Libs turn 70
The Liberal party, celebrating its 70th anniversary this week, was a product of passion; particularly that of Robert Menzies. The party was founded out of deeply held beliefs, and organized to achieve...
View ArticleDeconstructing Unis
So what has happened to our universities? There seems little doubt that the way they are governed has radically changed. The traditional model of governance involving a small but skilled administrative...
View ArticleCheques and balances
Have you heard the news? The Upper House of the Commonwealth Parliament, our Senate, has decided to launch an inquiry into how one of our states is doing business. Yes, yes, yes I know. We live in a...
View ArticleIt aint over till the diabetically-challenged lady sings
‘Seduction, sacrifice and side-splitting satire. 2015 has it all, buy your subscription now…’ says the promotional email for Opera Australia 2015. Save your money, I say. Lately, you don’t actually...
View ArticleKhorasan – now even scarier than ISIS!
As Islamic State jihadists slaughter and maim their way across two countries with sadistic efficiency, a new US-led Coalition of the Willing seeks to ‘degrade and ultimately destroy’ these...
View ArticleIt’s Our Inquisition
Is there a growing divergence between television news programs and the profession of journalism? Are the hosts of radio and TV shows, like the shock-jocks of commercial radio, becoming judge and jury,...
View ArticleNow it’s the tranny-state
Why are trannies so touchy? So touchy that even that use of the word ‘tranny’ – which, yes, is designed to make a point – will have them reaching for their pots of green ink so that they can pen...
View ArticleThe difference a day or a few foetal grams can make
Whenever I hear of a piece of legislation as a possessive proper noun, I wonder as to the tragedy that befell the person named. Occasionally the full title of the bill or the act will give some clue as...
View ArticleWhitlam – my part in his downfall
My mother used to say ‘If you can’t say something nice about the dead, don’t say anything at all.’ Of course, that does not stop you from saying the nice things first and then going on to list a few of...
View ArticlePolishing Gough
The last great, failed moderniser has gone. More of that in a moment. For now, let’s talk about me. I airbrushed Gough Whitlam into history. Well, not exactly. Just after the 1972 Federal election,...
View ArticleFreedom’s just another word
Do you tend to judge people by what they say or by what they do? Imagine you and your spouse have neighbours whom you both really like. You’ve invited them over for dinner four or five times in the...
View ArticleHeard the one about me…?
Gough Whitlam is the greatest Australian I ever knew. I followed his career avidly, joining Labor at the same time he became leader. These are among my fondest memories of him. I had met Gough in 1963...
View ArticleWhitlam’s dismissal – it’s not like it was all that unusual
How many Australian governments have been dismissed by a representative of the Crown? Two, you might think – Lang’s in 1932 and Whitlam’s in 1975. But you would be wrong. In the Australian psyche it is...
View ArticleSelfies are the new form of radical protest
‘Perhaps we could have won WWII,’ a friend of mine mused, ‘by having Winston Churchill tweet photos of himself holding a sheet of paper saying ‘Mr Hitler, get out of Poland’.’ 2014, for all its awful...
View ArticleClowns to the left, Jokers to the right
In the early 1970s, Scottish pop group Stealers Wheel (featuring the late, great Gerry Rafferty) had their one international hit, Stuck in the Middle with You. Its chorus sums up prime minister Tony...
View ArticleWomen, Booze & Bedspreads
It’s a pity Donald Horne didn’t call The Lucky Country ‘Women, Booze and Bedspreads’ instead. Better still, that could have been the subtitle. Just imagine the international interest it would have...
View ArticleDon’s Party Tricks
Back in the days when Young Donald was the life of the party, well before he became a National Sage and at times a Public Bore, one of his lively party turns was a variation of the game of charades. We...
View ArticleOh lucky man?
Nick Horne When Donald wrote his famous book he didn’t have the title in mind. Yes, he wanted to give things a good shake up; he thought Australia would have to do things differently to maintain its...
View ArticleBirth of the sophisticates
When Bob Dylan released The Times they are A-Changin’ in 1964, Donald Horne was putting the finishing touches to his own seditious work, The Lucky Country. Dylan’s recalcitrant ‘senators and...
View ArticleApparently it’s the world’s first one-sided war
Something that is true of children is also true of journalists – if you reward bad behaviour, you’ll get more of it. And while this nugget has been internalised by most in the media industry (think of...
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