Groucho Marx once said that he’d never join a club that would accept him as one of its members. But, these days, plenty of people seem determined to crash their way into clubs that they don’t even want to be in. Why, for instance, would a gay couple
“Where will we hold Australia, we who have no other country? Not Indigenous, merely born here” Les Murray My children were born in Australia. So were their parents, their grandparents — their ancestors, stretching back generations. All their bones accumulating in the dust of this continent. Yet, they still have to
When I recently observed how Australia’s state premiers were quietly colluding to ease back the worst of their pandemic restrictions, with an eye to upcoming elections, it might have seemed that my oft-repeated warning that they will never let us be free again, if they can help it was
Former Labor premier of Victoria, John Cain, famously said, “We may have hired a few nongs, but we weren’t crooks”. As Victorians watched their state economy collapse around them, they might have questioned Cain’s protestation, but he was at least right that he wasn’t a crook. Even
For an activist, a problem solved is an existential crisis. If an NGO admits that the problem it was formed to fix has been solved, then they logically have to shut up shop and find a new job. They’ll also have to kiss goodbye to the river of lavish
Everything is proceeding to plan. Another key Western institution has been wedged, divided and broken by the Long March through the Institutions. The particular salient institution, in this case, is the Anglican Church and the tactical issue is one of the big-winning weapons of the Long March left: same-sex marriage.
Much of the Coalition’s campaign effort in the 2022 election has been diverted to fighting off, not just Labor and the Greens, but the “teal independents”. These are a handful of very rich, almost entirely female, climate botherers in what are normally deep-blue conservative seats. They are threatening to
So, another new national Australian curriculum is released: is it the fix for declining standards we’ve all been waiting for? It’s a start. But it’s a timid pushback at best against the woke-ist rot. Children will be taught about their “eco identity’’, safe dating and giving clear
As Judith Collins once said, the more someone insists on telling you how honest they are, the more carefully you should check your pockets. As far as the 2022 Australian election goes, the more idle rich climate fantasists insist that they are “independents”, the more carefully voters should check who’
From the beginning of the Australian election, Labor have consistently held the lead but failed to generate momentum. That is, there is no sense of “it’s time”, or indeed, any great enthusiasm for the party. In fact, Anthony Albanese’s campaign so far has been more a masterclass in
Labor is doing anything it can to avoid discussing border protection during the election and there’s no prize for guessing why. This election is their’s to lose — and being honest about their border priorities would be a good way to do it. Border protection is pure poison for
Mary The Australian Labor Party’s solution to the difficulties first homeowners face getting into the market has rightly been criticised on a number of fronts. The scheme has all the appearances of having been thought up on the run by people with little real-world experience. Questions have been raised
On his first week back on the campaign trail after catching Covid, Anthony Albanese has stumbled yet again, fluffing questions from journalists. This time, though, it wasn’t a “gotcha” on economic figures, it was a Dorothy Dixer on one of Labor’s signature policies. Trying to capitalise on its
As BFD readers will surely be aware, I’m no fan of the Solomon Islands government and its security pact with China. But, if nothing else, the whole affair serves to throw a harsh light on the rank hypocrisy of the media-political rhetoric over the Ukraine war. It also shows
How’d’ya like them apples, Jacinda? After five years of politely enduring constant sniping and cattiness from his New Zealand counterpart, Australian PM Scott Morrison has lobbed a big ol’ return serve right across the Tasman. You think things are bad in Australia, Morrison says? Just be thankful you’
Will the real Anthony Albanese please step forward? The hardscrabble lad from the housing commission? The red-ragging radical in the Billy Bragg t-shirt? Or the newly-minted, slimmed-down, soberly suit-n-tie “fiscally conservative moderate who rejects wokeness”? The opposition leader is not nicknamed “Each-Way Albo” for nothing. The Anthony Albanese who was
