By Stephen Saunders In America, Kamala Harris = word-salad is a national meme. Australia’s Harris of Demography has been at it again, garbling at great length for The Conversation. Americans exercise certain democratic rights to roast Harris. But Allen, along with Abul Rizvi and Laura Tingle, exists in rarefied space as an immigration whisperer to
My god, we are helpless. Australia was unaware Chinese warships were set to conduct live-fire exercises off its east coast until its security authorities were alerted via a Virgin Australia pilot who heard radio communications about the drills, according to a top air traffic official. In short, the Chinese cruiser could have fired off nuclear-armed HN missiles
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Wall Street continues to flail while European stocks try hard to push forward, buoyed by more defense spending promises while the cuts in US federal spending and employment loom large amid a the Canadian/Mexican tariffs that are still on the table. The USD was pushed back by Euro and Yen again overnight while the Australian
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Prosper Australia today expressed deep disappointment at the Victorian Government’s continued failure to implement value capture mechanisms in its recent upzoning announcements. By allowing landowners to reap windfall gains without returning a fair share to the community, the government has missed a vital opportunity to fund essential infrastructure and public services.
Trump’s assaults on governance could trigger systemic collapse. Here’s how it might happen, and how we can prepare.
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 18th February 2025
This is how Labour’s war on regulations will stymie its own policies. It is irrational and self-destructive.
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 11th February 2025
This might sound astonishing, but the UK government’s core programme now appears to be the same as Donald Trump’s: dismantling the administrative state. There’s less theatre, but the results could prove harder to contest. Absurd? Consider the evidence.
What could $27 billion fund if Commonwealth-state transfers were adjusted to bring revenue and expenses for each level of government closer to balance?
Over the past century and a half, politics and economics have evolved significantly in how we manage society. Yet, the core principle remains: every person born on this earth has a right to a share of its bounty.
The relationship between older, younger, and future Australians and our tax and spending priorities is based on an implicit generational bargain. Working age taxpayers support older and younger Australians and can expect the next generation to support them in the same way, and economic and social development will enable each successive generation to enjoy rising living standards. At the very least, we should not leave the next generation worse off.
The UK government’s pursuit of growth at all costs hands this country to predatory capital.
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 30th January 2025
I can scarcely believe I’m writing this, but it’s hard to dodge the conclusion. After 14 years of environmental vandalism, it might have seemed impossible for Labour to offer anything but improvement. But on green issues, this government is worse than the Tories.
Labour’s housing strategy makes a dysfunctional system bigger. We need systemic change.
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 26th January 2025
Build baby, build. That’s about the intellectual limit of the government’s housing strategy. Millions are under-housed, so let’s “bulldoze” the planning system and build more homes. But it’s not nearly so simple.