The freedom paradox
Who would have thought, this time last year, that the British government would be planning to detain British nationals at…
Cold and inhospitable
Like this author, I was happily snowbound at a beloved grandparent’s house during the big freeze that began on Boxing…
What’s next for the Special Relationship?
This is a crucial year for the UK’s two most important relationships. The Anglo-American alliance, our strongest diplomatic and security…
A bundle of woe
It seems to have become a virtual orthodoxy of the academic and publishing worlds that history and fiction now have…
Escape into reality
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was an ambitious, passionate, determined woman – not the sad-eyed invalid of legend, says Robert Douglas-Fairhurst
Argentine conquests
When Napoleon III proclaimed himself Emperor of France in 1852, he unwittingly kickstarted quality wine production in Chile and Argentina.…
The EU’s vaccine opportunism will not be forgotten
At first, it sounded like empty rage. The European Union had spent all week making wild statements about controlling vaccine…
Why do Innocent drinks think this pensioner is guilty of ‘transphobia’?
The trans debate can be a nasty one. And when women (and it usually is women) have the courage to speak…
Could this drug offer immediate protection from Covid-19?
When Donald Trump returned to the White House after a brief spell in hospital with Covid-19 last October he made…
Who are the Reddit traders?
The anarchic traders of Reddit stunned stock-markets this week, boosting the share price of struggling retailer GameStop by some 400…
The Johnson & Johnson jab is a game changer
Good vaccine news has been pouring in today — this afternoon it was the turn of the Janssen vaccine, made by US…
Twitter’s new moderators: #Birdwatch or birdshot?
Birdwatching is a pleasant, passive sort of ‘niche’ activity. Avian enthusiasts go about their lives, keeping an eye out for…
It’s not just Albo and Labor. Both parties must meet mainstream Australia’s needs, not pander to special interests
If Labor’s reshuffle will be enough to correct the party’s woeful policy agenda and reconnect with mainstream Australians remains to…
The tragic lack of people of colour in … “wellness”
I had really hoped that the events of 2020 would’ve sharpened people’s priorities and perspectives. We had bushfires, a pandemic, economic uncertainty, family…
Australian style quarantine for visitors to the UK? Terry Barnes speaks to Spectator TV
Boris Johnson has adopted a form of Australia’s coronavirus quarantine for Britain. Will it work? The Spectator Australia’s Morning Double…
Are Biden voters sick and tired of winning yet?
It goes without saying that reading mainstream American news has become both pointless and profoundly depressing since the election of…
Will WorkSafe act on Daniel Andrews’ hotel quarantine disaster? They need more time…
The prosecution of the Victorian government for the 800–plus Covid deaths due to its massive mismanagement (or worse) will not happen quickly. Governments routinely don’t hold themselves accountable…
Joe Biden, high priest of the cult of woke
‘Do you think he died of dispossession?’ That’s the facetious question the nameless hero of Ralph Ellison’s 1952 novel, Invisible…
Germany has just undermined the EU’s vaccine argument
Germany’s vaccine committee has advised the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine only be given to under-65s. The announcement marks a major twist in a…
Is the virus retreating?
Imperial College’s React study was in the news again this morning. The latest instalment swabbed 167,642 people between 6 and…
Who are you calling racist?
So it turns out that six men ejected from the third cricket test in Sydney for racist conduct weren’t racist…
What’s woke this week?
In my ongoing quest to ‘do the work’ and come to terms with my inherent white supremacy I discovered recently that ‘third world’ is a term…
Energy prices: the new fault line in politics
Energy has emerged as the clear new faultline in Australian politics. We see today Anthony Albanese is removing his fellow…
Annastacia Palaszczuk’s covid chutzpah
Chutzpah. A mellifluous sounding word that is difficult to translate, but kinda sorta means: Utter nerve; effrontery. A better way to…
Kelly’s heroes
Craig Kelly’s existence poses an existential problem for the Liberal Party. It is difficult to work out how far a political…
