natale turns pestersome popinjay
The Greek historian, Thucydides, who lived through the Peloponnesian wars, wrote that: “The bravest are surely those who have the…
Screwing the crew
If politics is, as some maintain, Hollywood for ugly people, then lots of ugly people are having lots and lots…
The Green-left’s war against Jim Molan
The Greens are a party without principle or common sense. They’ve proved their lack of seriousness by their attack this…
Barnaby Joyce and the return of the scarlet letter
With all the grubby reporting of a private matter between two consenting adults, the media pack, led by the Daily…
Ten non-religious reasons against euthanasia
I have, in awe, seen a husband caring for his young wife—and their four children—in the last months of her…
Tanks on the streets
Trump sure as hell knows how to stir up the left: President Trump has asked the Pentagon to explore holding “a celebration”…
The rule of law also applies to law processes
George Brandis’s parting shot in his valedictory speech to the parliament over his concern that ‘attacks upon the institutions of…
Is honour killing a “peopleslaughter”?
Oh Canada! Your Celebrity-in-Chief, Prime Minister Justin Castro, er, Trudeau, continues to deliver. Mostly laughs, though often you don’t know…
No, you’re not transphobic
Whatever your views are on transgender issues, chances are, you’re not transphobic. Real transphobia involves irrational behaviour and denies trans…
Why not a flat tax?
Progressive taxation has been the default position of both major parties in Australia for decades, to the point where the…
Euthanasia and elder abuse
A friendly senior doctor from a large hospital, Chris, told me he thought the introduction of euthanasia is inevitable –…
Private schools aren’t only for the rich
Every time data is released about enrolment numbers in public and private schools, it’s closely followed by a chorus of…
Life imitates Harry Potter
It’s not just that no one talks about government debt anymore – no one thinks about it either: It was another…
The polls bell for thee, Malcolm
The Prime Minister is deeply unpopular with much of the Liberal Party base, pundits keep telling us, yet he is…
Lucy Gichuhi will be a boon to the party of Menzies
In a 1943 wartime broadcast on social security, Robert Menzies told the country that “there are amazing possibilities in every…
The “offended” are merely being challenged
When discussing matters of free speech and offence, it is first necessary to draw a distinction between what is hate…
Is Lyle Shelton our Jacob Rees-Mogg?
So, Lyle Shelton has decided to become the federal communications director for the Australian Conservatives, and not, as The Sydney…
The three most important stories in Australia this morning
According to the ABC, these were the three top news stories when your correspondent logged on this morning: It’s amazing…
Ex-govvie furniture – quality checked
Canberrans are used to buying ‘ex-govvie’, from houses (not much on the market now) to pre-used chairs, desks, PCs, whiteboards and filing…
The AMA’s double standard on standards
The Australian Medical Association is a very curious beastie. It is like a three-year-old child. It only hears what it…
Stop funding schools, start funding students
For some time now, debate over educational funding has revolved around the Australian Labor Party promising schools more money, and…
Jordan Peterson’s psycho-religious heresy
Cathy Newman’s train wreck of an interview with Jordan Peterson could well be one of the defining moments in how…