En Passant

Am I living in a police state? On Tuesday the Australian Federal Police raided the home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst. On Wednesday it was the turn of journalists in the Sydney offices of the ABC. They were looking for information that they could use to prosecute whistle-blowers who provided the information to journalists. […]

Two things happened on Tuesday that caught my attention. The first was the decision of the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut the cash rate by 25 basis points or 0.25%, from 1.50% to 1.25%. According to the RBA, the cash rate is ‘the overnight money market interest rate.’ It is essentially the rate the […]

Dennis Kosuth tells the story of the revolt that shook China’s rulers. Reprinted from Socialist Worker, written ten years ago, still relevant. THE CHINESE national anthem, like for most countries, is militaristic, jingoistic and–unless one is a fan of marching–difficult to listen to. Unlike most others, however, it begins with the line “Arise, all who refuse […]

Every year Rugby League has its state of Origin. Queensland plays New South Wales for 3 games over the mid-season. They are intensively competitive games, watched by millions. They are often the best rugby league contests locally or internationally. The first game this year is on Wednesday 5 June. So what? many of my readers […]

Bob Hawke—Australia’s Thatcher 27 May 2019 Bob Hawke has been lauded for his consensus politics, but he waged a brutal assault on unions and Labor’s own working class supporters, argues Ian Rintoul in Solidarity Magazine. Conceding defeat on election night, Bill Shorten said, “I wish we could have done it for Bob”. But Bob Hawke, who […]

As readers would know, I have no love for Julian Assange. I want him sent to Sweden to face inquiries and possible prosecution over allegations of sexual misconduct (e.g. rape.) I oppose sending him to the United States for any reason. The reality is the ruling class there want to imprison, if not execute, Assange […]

I know. The idea of Corbyn leading the Australian Labor Party is ridiculous. For a start, he is a British MP.  Second, he has his hands full leading the British Labour Party, on the way to possibly becoming Prime Minister in the near future. But of course, you know the reason why I have framed […]

The Coalition has retained government. At the time of writing on Sunday it has 74 seats, Labor has 66 and various independents and minor parties, including a Green, hold another 6. Five seats are in doubt with 4 potentially going to the Coalition. This would give it 78 seats in the new Parliament, enough to […]

And so the last day of electioneering and voting has arrived. Thank the gods the 5 weeks of lies, rubbish, obfuscation and vagueness have finished. Here is a list of seats to keep an eye on. It is based on the latest aggregated odds of 7 bookmakers fielding on the result and taken from information […]

Of course, a Labor government will make a difference to the industrial landscape. Its minor industrial law changes, plus the abolition of the Australian Building and Construction Commission, are welcome. But like much of Labor’s program, they do not go far enough. Sally McManus has warned that the right to strike is almost dead but […]