Flat White

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

Vaping: the public health pooh-bahs have won, for now

5 May 2023 4:30 am

In his draconian crackdown on vaping, announced on Tuesday, Labor Health Minister Mark Butler characterised his new policy as addressing…

A Budget surplus would pose a political dilemma for Albanese and Chalmers

5 May 2023 4:00 am

Those who cite Gough Whitlam as among Australia’s greatest Prime Ministers have a response when his critics point to his…

Up in smoke

4 May 2023 9:33 am

Australia has some of the most draconian anti-smoking laws in the world. Like most public health puritans, Mark Butler doesn’t…

The splintered soul of the LNP

4 May 2023 6:00 am

In his quest for immortality, Voldemort – Harry Potter’s evil nemesis – split his soul into small pieces and hid…

He that breaks a thing

4 May 2023 4:00 am

‘And he that breaks a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom.’ – Gandalf…

Homeschool, if you can

3 May 2023 7:00 am

One of the biggest benefits of homeschooling is the healthy distance home education puts between politics, their peers, and our kids. We…

‘We believe the chargers have been a success!’

3 May 2023 6:00 am

The biggest issue facing Mitcham Council is the anticipated rate increase, with options ranging from 7.8 per cent to 10…

Welcome to custodianship?

3 May 2023 5:00 am

Perhaps the most inappropriate time I heard a welcome to country acknowledgement of the traditional custodians of the land was…

The great papal cover-up

3 May 2023 4:00 am

As readers of this esteemed publication would be aware, in 2018, the Vatican signed a provisional agreement with the Chinese…

Victorian Liberals join Labor and Greens by endorsing injecting rooms

2 May 2023 12:03 pm

Has the Liberal Party run up the white flag on illegal drugs? Instead of opposing the establishment of heroin injecting…

If environmentalists are serious about Net Zero, they must go nuclear

2 May 2023 6:00 am

During a recent visit to Australia, high-profile environmentalist Tea Törmänen slammed what she labelled Australia’s ‘dangerous and unscientific’ opposition to…

Is JPMorgan Chase politicising banking?

2 May 2023 5:00 am

JPMorgan Chase must let its shareholders consider and vote on a proposal aimed at ensuring equal treatment of the bank’s…

There is no such thing as a ‘safe’ injecting room

2 May 2023 4:30 am

The Victorian Greens are introducing a bill to open the doors of government-run injecting rooms to pregnant women and children.…

Ardern’s Aotearoa adieu

2 May 2023 4:00 am

Her trademark empathy on full display, Jacinda Ardern, the antipodean icon of female empowerment, recently delivered her farewell speech to…

Tucker Carlson, American hero

1 May 2023 7:00 am

On a day when we remember fallen heroes who gave their lives in useless wars, and still do, we have…

Modern Art: an ugly reflection

1 May 2023 6:30 am

Art is a reflection of civilisation. How apt then, that the last time I wandered beside the Arts Centre in…

Albanese vs. Dutton: where does the real leadership merit lie?

1 May 2023 5:15 am

I can’t be the only one tired of the sycophantic way in which the Prime Minister and his government are…

Naivety threatens Australia’s future: the danger of racial bureaucracies is real

1 May 2023 5:00 am

The naivety of so many well-meaning commentators conveniently glossing over the racial nature of the Voice proposal in the Uluru…

Mandates are, and always were, immoral

1 May 2023 4:00 am

There is a brilliant freely accessible short story The Lottery written by Shirley Jackson in 1948. The Hunger Games is the contemporary version.…

Government: the problem or the answer?

30 April 2023 6:00 am

I have long believed that growth, prosperity, progress, and ultimately personal fulfillment are not created by government or any group…

The achievements of Captain James Cook are a story for the ages

30 April 2023 5:30 am

This year, on 29 April, it was 253 years since Captain James Cook landed at Botany Bay. Despite the obvious…

Louder, Crowder?

30 April 2023 5:00 am

I have never been a fan of bringing the personal lives of politicians or media commentators into the public forum.…

Recall Election legislation is desperately needed for rogue politicians

30 April 2023 4:00 am

One legislative mechanism that would enable voters to annul the term of politicians who go rogue or fail to represent…

China’s Mafia capitalism – the Marxist challenge

29 April 2023 2:43 pm

Here’s a challenge for Australian Marxists. It can be assessed that the ‘success’ of the Chinese Communist Party is, in…

Straight out of Marcuse

29 April 2023 5:00 am

‘The education of all children, from the moment that they can get along without a mother’s care, shall be in…