opinion
environment
environment July 23, 2022
Glass half-empty (or 43 per cent full)
The full impact of the change of government nine weeks ago will be clear on Tuesday when the new parliament sits for the first time. It will be an acid test for the Albanese government . The test is one it has largely set for itself, in terms of...
environment June 18, 2022
Why nuclear energy won’t work in Australia
There is something almost comical about the Liberals and Nationals throwing the forlorn spectre of nuclear power back into national energy debates, right after their loss in the 2022 “climate election”. The incoming Energy minister, Chris Bowen,...
environment April 2, 2022
It has been said that the future is not a destination. It can and should be created. Clearly, we can’t change the past; but we can learn from it. Surprisingly, our governments don’t seem to learn from experiences such as the pandemic and natural...
environment March 26, 2022
An open letter to Scott Morrison
Have you heard of the five-by-five rule? Whenever something gets you down, you’re told to ask yourself a series of questions: Will it matter in five hours? Will it matter in five days? Five months? How about five years? If the answer is no, you don’...
rural March 12, 2022
It is most disappointing that natural disasters seem to bring out the best in the Australian people and the worst in our politicians and political processes. We see the enormous outpouring of goodwill from neighbours rescuing neighbours, the...
environment March 5, 2022
From the beach at night, at Ningaloo, you can see the pluming flares offshore. That’s the rigs. It’s been like that for a few years now. On the horizon, getting closer, more visible over time, like the very danger they signify. Ningaloo Reef is...
environment February 26, 2022
Energy is on everyone’s lips. First, Australia’s two biggest energy companies announce they will retire coal-fired power stations early. Great news: this is what climate science requires. Then Brookfield Asset Management and Mike Cannon-Brookes make...
ir November 20, 2021
Morrison leads a can’t-do government in a won’t-do country
Is Scott Morrison’s latest slogan – “can-do capitalism” – simply an overarching abrogation of his responsibility to provide good government in our national interest? Essentially he wants to leave it to market forces, to the private sector, to meet...
environment November 6, 2021
How Morrison spectacularly failed the diplomacy test
In one of the most remarkable developments, certainly since the Second World War, an Australian prime minister has leaked a highly confidential security document against an American president. Think about that. On the international stage, Scott...
environment November 6, 2021
When will Morrison learn that a slogan is not a policy?
When will Scott Morrison and the Liberal National Party realise that three-word slogans are not a policy; indeed, they may not even be an effective way to deliver the desired marketing message? In the past two elections we were bombarded with “Jobs...
indigenous affairs August 28, 2021
The politics of the greater good
It’s taken a long time but the concept of the “greater good” – the sense of a shared destiny, of shared interests, collective purpose, a common future – is finally returning to our politics. Largely this is the result of the need to build community...
