Our budget has caught a bad case of coronavirus
There has been much written and spoken about the Morrison Government’s legislated “tax cuts” and Labor’s decision to not oppose…
The SpecOz: afflicting the comfortable, comforting the afflicted. Or something similar
I appear to have hurt the feelings of a very powerful union. About three weeks ago, I wrote a piece…
Political cowardice has a price
The cowardice of our political overlords has a price, and usually that price is not paid by these decision-makers but…
Who really benefits from health care?
It’s not obvious who sets health care policy in Australia and it’s not obvious for whose benefit it even is.…
Is this Australia’s William Jennings Bryan moment?
William Jennings Bryan? Never heard of him? Take a look at Wikipedia: William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July…
The Australian public dis-service: part II
On Monday, I wrote in these august pages about the lack of economic reform in Australia being a function of both poor quality…
The Australian public dis-service
Former US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld once quipped: “You go to war with the army you have, not the army…
Applying the wrong industrial remedies
On industrial policy our governments are lazy
Our monetary mandarins must be reading the SpecOz
In March of this year, I wrote in this august publication: For the economic benefit of the nation, let’s end this…
Throw another bundle of banknotes on the barbie
If I may plagiarise Anthony Albanese — who plagiarised Michael Douglas in The American President — “In Australia, we have…
Oh my Josh, it’s the Oprah budget
Pop culture obsessives will never forget the famous episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show where the queen of America gave…
Budget 2021: the dregs of the Labor party
At the start of the seventies, Kim Beazley Senior told an ALP conference “When I joined the Labor Party, it…
The Morrison Government: we must spend money in order to save it
On Tuesday I wrote here, I wrote about the values vacuity of Prime Minister Morrison and his Government. Then, yesterday,…
It’s about time Scott Morrison stood for more than just not being Labor
There are some who get it and there are many who don’t. Sadly, our elected class are significantly over-represented by…
China is focused on import quotas, Australia is focused on gender quotas.
Hubris. A noun meaning overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance. From the Ancient Greek describing a personality quality of extreme or…
Where is Tim Flannery now?
I live in Sydney. My house flooded last week in the heavy rains. We’ll see what happens today. Where is Tim…
About the OECD, Mathias…
As an Australian citizen, I would like to wish Mathias Cormann all the best at the OECD. I can only…
Sydney University chooses to chase cash, not quality
There is an old and proven saying: Personnel is Policy. You hire the person best suited to implement your strategies…
The tourism cash splash: message to ScoMo’s spine – where the bloody hell are you?
For those of you who have woken to the news this morning that the Commonwealth Government has announced a special tourism…
The Reserve Bank has failed us
Earlier this month, former Treasurer Peter Costello stated the bleeding obvious when he warned “ultra-low interest rates risk creating the…
Sorry Christian, but it’s time to take one for the team
His name is now officially out. The Christian Porter allegation is, like other recent tales from Canberra, a very sad…
Politicians, advice – and advisors
Given the content of this and prior pieces, it is fair to assume that I am a largish consumer of…
Why governments secretly love our crazy house and assets boom
There’s no inflation. The experts tell us so. The Clerics of Martin Place, our highly paid monetary gurus at the Reserve Bank, have declared that…
#ScottyFromMarketing – and Ant from Ant’s Used Cars?
For what ever reason, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been colloquially named “Scotty from Marketing”. No doubt it is a…
Redefining the ABC
Question: What do you call a discussion between people who have no idea what they are talking about but are…
Editor’s picks
