That life in a democracy is better than under any other form of government is attested to by the migration of hordes of people from undemocratic states into the democracies of Western Europe, North America, Australia and other democratic countries. Democracy is the peak achievement of Western civilisation. And whilst the left seems to want […]

In many ways I have had a fortunate life. One of the particular good fortunes I have experienced is to to have belonged to a loving and supportive family. My maternal grandmother had eleven children. She lived in a modest two-bedroom cottage. The kitchen/dining room was in a lean-to at the rear of the house […]

What’s in a name? That which we call a roseBy any other name would smell as sweet; When in Romeo and Juliet, Juliet utters these words Shakespeare is displaying the fulsome naivety that prevailed before we were assailed by “wokedom”. In such innocent times we were not unduly concerned how we named things because there […]

The lot of women has changed dramatically in my generation. When I married my wife, she was employed by the Queensland Public Service. But once we were married she was forced to resign. It was the State Government’s policy in those days not to employ married women. The old fashioned logic was that men were […]

The human mind is surely the most complex phenomenon that we are aware of in the universe. Consequently it displays many perplexing and often seemingly contradictory traits. Many of us, erroneously, believe that we are autonomous when it comes to our behaviour so that our will has dominion such that we can just choose to […]

One of the more important debates we are going to have this year is about the Voice referendum. The discussions about the Voice have already become very vitriolic and partisan. My friend and astute commentator on indigenous affairs, Anthony Dillon, deplores the fact that the debate on the voice has become so polarised that contrary […]

Roy Green was a farmer. He had a little plot not far out of town where he specialised in growing greens for the local vegetarian restaurants. Although he sometimes varied his crops his staples were kale, bean sprouts and lentils. And because he was an organic farmer his products received a high premium when sold […]

Our ability to assimilate into our Australian population migrants from a multitude of countries is often held up as an indicator of our tolerant and largely inclusive society. There is no doubt that strongly embedding such people into our society has aided both the economic and cultural advancement of our country. Of course in doing […]

In contrast to the current impecunious and troubled Greece of today, ancient Greece led the world with its concepts of philosophy, politics and citizenship. Many would argue that modern democracies owe much to the developments of these concepts over two millennia ago emanating from Greece. A major figure in these developments was Plato’s famous pupil, […]

In 1942, American composer, Aaron Copland, produced a musical work that he titled a Fanfare for the Common Man. This was an attractive concept for me because such tributes as fanfares are normally the preserve of kings and queens, emperors and presidents and those of popular high repute. I was reminded of this because of […]