En Passant

Marx famously thought there was a difference between appearance and reality. It was what drove him to look into the real workings of capitalism, a system of exploitation of workers. Our current election campaign is showing that appearance and reality distinction up.  Now, don’t worry, I am not going to talk about deep philosophical matters […]

If there was ever any confirmation needed that the Liberals and the Nationals see women as props to rich men’s politics, the Liberals’ election launch on Sunday confirmed it. Canberra Press Gallery member John Passant reports. There was Prime Minister Scott Morrison, surrounded by three generations of women from his family – his mother, his […]

Liberal Party Prime Minister Scott Morrison and billionaire wannabe re-minted politician Clive Palmer have struck a preference deal. The Liberals will preference Clive Palmer’s aptly named United Australia Party, ahead of Labor. It is aptly named because it is a return to the 1930s, when the UAP was the party of Lyon and Menzies. In […]

By John Passant | 11 March 2019, 7:00am | Independent Australia It was just another week of lies from the Morrison Government, kickstartedthis week by Energy Minister Angus Taylor. There he was, straight-faced, telling Barrie Cassidy on Insiders that greenhouse gas emissions were falling. Cassidy kept on producing facts that showed that contrary to Taylor’s claims, emissions had actually increased over […]

By John Passant | 4 March 2019, 7:00am |  Independent Australia With news of yet more ministers retiring at the forthcoming election, it’s beginning to look a lot like 2013 I write in Independent Australia. In 2013, a number of senior Labor people, including ministers, announced that after many years of service, they would not be contesting […]

By John Passant | 25 February 2019, 7:00am |  Independent Australia It was Julie Bishop’s farewell. She was Australia’s first female Foreign Minister but what were her achievements in the role? Cosying up to Saudi Arabia and its war crimes in Yemen? Keeping our lapdogs in Nauru and Papua New Guinea well fed? Downplaying on the global […]

Bill Shorten has backflipped on Medevac for refugees and asylum seekers imprisoned without charge on Manus Island and Nauru. Last week, Labor supported the Bill to bring sick people from these two concentration camps to Australia, but watered it down to limit its application to those already on the two islands. Then this Tuesday, the […]

The Paladin Group is a small company with a shack on Kangaroo Island – until last week – as its head office. After all the media interest, as well as a PO Box in Singapore, Paladin now has an office in Canberra. The phone might even work. According to its website, Paladin is ‘… a leading provider of project support services in the Asia-Pacific.’ These […]

By John Passant | 18 February 2019, 7:00am |  The defeat of the Government on the Medivac Bill is the potential precursor to its defeat in the upcoming election, writes Canberra correspondent John Passant. Last week in Parliament (12 February) the Government was defeated on the ‘Medical Evacuations Bill‘ and Question Time became the “longest in history” to avoid debate on a […]

The defeat of the Government on the Medevac Bill is the potential precursor to its defeat in the upcoming election, writes Canberra correspondent John Passant. Click here to read the whole article