AUS Politics
NZ and Australia Play ‘Happy Families’ in Queenstown: Part Two
Dr Bryce Edwards democracyproject.nz Dr Bryce Edwards is Political Analyst in Residence at Victoria University of Wellington. He is the director of the Democracy Project. June 2, 2021 Today’s Herald editorial isn’t buying all the forced bonhomie, instead lampooning how the rather contrived patching up of differences,
NZ and Australia Play ‘Happy Families’ in Queenstown: Part One
Dr Bryce Edwards is Political Analyst in Residence at Victoria University of Wellington. He is the director of the Democracy Project. Dr Bryce Edwards democracyproject.nz June 2, 2021 The level of orchestration and political acting was turned up a notch this week in Queenstown by Prime Ministers Jacinda Ardern
And the Victoria Follies Roll On
As I wrote last week, it’s a case of “Here we go again. Again” in Victoria. Not that I lay claim to any special powers of prognostication: pretty much everyone in Australia who heard the words “cluster” and “Victoria” knew where it was headed. In fact, when it comes
Will Ardern’s New Resolve Hold Firm?
New Zealand’s prime minister has been fed a steady drip of treats and belly-rubs from China in return for rolling over and sitting up for the past two years. Now that she’s soiled the carpet, the rolled-up newspaper is out in a flash. Beijing has lashed out at
Pull Yer Head In, Jacinda
It’s what we in Australia call “pulling your head in”. It’s what happens when some drongo at the footy or in the pub is mouthing off and everyone else is silently cracking the shits with them. Pretty soon, they get told to “pull yer head in”. Being invariably
Australia Turns up the Heat on NZ’s Relationship with China
Bryce Edwards democracyproject.nz Dr Bryce Edwards is Political Analyst in Residence at Victoria University of Wellington. He is the director of the Democracy Project. May 31, 2021 Is New Zealand navigating the China-West, politics-trade relationship in a craven way? Increasingly that seems to be the view from overseas, and
Spare the Mice
Many of you will know that parts of Australia are currently suffering a once-in-a-lifetime mouse plague. The plague is affecting rural parts of Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia, resulting in the destruction of crops and people’s livelihoods. This is a tragedy for all concerned… but according
The 60 Minutes Show That the NZ Media Probably Won’t Run
In calling out China for its increasing aggression, human rights violations and COVID cover-ups, Australia is paying a hefty price for storming the high moral ground. A furious Beijing is doing everything it can, using trade tariffs to punish us economically. But across the Tasman it’s a completely different
Groundhog Day
Mary Fifteen months since the start of this pandemic it seems nothing much has been learned. Here we are in Victoria into our fourth lockdown after 21 people were diagnosed as having the Covid-19 virus. We have to wear masks indoors and out, cannot travel more than 5 kilometres from
Protesters in Melbourne Say They Will Not Comply with the Fourth Lockdown
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Labor Voters Turn to the ‘Fringe’
As I reported recently, even Labor insiders and unionists are warning the party leadership to drop the woke-ism and stop making policy in and for “inner-city coffee shops”. That covers everything from climate alarmism to radical gender theory. As former frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon warned, Labor’s brand is rapidly going
A Religious Symbol, Not a Knife: At the Heart of the NSW Kirpan Ban Is a Battle to Define Secularism
Renae Barker The University of Western Australia Renae Barker is a lecturer in law at the University of Western Australia and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for Muslim States and Societies. She completed her PhD at UWA in 2014. The New South Wales government has put a temporary
Why Do Unemployed People Even Need Childcare?
You might wonder why two parents who aren’t working would even need childcare. After all, wasn’t the whole point of childcare to free up mothers to return to work? Ah, you see: that’s why you’re not an expert. You’re just not clever enough to understand
#TheyFleeFromDan
It’s like watching the start of just about every zombie apocalypse movie: a montage of ever-more-urgent news reports, graphics of growing numbers of infected, footage of lines of cars fleeing the city. Except that the zombies in this case are very real: they’re the politicians and health bureaucrats