Flat White

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

Is the Voice’s question misleading?

14 September 2023 4:00 am

At the same time the federal government is threatening to pass internet anti-misinformation laws, the same government has drafted a…

Lithium battery fires will cause a tragedy

13 September 2023 6:40 pm

Lithium batteries in electric vehicles are going to cause a major disaster – it’s only a matter of time. I…

A kiss is just a kiss … not!

13 September 2023 6:00 am

Luis Rubiales has resigned as president of the Spanish Football Federation following criticism for kissing Spain forward Jenni Hermoso at…

Lies, damned lies, and truth-telling commissions

13 September 2023 5:00 am

Part of the proposed Uluru Statement from the Heart and the Voice to Parliament is a national truth-telling commission. Normally,…

Are university campus sexual assault statistics inflated?

13 September 2023 4:30 am

In recent weeks, our proud Teal Independents have been busy showing their feminist credentials by supporting student activists seeking to…

The motive for the downing of MH17

13 September 2023 4:00 am

The International Court that presided over the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014…

Labor’s law: undermining constitutional democracy

12 September 2023 5:30 am

The Communications Legislation Amendment (Combating Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023 was recently introduced by Federal Labor in the Australian Parliament. This law proposal…

From hopelessness to heartlessness: the vibe seems so hollow

12 September 2023 5:00 am

We are not yet halfway through the run-up to the referendum on the Voice to Parliament, and already many of…

We need a transformation in Australian politics

12 September 2023 4:30 am

The Australian Bureau of Statistics website shows that in June 2022 Queensland public sector employees comprised 52,700 Commonwealth, 406,800 State,…

An open letter to Tim Costello

12 September 2023 4:00 am

Dear Rev. Costello, You recently published an open letter to church leaders – such as myself – on the matter of…

Race-based land grabs must end

11 September 2023 6:00 am

Most Australians were brought up believing that Crown Land is public land – shared for present enjoyment and preserved for…

‘No’ will let them know

11 September 2023 5:00 am

Then what? As the October 14 Voice referendum grows closer, speculation is rampant about the socio-political consequences of the result.…

What to do about crime? Papua New Guinea at 48

11 September 2023 4:30 am

September 16, 2023, will mark 48 years of independence for Australia’s nearest neighbour – Papua New Guinea (PNG). And, by…

Tyre Extinguishers take on Toorak Tractors

11 September 2023 4:00 am

Ten days ago, Greens leader Adam Bandt urged Australians to ‘embrace’ the civil disobedience of climate activists and ‘feel joy’…

Dead-celebrity market worth US$2.25 billion

10 September 2023 4:00 am

‘Deleb’ (as in dead celebrity) is a label used in show-business to describe a deceased star, celebrity, or artist whose…

Rising tyranny: the public-private partnership

10 September 2023 2:26 am

The slogan cuius regio, eius religio (whose the reign/realm, his the religion) was adopted in Europe in the mid-16th Century to end…

The Voice is the latest saviour cult

10 September 2023 1:32 am

Is Western Civilisation’s middle-class being pranked? The people we thought we knew – peers, colleagues, relatives, and friends – are…

Harmonies and strains in campaign songs

9 September 2023 7:45 pm

In the long history of pop songs being co-opted or leveraged for social cause campaigns, almost none seem an immediately…

The UN Declaration of Human Rights asks us to reject the Voice

9 September 2023 1:08 pm

Not since the days of the prophets has there been a greater clarion call for human civilisation than that espoused…

Indigenous rights and voice silenced

8 September 2023 9:00 am

As Australia considers the voice of its Indigenous peoples, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, in the upcoming referendum, concerning constitutional…

Everybody needs good Neighbours

8 September 2023 7:00 am

Neighbours. Everybody needs good neighbours. The thing about good neighbours is that they actually do develop into good friends over…

Pope Francis should stop cosying up to authoritarian regimes

8 September 2023 5:00 am

Pope Francis is on his way back from Mongolia this week. On a visit to that country, which has scarcely…

Victoria’s duck hunting ban is a sign of things to come with the Voice

8 September 2023 4:00 am

The recent state parliamentary report into recreational native bird hunting gives Victorians a taste of the kind of division the…

Australia’s biggest solar farm: ‘We are collateral damage in the race to Net Zero’

7 September 2023 7:00 am

There’s nothing but heartbreak and dismay as another renewable energy project looms over regional Australia. Danish company European Energy has…

Concussions are killing players and the game

7 September 2023 6:00 am

The rulers of footy codes have, for years, adopted a head-in-the-sand approach to the management of concussions, but the tsunami…