Flat White

In-depth analysis of the day’s news, plus stories and gossip from Australian politics.

Who’s f–king whom at the Department of Environment and Energy?

4 October 2017 12:32 pm

The Department of Environment and Energy – a strange marriage if ever there was one! It would seem one of…

Waiting for Winston

4 October 2017 7:25 am

On the south side of the Ditch we’re living in The Present, a time that American poet Billy Collins identified…

The Greens for sale

3 October 2017 12:00 pm

EXCLUSIVE You’re a political party who appears to have reached – gratuitous Club of Rome reference – the limits of…

What’s happened to the university?

3 October 2017 7:37 am

Many people are likely to have had a lightbulb moment that made them realise our universities are in trouble. Over…

Same-sex marriage and PVO and his army of straw men

2 October 2017 7:39 am

Peter Van Onselen is a timely reminder that the ‘academic aristocracy’ is alive well in our land. He recently tried…

Ten things we should be talking about instead of same-sex marriage

30 September 2017 10:08 am

It was with great lack of joy that I came back from five weeks in Europe to find out that…

A better cause than Marie Stopes

29 September 2017 4:00 pm

Yesterday abortion provider Marie Stopes Australia announced that it “is searching for “brave philanthropists” to bankroll a $3 million fund for women…

Beaches, blood and the balance of nature: the great white debate

29 September 2017 2:00 pm

Environmentalists probably don’t realise that they anthropomorphise nature. But academics like Christopher Neff should know better. He designed a survey,…

Loved to death

29 September 2017 11:34 am

Last week, the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017 was introduced before the Legislative Council of New South Wales. In one…

Hanson’s the only hope for family court reform

28 September 2017 4:31 pm

It sounded like good news at first. Attorney General George Brandis announced he’s commissioned a review of the family law…

Where are the equality campaigners on liberty?

28 September 2017 2:45 pm

A churchgoing driver getting harassed on his way to a meeting, a young woman losing her job over her stance…

Trump, Otto Warmbier and the left’s sick loss of sanity

28 September 2017 11:31 am

If anyone is looking for definitive proof that loopy loony lefties have lost it, here you are. Centre of the…

Why Turnbull cannot be English

28 September 2017 7:24 am

There is a school of thought that Malcolm Turnbull can still salvage his leadership of the Liberal Party here in…

North Hobart’s village idiot

27 September 2017 8:06 pm

Opportunities to undermine the state can’t present themselves too often in a place like North Hobart, so it’s hardly surprising…

There’s nothing to celebrate in the revised budget deficit

27 September 2017 5:04 pm

Treasurer Scott Morrison yesterday announced that the Commonwealth budget deficit has reduced by $4.4 billion from the forecasted budget in…

Bill and Penny’s excellent (Korean) adventure

27 September 2017 12:41 pm

Bill and Penny are going to Korea! What fun ! Even better – they didn’t have to pay for their…

We must not forget the fundamentals of free markets

27 September 2017 7:20 am

The twentieth century taught us enough about the limits to government intervention that the Australian energy market debacle — a…

Their ABC: “Vote ‘no’; you’re thick”

26 September 2017 4:10 pm

Remember that “respectful, balanced and impartial” ABC reporting of the same-sex marriage plebiscite we were talking about yesterday? There’s an update.…

If corporations care so much about diversity and inclusion, they should hire older workers

26 September 2017 1:06 pm

It has become fashionable for corporations to promote diversity and inclusion, but if they cared about being inclusive, they would…

18c: the process is still the punishment

26 September 2017 7:32 am

Despite the federal government’s amendments earlier this year, the process is still the punishment under section 18C of the Racial…

Respectful, sure — but balanced and impartial?

25 September 2017 5:00 pm

It was only last month that ABC staff were officially warned by editorial policy manager Mark Maley  “now that the government…

Bill English shows Malcolm Turnbull how to win

25 September 2017 12:01 pm

As counting closed on New Zealand’s election night, the main focus of Kiwi commentators was on the performance of Labour…

Transgressing the Law

25 September 2017 7:25 am

Have you seen the old American TV cop show where Detective Joe Friday calms the person he is interviewing with…

Behaviour goes to character in the same-sex marriage debate

24 September 2017 2:00 pm

“A question or topic such as this should be considered based on its own meaning, value and consequences, and not…

Robbing new citizens of their Day

22 September 2017 3:30 pm

Last week the City of Moreland became the third Victorian council to cancel their Australia Day celebrations. The City of…