Dear LNP, think of Haidt!
The number of different post-mortems for the failure of the federal LNP may well soon outnumber the sands on Nine…
Penny Wong is wrong
The Foreign Minister let slip that an Indigenous Voice-type structure might eventuate in Australia under a re-elected Labor government, just…
Do not believe the polls
Why have we not learnt this lesson? Has everyone forgotten the 2019 election? Or the Trump election? Or the Voice…
The Left’s eternal war against private schools
Here we go again… The socialist deconstructionists are flagging one of their favourite ideas, at least, that is the impression…
Lost brains
And why the Education Minister is hopeless
Making billions worthless
I keep losing track of how many billions of dollars have been promised during this unofficial stage of our Federal…
Albo’s education funding: a predictable failure in schooling
I shuddered when I read this closing sentence in The Australian: NSW Teachers Federation President Henry Rajendra said the agreement…
How ‘free’ is free speech?
Two of my summer reading books had me thinking afresh about free speech. The first one was The Happiest Man…
The era of Truthophobia
Have you noticed how our language has shifted to ‘untruths’, ‘misinformation’, or the more nefarious accusation of ‘disinformation’? Apparently, misinformation…
Teachers as tradies
‘What is the difference between an hourly rate and a salary Dad?’ asked the inquisitive teenager. His quiet and thoughtful…
A wonky prime minister and straw man treasurer
We don’t have a Willy Wonka and a Candy Man. We have a wonky Prime Minister and a straw man…
The rise of the expertocrats
‘You are in danger!’ This is how the rhetoric starts. ‘But there is no need to not worry, we will…
Leaders cannot legislate away social media anxiety
Concern about social media-based anxiety is popping up everywhere. Leaders of many kinds are talking about it, decrying it, and…
The IQ question in education
Does IQ matter? In 1974, the answer was a resounding ‘No!’ Fifty years later, I still remember first-year psychology lecturers…
Albanese’s game of Cabinet charades
The colour of authoritarianism is grey. I learned this the first time I sat in a wonderful old town square…
Of course there is violence
The attempted and actual murder of anyone is horrific. What I find perplexing is the tone of disbelief that accompanies…
The fight for nuclear is going to be rough
No debate. Just rhetorical fortressing. That seems to be the mode of responding to the nuclear debate from those on…
Same values, different beliefs?
Values and beliefs are not the same. People can support each other’s values while holding different beliefs. But if we…
Mental health and restraint: the unsolved conundrum
When is it appropriate to schedule someone into compulsory care when he or she is out of touch with reality?…
All schools are ‘faith-based’ schools
Facts and information can be neutral, but teaching is never neutral. All schools are faith-based schools. Some are more intentional…
The Bill of ‘self’
‘Belief Bashing’… That is what some have nicknamed Greenwich Bill sitting before the NSW Parliament. I would argue it is…
The joy of lament
Why are the people of Israel famously resilient? When you think of the hatred and persecution they have faced over…
Swift justice for the political class
The question I asked after reading a report about Taylor Swift’s biggest-ever concert in Melbourne, which reportedly had over 90,000…
Our children do not belong to the State
The Culture of Schools and the Problem of Change was the first book I read when I was moving professionally…
Steal from the rich. Steal from the poor. Steal from them all!
What does our Prime Minister really think about money? Does he see himself as the ‘Robin Hood’ of Australian democracy?…