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”. [...]
Still living in the Howard era?
I have a piece published at The Drum today which suggests that we, in many respects, appear still to be living in Howardia.
Fantasy, politics and offshore processing
So, the Gillard government continues its bizarre negotiations with the Coalition over some legislative way to effectively overturn the High Court’s decision on asylum seekers, and revive offshore processing. A dire warning was provided to the Coalition by the Secretary [...]
Leaky boat
Tonight ABC1 puts to air its documentary Leaky boat plus a special edition of Q&A. Can’t say I’m looking forward to it, but the arrival of MV Tampa which Howard turned into the Tampa affair in the context of the [...]
Back to the future: Tony Abbott’s budget reply
I was thinking while watching a budget address in reply that sought constantly to avoid mentioning *the actual budget*, that since one of the main elements of Mr Abbott’s “vision for Australia” was the proposition that everything was so much [...]
The endless cycle of asylum seeker politics
Recent events at Villawood have prompted the government to announce legislation to remove ministerial discretion on the “character test” (so as to deport people) and to create a form of temporary protection visa (so as to punish people who have [...]
The great Julia Gillard Disability Support Pension lie
I write this post as someone with a disability that isn’t going to go away. (A missing leg isn’t gonna grow back). I also write this post as someone who works. And I write this post as someone who would [...]
Labor’s real and fantastical problems
Much of the analysis of Labor’s crisis (a crisis of faith and of its social base), most recently in the wake of Julia Gillard’s Whitlam Oration, has been, as John Quiggin said, too much like “Inside Football”; focused on the [...]
NSW election: The bell tolls for Tony?
Lots and lots of column inches and bits and bytes are being devoured in analysis of commentary on the federal implications of the NSW election result for Julia Gillard, Labor MPs in New South Wales, The Greens, Bob Brown, the [...]
Lowering unemployment benefits by crook instead of hook
Way back in 1993, John Hewson went to the federal election with a package of radical neo-liberal reforms, Fightback!. It proved unsaleable despite the longevity of the Labor government and the economic troubles facing Paul Keating. In the memory of [...]
Wikileaks: How not to write domestic political commentary on Cablegate
Exhibit One: Michelle Grattan. I’m sure, dear reader, you can find some others. The weird thing about the response in the Australian media to those revelations about #Cablegate which pertain to Australia is just how narrowly domestic that response has [...]
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