Columnists Australia
Brown study
When politicians talk about ‘reform’, I am instantly suspicious. If the good Dr Samuel Johnson was right in defining patriotism…
Australian notes
Even without the rise of One Nation’s vote, Labor has been moving inexorably to a position as the natural party…
Brown study
Until recently, I thought that Australia was free from the scourge of activist judges. But in view of events of…
Brown study
We keep being told that the coming budget will be the most significant for many a year. That may be…
Australian notes
In the book of great evasions of responsibility through history, a new chapter to be added concerns the prowess of…
Brown study
The Albanese government seems to have abandoned its plan to increase the size of the parliament and give us the…
Brown study
I watched on Tuesday the appearance at the National Press Club of the Israeli Ambassador to Australia, Dr Hillel Neuman.…
Brown study
It may seem strange to see me praising the Age. But Melburnians owe it an enormous debt for exposing major…
Brown study
Of all the weasel words used by politicians to conceal what they are really up to, ‘reform’ must be the…
Brown study
The war in Iran has produced a classic example of the practice of politicians twisting the meaning of words which…
Brown study
Over the balmy summer months, while we were all concentrating on the tennis, a significant event occurred in Melbourne. It…
Australian Notes
I only had one wish to Santa this Christmas. All I wanted was a Cop. I wanted Adelaide to win…
Australian notes
I have written before about my love for rebels and outlaws. As a general rule, I have no time for…
Australian notes
Has Labor finally become the natural party of government? This would once have seemed an absurd question to someone of…
Brown study
I am thrilled about the government’s plan for an economic roundtable to be held in Canberra from 19 to 21…
Brown study
I have been reminded that there was at least one word I omitted from my glossary of words and phrases…
Brown study
With a new crop of MPs having just been elected, I thought it might help if I initiated them into…
Australian notes
Changing a place name may be annoying, but it is also not inconsequential; in Australia, it is a subtle attempt…
Brown study
The current election campaign has been widely described by observers as boring. But here at the Church of the New…
Brown study
On present indications, the Coalition is heading for a loss in the coming election. The big excuse for this debacle…
Australian notes
I can well remember the elation I felt when Donald Trump was re-elected in November last year. I knew it…
Australian notes
This week I’d like to address a few recent examples that demonstrate the slow but steady downfall of Western culture…
Brown study
One of the great mysteries of life here in Marvellous Melbourne is why the Age is assumed to be so…
Australian notes
In 2023 a constitutional referendum was held on an Indigenous Voice to parliament. Had the Yes vote carried the majority…
Brown study
During my 21 years in the federal parliament, I never got a satisfactory answer to the question why one side…
