Conservatives would love Dutton to slash ABC funding
Panic entered the headlines earlier today when word leaked that Opposition Leader Peter Dutton might engage in a bit of…
Labor and its gangrenous alliance
Labor and the Greens have been locked in an unofficial coalition for decades. Recently, they have been joined by the…
The usual suspects aren’t happy about Victoria’s crackdown on crime
After softening Victoria’s bail laws in a misguided fit of compassion that saw crime rates soar and victims pile up,…
Budget reply: back on track
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton began his Budget reply by thanking Australians for listening and reminding them that they would soon…
Trump’s tariffs – an historic perspective
It is worth remembering that trade between countries is more than goods and services; it is also about pride and…
Former judge denounces Labor for pushing feminist ideology into the Family Court
‘The Family Court system is in enormous trouble.’ That is a momentous statement given that the speaker, Adelaide barrister Stuart…
Lost brains
Brains are indeed fascinating. They are also still mysterious. And they can also be confusing. I was reminded of this…
Adolescence and the engineer of human souls
An apocryphal quote from Uncle Joe Stalin was that artists in the Soviet Union should be the ‘engineers of human…
The whirligig of federal elections
On the eve of the previous Federal Election, I authored an opinion piece in this publication entitled, We need passion…
The rise of civil conflict
In his address to the 61st Munich Security Conference, American Vice President, JD Vance, said of the magic of democracy:…
Australian Christians Party wins its first seat in WA
Although the election in WA turned over a very disappointing result for conservatives overall, there have been some huge wins…
Angus Taylor’s Budget Reply leaves conservatives wanting more
From the National Press Club: Australia has had record numbers of business failures on top of declining productivity. That means…
A conservative action plan
The election is over, and the results are clear: the Liberal Party under-performed – badly. Because of that, Western Australia…
A bill of natural rights for Australia
With the Australian federal election (declared for May 3, 2025), now in campaign mode, let’s look at a crucial aspect…
A belief in ‘fairness’ is critical to democracy
In a democracy, the perception of fairness is as crucial as actual fairness. If citizens believe the ‘game is rigged’,…
The schemers, the naive, and the fearful
It was late Sunday morning, March 23, 2025, when Kathrine posted her question in the reader comments at the end…
A book, a calculator and a hip flask
Each year I ponder whether my attendance at the budget lock-up will be my last. Can I really take another…
Faint-hearted
The election is upon us. So if you were looking for a word to describe what Mr Dutton and the…
Thriving on uncertainty
The index spiked to 139 when Russia defaulted in 1998. The 9/11 attacks on the US in 2001 boosted the…
Veneztralia
Following his election as Venezuelan President in 1999, Hugo Chávez launched a series of radical reforms known as the Bolivarian…
Voice by stealth
‘You can’t fatten a pig on market day,’ John Howard would say. As Australia’s longest-serving Liberal prime minister other than…
The carbon crisis
We have a carbon dioxide crisis in Australia. There is not enough of the gas produced locally. We import carbon…
The Carbon Inquisition
It was hidden in one line of Peter Dutton’s budget reply speech. But it is a crucial reason the Albanese…
Albanese’s squalid trickery
Why would Anthony Albanese stoop to such squalid trickery? This stemmed from the recent budget scheduled because Albanese decided that…
Can Trump defend his tariff calculations?
When President Trump held up an easel in the White House Rose Garden illustrating each country’s ‘tariffs charged to the…
The growing controversy over Ireland’s neutrality
As the war of words between Donald Trump and the EU continues to escalate, European countries have become increasingly concerned…
Trump has bet the house on tariffs
‘My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day’, Donald Trump told the audience that had gathered in the Rose Garden for…
Trump’s tariffs are a real Brexit win
So, Britain has got its trade deal with the US – of sorts. Donald Trump has awarded Britain no exemption…
New Zealand’s cringeworthy new tourism slogan
‘Everyone must go!’ New Zealand’s new tourism declares, but so far almost everyone seems to be cringing. The prime minister…
The sacred sites fandango
The second-highest mountain in New Zealand has been granted ‘personhood’ by the NZ parliament because it is regarded as the…
Operation Resolution: cleaning up after HMNZS Manawanui
HMNZS Manawanui, formally a chirpy red and yellow MV Edda Fonn, sank on October 6 much to the shock of…
Why is this New Zealand airport clamping down on hugs?
‘Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world,’ Hugh Grant famously offered in the heartwarming opening scene of Love,…
Will Trump join the strongman club?
Unsurpassable
It’s a weird connection but they say Donald Trump is devoted to his presidential predecessor Andrew Jackson who was popular…
What really scares people about Adolescence
Two books I read in my teens made me want to be a writer. One, Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch, appeared when…
Intensely engaging
The Australian National Academy of Music gala performance on Friday 21 March was dazzling with guest conductor Asher Fisch leading…
Theatre vultures will kill
Having a sportswriter father is no excuse. The young man was tall, long fair-haired with a hat. ‘What do you…
The sin of TDS
admire the nerve, the gall, the sheer chutzpah. Here we have a book about the mental decline of Joe Biden…
The Pinochet affair: the pursuit of a Chilean dictator
Calle Londres 38 is the address in Santiago of one of the notorious detention centres where the government of the…
The Da Vinci world of known unknowns
When Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Salvator Mundi’ was sold in 2017 for $450 million it caused a sensation. Dismissed as an…
Doctor, Doctor: the genesis of a national folk hero
John Higgs begins his foray into the long-standing BBC television science fiction series Doctor Who with a personal anecdote about…
Satire and settled scores: Universality by Natasha Brown reviewed
In 2023 Natasha Brown published an article taking the reader behind the scenes of two interviews that she had given…
Tony Benn, bogeyman to some, beacon of hope and light to many
Among the most striking things about Tony Benn was his friendship with Enoch Powell. They entered the House together in…
Murder she imagined: The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami reviewed
‘In dreams begins responsibility,’ wrote W.B. Yeats. In the near-future America imagined by Laila Lalami, culpability starts there, too. Charged…
The last of the great salonnières
Lady Pamela Berry (Pam to everyone, so that is what I too shall call her) did many things in her…