Terry Barnes

Trudeau’s ‘coronation gift’ is just lip service to the monarchy

13 May 2023 4:30 pm

Cynically dressed up as a coronation-related gift to the Canadian nation, just days after the coronation, the country’s leader Justin Trudeau has…

Vaping: the public health pooh-bahs have won, for now

5 May 2023 4:30 am

In his draconian crackdown on vaping, announced on Tuesday, Labor Health Minister Mark Butler characterised his new policy as addressing…

RIP Barry Humphries

23 April 2023 2:15 am

It was not just Barry Humphries who died on Saturday. It was that towering skewerer of pomposity and humbug, and gate-crasher of Royal boxes,…

Dear Peter … now that you’ve found your Voice

7 April 2023 4:00 am

Peter Dutton and I were good friends once, and worked together closely in the Howard and Rudd years. Sorry to…

Could Donald Trump tank Aukus?

14 March 2023 6:20 pm

There are few surprises in the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine programmed announced by Rishi Sunak, his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, and…

Is Australia up to the Aukus challenge?

13 March 2023 6:29 pm

One hundred miles or so south of Sydney, lies tranquil Jervis Bay. On its shores, largely reclaimed by the bush,…

Do Fifa really want Saudi Arabia to sponsor the women’s world cup?

12 March 2023 7:00 pm

In July and August, Australia and New Zealand are hosts of the 2023 Fifa Women’s world cup. It could not…

Oh dear! Vic Libs disenfranchise their own members

22 February 2023 10:51 am

The Victorian division of the Liberal Party has done it again. Instead of going into the April 1, Aston by-election…

Vaping: public health’s unhealthy obsession

6 February 2023 4:00 am

The Australian public health industry is overpopulated with intellectual egotists – activists, academics, and bureaucrats who insist they know best…

Why is Australia’s bank snubbing King Charles?

3 February 2023 2:16 am

Traditionally, the reigning monarch has appeared on the lowest denomination of Australia’s banknotes. It is a practice that harks back…

Who killed Australia Day?

26 January 2023 6:11 pm

Australia Day was once a big deal Down Under, but in recent years the annual celebration has been somewhat muted.…

Daniel Andrews: double standards that undermine innocence?

13 January 2023 5:30 am

Let me start by making something clear. I am no unqualified admirer of the late Cardinal George Pell. On the…

You don’t decide your pronouns – we do

31 December 2022 10:00 am

How often do you get emails from someone who signs off with their pronouns? How often are you confronted in…

Liberal review heads in the Right direction

23 December 2022 4:00 am

After considerable media teasing, the-anticipated report into the Liberal Party’s electoral failure last May has finally been released. Conducted by…

Ruddy hell – Kevin’s our Man in Washington

20 December 2022 2:09 pm

In the dead of the silly season, when thoughts are turned to last-minute presents and dreading the obnoxious uncle turning…

Australians all let us rejoice, for Gough is, thankfully, long gone

2 December 2022 4:00 am

Today is the 50th anniversary of the election of the Whitlam government. The hagiography is coming in a torrent: Whitlam…

The Victorian Liberals are totally...

28 November 2022 5:00 am

Didn’t I tell you three months ago? If the Liberal party around Australia is buggered, in Victoria, it is totally…

Vic Libs: don’t be the Greens’ useful idiots

9 November 2022 2:01 pm

In April 1917, Russia was in uproar. Although the Tsar had been overthrown by a liberal revolution, chaos reigned, the…

Thorpe: Boyfriend – bad. Rabble-rousing – okay!

20 October 2022 4:43 pm

Today, diminutive Greens leader Adam Bandt finally acted against firebrand Victorian senator, Lidia Thorpe. Bandt punted Thorpe from the Senate…

Has Scott Morrison become Australia’s Richard Nixon?

17 August 2022 9:39 pm

In May 1940, Winston Churchill was not only appointed Prime Minister but Minister for Defence. In doing so, Churchill ensured…

The Liberals are totally rooted

12 August 2022 4:00 am

I’ve been a member of the Liberal party for over forty years. In that time, it’s known great highs, and…

Novak Djokovic versus the Rule of Law

23 July 2022 4:00 am

Earlier this week, our magazine weekly columnist, Ramesh Thakur, made an impassioned defence of tennis champion and unvaccinated Serb, Novak…

The Queen is Australia's Head of State - don't deny it

18 July 2022 4:00 am

History tells us that new wars are lost because generals re-fight the last one. The looming battle to keep Australia’s…

Make abortion rare – shag with care

30 June 2022 5:00 am

If you believe the ABC, the US Supreme Court’s decision in the Mobbs case, overturning the 1973 Roe v Wade abortion decision, is the…

Why did the new Australian PM insult the Queen?

5 June 2022 4:00 pm

Timing is everything in politics. This week in Canberra a new junior minister, an obscure Australian Labor Party MP named…