In recent weeks we have seen a controversy initiated by the ABC’s investigation into the private affairs of two cabinet members of the Morrison coalition government. The most frequent criticism of the public broadcaster has been that it seems to have singled out members of the government for moral scrutiny but has not applied similar […]
No doubt many of my readers view me as a reactionary, old troglodyte (and probably with some justification) but I still cling to this old-fashion notion of the dignity of work. As I have written in many previous essays how work provides a sense of meaning and purpose for many of us. Consequently being out […]
As was often the case in the Electricity Industry during my career, there had been another major restructure and which, as a result, meant that the CEO I had previously reported to had changed as well. Shortly after, I went to head office with a man who worked for me tutoring our middle managers and […]
In France we recently saw a teacher beheaded because in a class about free speech he showed his students (at least those who agreed they wouldn’t be offended) replicas of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. In 2015 two Islamist brothers forced their way into the offices of the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, in Paris and killed […]
What I am about to write, I am sure, is going to cause some offense to the champions of identity politics, the proponents of “wokeness” and those that indigenous researcher Anthony Dillon calls the “blacktivists”. Well that is unfortunate but such confected offense should not stop the truth being told. Again I will take up […]
It was probably when I was studying economics that I first heard about Thomas Robert Malthus. In 1796 Malthus wrote an essay on The Principle of Population wherein he postulated that the availability of food would inevitably limit human population growth and that populations would inexorably expand until the dwindling of food supplies thwarted human […]
It is difficult to get a handle on the progress of indigenous Australians. We know that judging by the “Closing the Gap” targets indigenous progress has ostensibly stalled. And indeed, if we look specifically at remote indigenous communities we might throw our hands up in despair and conclude that resolving issues of indigenous disadvantage is […]
We came into this world never choosing our history. A sexual union of our parents brought us into physical existence. We had no choice in the matter. Some of us are blessed to be brought into the world with love and are fortunate to be a part of a household that loves us unconditionally. The […]
Those of us who value our freedom have had a real roller-coaster ride in recent times. (I suspect that we all value freedom. But it is like the air we breathe – many of us take it for granted until it is taken away from us. Any drowning person will immediately recognise the importance of […]
Ah, When constabulary duty’s to be done, to be done, A policeman’s lot is not a happy one. Gilbert & Sullivan, The Pirates of Penzance When I was a young manager in the 1970’s, I lived in a small regional community and I knew the sergeant of police quite well. He was a very […]