Flat White

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

The people versus Milo Yiannopoulos

28 February 2017 2:47 pm

The furore surrounding the curious case of Milo Yiannopoulos has blasted through the media. Journalists, commentators, and the Twitterati are calling for Milo…

Newspoll: the Liberals, not just Turnbull, are the problem

28 February 2017 11:10 am

With the latest Newspoll showing the Coalition trailing Labor 45 to 55 2PP and One Nation at ten percent otherwise, a mob…

Language, law and liberty

28 February 2017 7:18 am

Law and language share a critical relationship in preserving freedom of expression. One of the peculiarities of totalitarian societies is…

Newspoll listening suggestions for the Liberal Party

27 February 2017 12:06 pm

So what about that Newspoll, hey? Not much hope there for your average Liberal backbencher. Quite a few frontbenchers, too.…

Milo: the assassins have failed

27 February 2017 7:28 am

The sanctimonious Left are in their dizzy element. “The Milo show is over,” they laugh, dancing on the shredded paper…

The Liberal Party is beyond help

26 February 2017 4:08 pm

It probably doesn’t matter what I think, but the best course now is for Cory Bernardi and the Australian Conservatives…

Wherein Tony Abbott answers some questions…

26 February 2017 1:28 pm

Well, well, well. Just the other week, I was crying out for someone to tell us how Burkeans within the…

Is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?

26 February 2017 9:34 am

After 75 weeks of indolence and drift Paul Kelly did his level best in The Weekend Australian to pick the…

Greg Craven’s strange nightmares

25 February 2017 5:00 pm

Professor Greg Craven seems to have had some awful nightmares about the collapse of constitutional government in Australia. But neither…

Keysar Trad: where are the feminists?

25 February 2017 9:34 am

Listen carefully. Responses trickling in after Keysar Trad’s comments about violence against women have been extremely telling. Trad, president of…

The loopholes in Daniel Andrews’ death laws

24 February 2017 6:48 pm

In what is clearly becoming a drip feed exercise, Dr Brian Owler, head of Premier Daniel Andrews’ advisory panel charged…

Four year terms are a bad idea

24 February 2017 7:13 am

The election of Donald Trump, the vote for Brexit, and the return of One Nation have all threatened the centre-right status…

Penalty rate revision a win for jobs and commerce

23 February 2017 4:42 pm

Earlier today, the Fair Work Commission announced that Sunday and public holiday penalty rates for hospitality, restaurant, fast food, retail and pharmacy workers would be reduced…

The desecration of the Australian worker

23 February 2017 3:16 pm

Today’s disastrous decision by the Fair Work Commission underscores an attack that has been waged on the Australian worker by…

How would you define marriage?

23 February 2017 12:38 pm

Last week a Senate report was released, following the Inquiry: the Select Committee on the Exposure Draft of the Marriage…

Do you want politics with that?

23 February 2017 7:33 am

Politics used to be confined to newspapers and stuffy government buildings — it was considered an impolite topic of conversation. Now, it has become the norm for political agendas to appear in every aspect…

Freedom of religion recognised in marriage equality report

22 February 2017 5:07 pm

The much-anticipated Report of the Senate Inquiry into the Commonwealth Government’s Exposure Draft of the Marriage Amendment (Same-Sex Marriage) Bill…

When 50 per cent off is no bargain

22 February 2017 2:55 pm

Reducing the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount is one of a welter of tax ideas to receive attention…

Thinking further about your departure, Cory…

22 February 2017 12:21 pm

What’s done is done and can n’er be undone.  You’ve left the Liberal Party behind and barring a Black Swan set of circumstances…

Milo Yiannopoulos: too dangerous

22 February 2017 7:28 am

When it was revealed that Milo Yiannopoulos endorsed sexual relationships between old men and boys as young as 13 (yes…

Sharia and sexism — a sequel

21 February 2017 1:50 pm

Apparently, criticising or arguing with a woman who thinks that Islam is the most feminist religion is sexist: Business and community leaders…

Bill borrows from Trump’s protectionist playbook

21 February 2017 7:34 am

Donald Trump’s ascendancy has provided ample fodder for left-leaning politicians, GetUp! and other aggrieved members of the activist class seeking…

Punk rock conservatism is bollocks

20 February 2017 5:55 pm

The idea that Trump’s ascendancy has made conservatism a ‘counter-culture’ has been put forward by several right-leaning persons I admire…

Edward Gough Trump

20 February 2017 7:29 am

For many it was if the prophesied Messiah had finally arrived while others feared the anti-Christ had descended upon the…

How Asia thrives without open borders

19 February 2017 4:35 pm

The European Union, the United States and Australia have since the late eighties shared in the belief that the key…