Today in The Australian
“Lenin lived, Lenin lives, Lenin will live!” proclaimed the banners in the Moscow mausoleum as Lenin’s embalmed body was laid to rest; but 100 years after the storming of the Winter Palace, all that remains of the communist utopia the Bolsheviks promised when they seized power on November 7, 1917, is the dust and ashes of its victims.
27 Oct2017
Morrison’s BEAR trap unfairly demonises our banks
Today in The Australian
Scott Morrison’s proposed Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR) seems designed to neutralise Bill Shorten’s call for a royal commission into banking.
Scott Morrison’s proposed Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR) seems designed to neutralise Bill Shorten’s call for a royal commission into banking.
20 Oct2017
At last, an energy policy that has Australia headed in right direction
Today in The Australian
If there is a lesson from Australian energy policy, it is that it is far easier to make a fish soup out of an aquarium than vice-versa. But even though Malcolm Turnbull and Josh Frydenberg have not worked a miracle, their National Energy Guarantee could be a first step to reversing the harm caused to what was once a relatively well-functioning electricity market.
If there is a lesson from Australian energy policy, it is that it is far easier to make a fish soup out of an aquarium than vice-versa. But even though Malcolm Turnbull and Josh Frydenberg have not worked a miracle, their National Energy Guarantee could be a first step to reversing the harm caused to what was once a relatively well-functioning electricity market.
13 Oct2017
Same-sex marriage survey suffers from incomplete information
Today in The Australian
The continuing crisis in Catalonia highlights once again the dangers plebiscites pose to social coherence and stability. By reducing complex problems to simple questions, they can exacerbate divisions rather than build agreement, while worsening the tyranny of the majority.
The continuing crisis in Catalonia highlights once again the dangers plebiscites pose to social coherence and stability. By reducing complex problems to simple questions, they can exacerbate divisions rather than build agreement, while worsening the tyranny of the majority.
06 Oct2017
Checks and balances on submarines thrown overboard
Today in The Australian
Faced with legitimate questions about the future submarine program, Christopher Pyne’s approach has been to mimic the great name-calling scene in Waiting for Godot: “Ceremonious ape!”, “Punctilious pig!”, “Moron!”, “Vermin!”, “Sewer-rat!”, “Curate!”, “Cretin!” — culminating in Estragon’s most devastating of insults to Vladimir: “Crritic!”
Faced with legitimate questions about the future submarine program, Christopher Pyne’s approach has been to mimic the great name-calling scene in Waiting for Godot: “Ceremonious ape!”, “Punctilious pig!”, “Moron!”, “Vermin!”, “Sewer-rat!”, “Curate!”, “Cretin!” — culminating in Estragon’s most devastating of insults to Vladimir: “Crritic!”
29 Sep2017
German election: Merkel loses out in backlash over refugees
Today in The Australian
Having won a fourth term, Angela Merkel has secured a place in the pantheon of German chancellors alongside her fellow conservatives Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl. But there is no denying that the coalition she leads of the Christian Democrats and the Christian Social Union has emerged battered and bruised from last Sunday’s election.
Having won a fourth term, Angela Merkel has secured a place in the pantheon of German chancellors alongside her fellow conservatives Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl. But there is no denying that the coalition she leads of the Christian Democrats and the Christian Social Union has emerged battered and bruised from last Sunday’s election.