Law & Politics
Our parliament needs to become a more inclusive and welcoming place for all
This is a lightly edited transcript of a speech given to the Tasmanian Legislative Council 28 March 2023. It is …
What can be done to help Australia’s biodiversity
The regent honeyeater is a small bird, mostly black, with speckles of soft yellow dotted down its body. Its chirp …
Taking a critical look at cancel culture
The recent decision of the major law firm MinterEllison to sever ties with the Adelaide Festival because it invited two Palestinian writers …
Religious schools can build a community of faith without discriminating
In 2018, Australians were shocked to learn that religious schools still had the right to discriminate against LGBTQ students and …
The spread of QAnon beyond the United States
The name crops up all over the place, but many people have no real understanding of what QAnon is, or …
The imperfect union of two presidents
Joe Biden’s relationship with Barack Obama, as explored by Gabriel Debenedetti in The Long Alliance: The Imperfect Union of Joe …
In recognising all faiths and beliefs, we can show fairness and equity
This is a lightly edited transcript of a speech given to the Fraser Coast Regional Council on 25 February 2023. …
The finest kind of democratic leader
Word has spread. After five and a half years as Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern is stepping down …
Is there a ‘right to disobey’?
One of the first moves of the newly elected Whitlam Labor government in December 1972 was to free seven men …
Sing a song of sunshine – and beware
Functions at Government House in Canberra these days are likely to end with a demand from Mrs Linda Hurley, wife …
Foxes, hedgehogs and the death of journalism
The age of journalism is gone, managed information processing has succeeded, and the glory of newspapers is extinguished forever. This …
Misinformation in the mainstream media
While we worry about social media misinformation we overlook that one of the main sources of misinformation about politics is …