Jacqui Lambie is no Cameron Diaz but the title of one of Diaz’s most loved films, There’s Something about Mary, might be a useful way of thinking about her. There is, after all, definitely something about Jacqui.

The political parties she’s been a member of include the Liberal Party and The Palmer United Party. She worked for Tamanian Labor Senator Nick Sherry; had to resign over the dual citizenship problem which caught many MPs and Senators; and, has been most recently narrowly elected Tasmanian Senator for the Jacqui Lambie Network. The last after a very tight race. read more

Class is a word used in many, many contexts and with many, many meanings – from social stratification to categorisation of many things. The phrase – a class of their own signifies this expansion of meaning.

In Britain from time immemorial to today it has has a mainly social application dating back from when the aristocracy placed themselves above all the other classes – exemplified by the creation of the House of Lords. The fact that some of those who have sat in the Lords over the centuries were descended from thugs, marauders and murderers was irrelevant. read more

Australia has an historic opportunity to expand its scientific research and reap significant benefits.

Sadly, while the Albanese Government is celebrating the acquisition of a controversial former Greens Senator and even compromising its timid superannuation change, much of the rest of the world is gearing up to attract US scientists being deprived of funding by the Trump Government. read more

Profound changes in both public and elite opinion are often slow to occur but – once they start – they can shift dramatically and quickly

That’s what appears to be happening with attitudes to Israel, the Gaza War and Netanyahu.

It should be emphasised, however, that since the war began there have been many anti-Semitic outrages (including murders in the US) throughout the world and in Australia which shaped the narrative about the war. Equally it should be said that some Jewish groups have weaponised accusations of anti-Semitism against those who have been critical of Israel’s prosecution of the war by equating any criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. read more

The Financial Times has reported that Macquarie (also known in Britain as the Vampire Kangaroo) has told investors it was “very proud’ of its record as the owner of Thames Water – the company it sold seven years ago.

Well, it was no doubt proud of the money they made out of it – 2.7 billion pounds in dividends to Macquarie and offshore pension funds. Today the latest Thames Water owners are close to insolvency and are seeking a Government bail out with a 3 billion pound loan. But the new owners want to preserve the Macquarie culture by spending part of the bail out money on hundreds of thousands of pounds in bonuses. read more

The blog is taking a break. In the meantime, a guest post from the Save Albert  Park team.

The Victorian government slashed $95 million from Parks Victoria’s budget while promising the owners of Formula One, Liberty Media, a $350 million pit building extension as part of a deal to extend the grand prix contract a further two years from 2035 to 2037. read more

Amidst the Trump regime’s destruction of valued institutions is the decision that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) will no longer track of the cost of climate crisis-fueled weather disasters.

Noaa has provided daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings and climate movements for many years. read more

Sadly, largely due to the media’s lack of interest in science and the fall in the number of journalists able to cover such a round, one of the most important stories about science – the Trump destruction of science -is largely being neglected.

Fortunately, the specialist media – such as Nature and some commentators – have been reporting just how devastating the impact of the Trump administration has been. read more

WTF just happened?

Well, the first obvious thing is that Labor just won a massive record-breaking landslide election. The majority might get trimmed back a bit as further counting occurs but it suggests that a third term is possible.

Second, they had the advantage of running against a Leader, Peter Dutton, who was rated Australia’s most distrusted politician by Roy Morgan Research and against a political party women have been deserting since Morrison days. read more