Invasion Day/Australia Day: Unity/Disunity
I think everyone of a certain age can remember a certain mantra from John Howard. Symbols, he intoned, are not important. “Symbolic Reconciliation” is not important, he couldn’t say Sorry. The Republic was just a symbol, of interest to “elites”. [...]
Culture Wars: Self fulfilling prophecy time
The peak body representing Australian Universities has adopted The National Best Practice Framework for Indigenous Cultural Competency in Australian Universities. Not something, if you read the key points, I’d have thought should be overly controversial.
Wild Rivers, the LNP and combating poor policy debate
The Queensland Wild Rivers legislation bubbles its way in the political pot, occasionally bursting forth to inject a shot of steam into state and federal political debates. Most notably, recently, has been Tony Abbott’s promise or threat to introduce a [...]
The Northern Territory Intervention and “evidence based policy”
When Labor came to power in 2007, one possible consolation for those who opposed the Northern Territory Intervention, and indeed those who were sceptical of its efficacy, was the prospect that under a new government, its effects would be rigorously [...]
Julian Assange, Andrew Bolt: political celebrity and the ‘free speech’ of privilege
Julian Assange, a little late to the party, penned an op/ed for Fairfax last week defending Andrew Bolt’s ‘right to free speech’. It’s an odd piece of writing. Assange asserts, all John Stuart Mill-like, that: The best policy decisions result [...]
Quickhit: the risks and rewards of privatising our security
The prisoners get all the risks (including death during transport to remand for a misdemeanour), the corporations get all the rewards. The taxpayer turns an unseeing eye.
Quick link: Alpine NP grazing may infringe native title rights
The push to return cattle grazing in Victoria’s Alpine National Park relies heavily on its claim to be preserving a vital part of Australia’s heritage – the mountain cattlemen romantically portrayed by Banjo Paterson, and George Miller a century later. [...]
Anglican Church on Wild Rivers
The Anglican Church yesterday issued its report into the Wild Rivers Act, as reported on ABC RN’s The World Today. The Anglican Dean of Brisbane, Dr Peter Catt, says the detailed economic and legal analysis of the Act proves Indigenous [...]
Wild Rivers, wild times and new paradigms
I’ve been wondering why Tony Abbott has to keep giving near identical speeches to “the party faithful”. It couldn’t be because (despite being, according to the Shanahans and Kellys of this world, teh best opposition leader evah) he didn’t actually [...]
Noel Pearson weighs in
… and urges the country Indepedents to support Tony Abbott. The story is here. Pearson’s main issue seems to be the Queensland Wild Rivers legislation, which Brian wrote about recently. As the article notes, this intervention comes on the back [...]
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