Budget: Defence
The Defence budget climbed to $44.6 billion in this budget. Most of the new acquisition money is going into platforms that are arguably obsolete now and certainly will be by …
Flight ban from India irrational and let’s help Africa
Preventing Australian citizens coming home from India on the basis of Covid cases makes no sense. The penalties applied – jail terms of up to five years and fines of …
Why we need a feminist foreign policy Australia is still a long way from having equal representation in the Parliament and this matters because the evidence shows that increased female …
Our self-reliant self-defence plan released
Our defence plan is affordable, coherent, and practical. It would shift the ADF focus from fighting wars far from our shores to countering the actual threats Australia now faces. Australia …
Australia needs a strong and independent defence force that does not “project power” over nations far from our shores. This would save $100 billion that could be used for much …
Our OECD Sec-General
It is certainly a coup that an Australian will head up the OECD. Mathias Cormann may be the best person for the job, who knows? There was no selection process, …
Donald Trump says he wants an orderly transition
In an unusually scripted piece, President Trump appears finally to have accepted his loss of office. The rhetoric has changed, whether he truly means it is another question. Meanwhile the …
The US Senate certifies results after mob invasion
A pro-Trump angry mob stormed the US Senate today in an attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden as President-elect. One woman was fatally shot by an officer. The …
‘Disgraceful and profound betrayal…’ Maj General Paul Brereton
Words can scarcely describe the shame we feel knowing 39 Afghan non-combatant citizens were killed and brutalised by special forces of the Australian Defence Force. The shocking reality is that …
Nuclear weapons now illegal
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, initiated in Melbourne back in 2007 by ICAN, has now been ratified by 50 countries meaning it will enter into force in …
