Flat White

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

Free speech gets shredded

17 January 2017 7:22 am

Last Thursday Dr Anne Aly, the Member for Cowan, shared a video of herself shredding the Institute of Public Affairs’ submission…

Nationalism or neo-liberalism, just sell your case better

16 January 2017 1:06 pm

Surely you’ve all seen Tony Abbott’s punchy op-ed in The Australian, and the wee tiff it’s sparked within the Liberal government. In case not, here’s…

Privatise the ABC

16 January 2017 7:31 am

The Middle-Class Rip Off is an episode of the great British satire Yes Minister, where Humphrey Appleby excoriates his minister Jim Hacker, for suggesting that…

A grey beard isn’t everything in politics

15 January 2017 9:04 am

Change is the only constant. Ultimately, that is the only truth there is, and anything else you hear is more…

How industrial awards hit people with disability

14 January 2017 8:29 am

Australia has historically had poor rates of labour force participation for people with a disability, ranking well into the bottom…

Time for the RSL to get off its knees

13 January 2017 8:51 am

If ever there was an act of national moral cowardice it has been the RSL’s nil response to plans to…

Farewell to the man who brought The Spectator to Australia. Sorta…

12 January 2017 4:43 pm

The idiot children at the media company that bears his family name still haven’t got the story up online, but…

Parliamentary perks: entitlement versus inconvenience

12 January 2017 2:09 pm

They say that if you want friends in politics you should get a dog, but if pollies want to find…

What went wrong with The Economist?

12 January 2017 10:11 am

I first encountered The Economist magazine as an undergraduate at the London School of Economics in the early 1960s. Richard Lipsey…

South Australia: political geography and globalisation

11 January 2017 3:05 pm

In 1996 I published Globalising Australian Capitalism. The book generally gave a favourable account of the then bipartisan policy response…

Sussan Ley: every cloud has a silver lining

11 January 2017 11:01 am

Notwithstanding investigations under way into stood-aside Health minister Sussan Ley’s touching fondness for the Gold Coast, it now appears she…

Legal euthanasia for Victoria? Beware

11 January 2017 8:59 am

Victorian Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury and Finance, Daniel Mulino, has hit back at suggestions that assisted suicide and euthanasia can…

Meryl darling, check your privilege

10 January 2017 3:22 pm

What is there to say about Meryl Streep’s speech at the Golden Globes that hasn’t been said already? Probably nothing,…

What? The Age is still publishing?

10 January 2017 1:42 pm

Back from hols and what do I find? Much to my surprise, there’s still a print edition of The Age.…

The RSL must embrace change or die

10 January 2017 9:48 am

Once Australia’s premier veterans’ advocacy organisation, the Returned and Services League is in rapid if not terminal decline. Its leadership…

The solution to the F-35 nightmare

9 January 2017 2:07 pm

We who have fought on the side of the angels in the global warming battle may soon have our rest.…

Serious-ley, Prime Minister?

9 January 2017 11:41 am

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has blundered today by referring his embattled Health Minister Sussan Ley’s travel claims off to the…

Trump and Russia: too much too soon

9 January 2017 7:25 am

Donald Trump wants closer and friendly ties with Russia and has long declared he will push for a realignment towards…

On sh-t art

8 January 2017 9:21 am

We’re now well into the thirteenth hour, where basically all modern art is the epitome of what’s wrong with modern…

Big Brother is watching you (for training purposes)

7 January 2017 10:13 am

As the dust settles after the momentous earthquakes of Trump and Brexit, one fact remains standing amongst the rubble: our…

Parliamentary travel for dummies

6 January 2017 5:07 pm

Much like 2016 to beloved celebrities, or quiet Friday night drinks to one’s brain cells, travel allowance can kill even…

Why we hate campaigning celebrities

6 January 2017 8:49 am

Admit it. For just a fleeting moment you thought to yourself, ‘I hope Trump does go on a fascist rampage,…

Chrenkoff and the delcon ding-dong

5 January 2017 2:16 pm

One of my Facebook friends has re-published my piece on The Road to Ruin his wall, and boy, haven’t I…

The war on Christianity in the Arab world continues

5 January 2017 9:52 am

As you celebrate with your loved ones the New Year, spare a thought for the Christians in the Middle East…

The Road to Ruin (traveled slowly)

4 January 2017 3:31 pm

At the beginning of last month, until I was rudely interrupted by a Jordanian hacker, I started writing thoughts on…