En Passant

Australia does not have a right to free speech. However the High Court has ruled that there is implied in the Constitution a right to political communication. Like all things constitutional, written or implied, this is subject to the Court’s interpretation.  I think it fair to say it is a fairly narrow right, and one […]

I agree with the Liberal candidate in one of Canberra’s three electorates, Mina Zaki. Let’s stop the demands about her citizenship and eligibility to stand for Parliament. She deserves to stand. She is an Australian citizen.  Let’s believe what she says. Hang on, you might ask. Why is a socialist defending a Liberal? It is […]

  Barnaby Joyce’s High Court expulsion from Parliament is just a byproduct of the Constitution’s racist Section 44, says John Passant in Independent Australia

  Our Parliament is in crisis over s 44 technicality – not inequality The s44 fiasco has already taken decent Senators but forcing Roberts out to be replaced by Hanson’s sister is hardly democratic reform, I write in Independent Australia

The fact is that a clear majority of ordinary Aboriginal people are NOT interested in constitutional recognition! It is regarded by most Aboriginal people as a meaningless token gesture that will do nothing to alleviate the appalling imprisonment rates, shocking health statistics and complete lack of land rights and self-determination

Is the payment to householders for solar electricity from photovoltaic cells on their roofs taxable?