Flat White
Don’t dismiss John Barilaro
The ancient Greeks had a saying, “Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad’. Political madness seemed…
Trial by media sets dangerous precedents
Australia must avoid delivering justice through ‘trial by media’. Across the western world, a sweeping phenomenon is now underway to…
Dastardly Dastyari
When Herschelle Gibbs dropped Steve Waugh in the 1999 Cricket World Cup one of the most misquoted quotes was born.…
How our teachers score top Marx
At the end of last week, the Victorian Association for the Teaching of English convened in Melbourne for its annual…
Has the parliament been infiltrated? The Senate must act
The Senate must decide the Dastyari question now. It’s more than about one senator. It’s about the control and influence…
Why the left has it so wrong on refugee policy
In September, the first 54 of those remaining refugees on Manus Island and Nauru departed for arrival in the United…
The Turnbull government is punishing the poor
American lawyer and politician Gideon J Tucker once observed that ‘no man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the…
Bet that’s the last one
Newspapers can be shameless — think of some tabloid campaigns — but the lack of self-awareness of the dying Age…
Inside Lee Rhiannon’s post-purge party
I have long wrestled with the themes behind Friedrich Nietzsche’s famous lines “If you gaze for long into an abyss,…
The unnecessary royal commission
If truth is the first casualty of war, then banks are the first casualty of populism – even in a…
Simon Chapman defends disruptive new technology
In Wednesday’s Australian Financial Review, public health academic and media commentator Simon Chapman came out in strong support of a…
This is why I despair…
George Brandis has always been a good speech-maker. Yesterday he delivered another good speech, probably one of his better ones,…
Milo: right, but wrong
I’m pleasantly surprised that Sarah Hanson-Young condemned Milo Yiannopoulos for being a ‘paedophilia apologist’ – which he undoubtedly is. The…
We need to talk about China
Allen & Unwin’s recent decision to drop Clive Hamilton’s book on Chinese Communist Party influence in Australia — citing fears…
Has feminism jumped the shark?
In the much loved and long-running television series Happy Days, when the Fonz literally jumped a shark that a whole…
Why are the Greens giving domestic violence a green light?
Does anyone in the Greens actually engage their inner sage before they virtue signal? That may well be a rhetorical…
Triple J’s Australia Day problem
Someone else has recently conducted a non-binding plebiscite, which produced a 60 per cent result that divided a nation –…
Euthanasia laws: the true implications
The “voluntary Assisted dying” legislation appears set to pass both lower and upper houses in Victoria. However, let us call…
The God question
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Mark Kenny crowed. Australia’s “self-appointed conduits to the metaphysical” -– its Christian clergy — have been…
Ten thousand ways that will not work
I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work — Thomas Edison The…
Labor Lite
Despite all his rhetoric to the contrary, Malcolm Turnbull really isn’t concerned about protecting civil and religious freedoms. In what…
Was Bennelong Kristina Keneally’s second choice?
Voters in Bennelong who need to front up to the polls once again may be surprised – and perhaps unimpressed…
Farewell speeches
The Zimbabweans spoke and that old tyrant Mugabe was forced to listen. His resignation speech stated that his decision to…
Time to end the election day circus
A sausage sizzle and a vote is an old Australian tradition. But as a wise man once said, those who like…
Wild rumour department: it will all be over by Christmas
More may be riding on today’s Queensland election than the premier’s job. A far more important role, in Canberra, appears…
