Journalism and other writing

TWENTY years ago the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs began inquiring into the section of the Constitution under which two senators are now facing disqualification. [click to continue…]

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TREASURER Scott Morrison’s address to Urban Development Institute of Australia this week highlights much of what is has been wrong with Australian politics in the 21 st century. Having identified a “housing affordability” problem (wow!), Morrison did what every federal politician has done since the 1990s – refused to acknowledge the nasty political conundrum by resorting to opaque language; ignored the obvious; and blamed someone else. [click to continue…]

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LET’S hope ABC Four Corners journalist Debbie Whitmont and teachers Tracey Donehue and Gabby Sutherland are prosecuted under the 2015 Australian Border Protection Act which provides for up to two years jail for disclosing “protected” information about Australian immigration detention centres. [click to continue…]

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DON’T do it, I tell family and friends. Don’t do it, I told my students for a decade or so. On media sites, do not click on bizarre or celebrity articles. “Gorillas bring up baby.” “Angelina’s new heartache.” And so on. All it does is encourage editors to run more of this junk at the expense of concentrating on importance material of consequence as they see these stories top “most hit” lists. [click to continue…]

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We humans can be very stupid at not heeding warnings. And I am one of them. The warning sign was quite clear – a slow, small but relentless water leak on the yacht. [click to continue…]

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DONALD Trump and Pauline Hanson both fail the tests of logic and history when they call for bans on Muslim immigration because of its “threat” to American/Australian or the American/Australian way of life.
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MEDIBANK Private’s decision this week to pay a little bit for dental checkups comes just as I am feeling like “Jaws”, the character in the James Bond movies. [click to continue…]

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NUMBER to the bitter end, I say. The electoral roll for the 15 October ACT election closed this week. As voters make up their minds, the experience of the recent Senate and Northern Territory are instructive. [click to continue…]

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AT LAST some agreement among the three major parties. All agree that it is not acceptable for a frontbencher to take money from a corporation with strong ties to the Chinese Government. And that it is a resigning offence. But something does not quite add up in the case of Senator Sam Dastyari having some expenses paid by the corporation. Why isn’t it equally unacceptable for any Australian MP to take any foreign money? [click to continue…]

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