In-depth analysis of the day’s news, plus stories and gossip from Australian politics.
And in news just in from the inner-city…
From the latest e-mail missive from Melbourne Farmers Markets: Keep your veggies and leftovers fresh with BeeKeep. Beeswax coated cloth provides…
Muslim immigration: we are all very guilty, very guilty indeed
So, we now know why Essential Research has found that 49 per cent of the people it polled support a…
Hinch’s s*** on the liver
Revelations reported yesterday about Human Headline turned crucial Senate vote Derryn Hinch’s fondness for a tipple caused a bit of…
Why Donald Trump is Reagan’s heir
For the first time in more than 25 years the Republican Party has a legitimate heir to the blue collar…
Unleash Aboriginal business potential
The August 2016 decision of the Federal Court to award $3.3 million under the Native Title Act to traditional owners…
Further Syrian notes
My article in this week’s Speccie took a look at important developments in the Syrian civil war: the US-led coalition’s decision to put regime…
A sugar tax: insanity is catching
Here we go again. The UK Government unveiled its plans for a sugar tax in March this year. Closer to…
John Howard prompts a go slow at the Spencer Street Soviet
“When John Howard took to the stage at the National Press Club some days ago …” The Age’s editorial begins…
Cause offence? Go directly to jail
Bertrand Russell said, “Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will…
The dangers of underestimating coal
According to research commissioned by The Australia Institute if we ban all new coalmines, allowing coal production to fall from…
Stephen Conroy: the last of the Mohicans
Writing the first draft of history, as journalists and columnists are conceited enough to imagine that we do, is a…
Journos for censorship: the curious, confused Age
About the same time as I was finalising the leading article for last week’s Spectator Australia, a boffin at the Age was doing a…
Bans on political donations threaten our democracy
Imagine for a moment that you’re the managing director of a mining company. You have a project that has met…
Kevin Andrews and the challenges for Australian conservatism after Hanson
Constructing a viable conservative governing coalition with a coherent plan of action for the problems of today is fundamentally complicated…
The Ides of Malcolm
So here we are, marking the Ides of Malcolm. One year ago today Malcolm Turnbull reached for his dagger and…
WA Labor’s uranium ban sells the state short
According to WA Labor’s Plan for Jobs, ‘a McGowan Labor Government will free business from the burden of poor regulations’.…
Same-sex marriage? A plebiscite? Old hat!
A plebiscite? Yawn. Here’s a far more exciting dispatch from the frontlines of the War on Marriage. Polygamists are on…
So how accurate was the rest of Hinch’s speech?
Forget about Hillary Clinton’s health. What about Derryn Hinch’s? “Reportedly, I am in the record books as being the oldest…
Hacks or proper politicians: a crib sheet for electors
Let me take a moment to clarify the difference between a hack and a politician. I get the sense that…
Shorten’s stereotyping of homosexuality is offensive and demeaning
In the latest example of gross stereotyping and intolerance opposition leader Bill Shorten’s comments that the marriage plebiscite could cause…
Whatever you do, don’t mention the holy war
There appears to be a lot of mental illness about. It must have something to do with all those Coalition…
The chosen yuan: from Baghdad Bill to Beijing Bob
You’ve got to feel for poor old Sam Dastaryi, dragged through the stocks last week for a spot of unusual…
Why the political gender debate is boring (but matters)
You already have my sincere apologies; I recognise that there is no commentary so tiresome these days as that on…
A year of resolute leadership
Michelle Grattan, The Conversation, Friday: A year next Wednesday since the coup that installed Malcolm Turnbull, many Liberals are disappointed…
Fairfax verbals John Howard as the desperation shows
The death throes of the Fairfax mastheads make for gruesome viewing, yet are strangely captivating. One never knows what will…