While Federal Labor, in contrast to Joe Biden, is disappearing into a fearful huddle desperate to avoid any suggestion it would ever try to make Australia a more equitable place the rich are getting richer and richer.
It’s abandoned getting rid of negative gearing; preparing to let through tax cuts which disproportionately favour the well-off; and, dropped the plan to remove dividend imputation.
The City of Port Phillip councillors believe they represent a vibrant, cultured, cosmopolitan and environmentally friendly place.
Recently it did a bit for the vibrant side by allowing clubs, pubs and entertainment centres to stay open longer and make more noise. This louder and longer strategy angered many residents and will probably result in property values in the affected areas falling.
Scott Morrison’s churlishness is always on show when some Australian achieves great success in any area where Morrison’s perceived political enemies lurk.
In October last year, when the rest of the world celebrated the ratification by 50 countries of The Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, thus allowing the historic though symbolic text to come into force after 90 days, the Government refused to sign the Treaty.
Before Maggie Thatcher, Nigel Farage, John Howard, George Osborne and Donald Trump there was Enoch Powell.
A new book about Enoch Powell (Enoch Powell: politics and ideas in modern Britain) by Paul Corthorn reminds us of that while we may be hostile to Powell’s political views we need to acknowledge his role as the precursor of many of the political developments over the past 50 years – from opposition to immigration and neo-liberalism to Brexit and the potential break up of Britain.
If you were to choose a totally unrepresentative sample for a focus group test of political attitudes you would probably opt for a writer’s festival audience.
Predominantly female, older and probably retired, fairly well off, professional career background and relaxed about dress style – neat and elegant but no bling – and probably ALP voting with a few Greens thrown in as well.
The culture war drum-beats are sounding again – pounded out by the usual suspects in the Murdoch media and among shock jocks and the Morrison Government.
The mounting hysteria this time is about a new national curriculum which its enemies claim places too much emphasis on Indigenous history and ignores Australia’s ‘Christian heritage’.
A candidate in last year’s City of Port Phillip Council elections had a vision of St Kilda as Monaco. Now the Council has voted unanimously to model it on Fortitude Valley in Brisbane instead.
Fortitude Valley is close to the Brisbane central business district. It has long been the hub of Brisbane’s adult entertainment and is renowned for its nightlife and bars.
The majority of Australians aren’t that interested in politics.
They have their life to get on with and really only get involved in issues which affect them directly – like vaccinations – or which touch a nerve as Morrison’s handling of women’s issues has with Australian women.
Elections make politics difficult to ignore but most people vote for the party they voted for last time and some of them even make up their mind on the way to the polling booth.
In the past 50 years Australia has had 23 Health Ministers. But who is the worst?
Two of them, Lance Barnard and Arthur Sinodinos get passes, because Barnard and Whitlam were Ministers for everything in 1972 and Sinodinos merely filled in temporarily.
Neil Blewett, Brian Howe and Nicola Roxon would be among the best mainly because they focussed on major policy reform; expanded preventative medical programs; and tried to integrate health policy into broader policy perspectives.
The Australian military’s primary focus – at least according to Assistant Defence Minister and ex-Army officer Andrew Hastie – will always be the “application of lethal violence” and that the fighting forces always needed mission clarity.
Arguably a mission statement with the primary focus of ‘lethal violence’ is a recipe for potential war crimes as has allegedly happened with some Australian troops in recent years.