Flat White

In-depth analysis of the day’s news, plus stories and gossip from Australian politics.

Mother’s Day tribute

14 May 2023 4:00 am

Leila Abdallah – mother to Liana, Alex, Michael, and Selina, a wife to Danny, and the daughter of Norma Habis…

IDAHOBIT: Victorian schools add another activist event to the calendar

13 May 2023 6:20 am

Victorian schools celebrating the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) set for May 18 prove, yet again, how…

Where is the Voice of the Forgotten People?

13 May 2023 5:00 am

Julia Banks, former Liberal member for Chisholm, says the party is over for the Liberals. Writing in the Saturday Paper, she…

The Dutch farmers’ stand against green tyranny

13 May 2023 4:30 am

‘The whole point of bureaucracy is to reduce the possibilities of your life to the greatest possible degree when it…

All of a sudden, ivermectin is safe again

13 May 2023 4:00 am

Has anyone else noticed a pattern around the Covid-related restrictions of the past three years? Each infringement felt like a…

Double Shot: introducing Cafe Culture!

12 May 2023 2:11 pm

Double Shot episode 1: Introducing Cafe Culture! The Speccie joins our online writers, special guests, and the creators of our…

It’s the government’s spending, stupid

12 May 2023 6:33 am

Casting an eye over the headlines from the federal budget, one may assume that the anticipated budget surplus is a…

Between the living and the dead

12 May 2023 6:19 am

This week, May 15, is the hundredth anniversary of my great-grandfather’s death. Here’s another fun fact: I am now the…

Minister for women rejects definition of a woman

12 May 2023 6:08 am

Things are looking dire for women in Queensland… This week, Queensland’s Minister for Women Shannon Fentiman (who is also the…

Pauline Hanson: Senate kicks vital Voice issue down the road

11 May 2023 2:15 pm

The vexing but vital issue of genuine Indigenous identity will fester during the Voice referendum period and for a long…

White paper

11 May 2023 1:05 pm

No, you’re not imagining it… Trying to find white A4 printer paper in Australia is getting more difficult and expensive…

Red revenge: the violence of intangible power

11 May 2023 6:00 am

China’s recent military exercises over Taiwan have inspired a volley of ‘cannonball counting’ articles by the Western media. Dare I say another round…

Woke chemistry

11 May 2023 5:00 am

Are you ready class? The chemistry lesson is about to begin. Those are words that I never thought that I’d…

Recessions are bad news for super funds

11 May 2023 4:00 am

The Commonwealth budget surplus stems from the nation’s resource assets, and to a lesser degree its agricultural strengths. But, rather than…

US military backlash against trans recruitment gimmick

10 May 2023 1:07 pm

In order to battle low recruitment numbers, the Biden administration’s latest plan is to send in the pronoun police. According…

Terrorist rehab?

10 May 2023 6:00 am

Two movies screening in early May (in Sydney), along with a Guantanamo Bay court hearing for the case of Southeast…

Qantas’ vaccination policy

10 May 2023 5:00 am

If you were already doubtful that Covid vaccination mandates were really about ‘keeping everyone safe’, then Qantas just vindicated your…

The government must fix it!

10 May 2023 4:00 am

Here’s an amusing game to play… Listen to any ABC News bulletin – television or radio – and after each…

Sir David Attenborough: 97 years of environmentalism

9 May 2023 2:45 pm

Yesterday marked the 97th birthday of Sir David Attenborough. For generations, he has been the chief connection between children and…

The pub test: Australian parliamentarians have the worst public speaking skills

9 May 2023 7:00 am

Australian politicians live in an alternative universe, a privileged cocoon that separates them from public opinion. The pub test is…

Politicising death: the US obsession with race politics

9 May 2023 5:00 am

The death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man, is being spun as the next George Floyd. Neely died after he was…

Fukushima: our best argument for nuclear power

9 May 2023 4:00 am

One of the more popular memes on social media is: ‘Worst Prime Minister Ever’. The label is variously applied to…

Grace, mercy, and justice: a pledge no politician can make

8 May 2023 3:07 pm

On Saturday, I had two great privileges. The first was to attend the ceremony for His Majesty King Charles III’s…

We can’t afford nonsense anymore

8 May 2023 6:00 am

It was instilled into me from my labor-voting Dad, a Presbyterian carpenter with a fairly black-and-white view of life, that…

Women and girls last: the mantra of the moderate Liberals

8 May 2023 5:00 am

Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley has fired a warning shot at so-called culture warriors within her party. Essentially she’s saying…