The breathtaking cynicism of contemporary Australian politics has surely reached its apogee with the announcement that recently retired ALP national secretary Karl Bitar is to join the Packer gambling empire. With the stroke of a Meisterstuck pen on an equally fat contract, the celebrated spinmeister’s alloted task is no longer to keep a benevolent … [Read more...] about #26 AUSTRALIAN LABOR’S BITAR LEGACY
#25 THE KING AND I : A PACIFIC INTRIGUE
A bizarre rerun of the political intrigues of the 19th century South Seas aristocracy is being played out at a stately royal residence on the waterfront of the sleepy Tongan capital, Nuku’alofa. Consular House was once the home of the British High Commissioner to Tonga and the lion and the unicorn still gaze majestically down from the wall in the … [Read more...] about #25 THE KING AND I : A PACIFIC INTRIGUE
#24 AUSTRALIA’S PACIFIC FANTASY
The Australian foreign policy establishment has been plunged into an agonising debate with the gradual realisation that Canberra’s long-standing hardline approach to events in Fiji has failed. The bipartisan consensus between Labor and the Coalition that the diplomatic cold shoulder and targeted sanctions would eventually bring the Bainimarama … [Read more...] about #24 AUSTRALIA’S PACIFIC FANTASY
#23 THE SERPENT DECAPITATED
The capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden has triggered joyous scenes at "Ground Zero" in New York - the scene of his greatest crime - and outside the White House, where Barack Obama is also celebrating the sweetest victory of all in the global war on terror. But while the serpent's head has been removed, the body -in the form of a global jihadist … [Read more...] about #23 THE SERPENT DECAPITATED
#22 HAPPY AND GLORIOUS
For ardent republicans, this is the most testing of weeks, and those of us who support the notion of Australia remaining a constitutional monarchy ought to be especially sensitive to the appalling spectre that confronts these tortured souls. A new opinion poll puts support for an Australian republic at the lowest level in 17 years, with 41 per … [Read more...] about #22 HAPPY AND GLORIOUS
#21 THE OLLEY AND THE ARCHIES
Controversy invariably dogs Australia’s most celebrated art award – The Archibald Prize for portraiture – and fortunately for those of us who love a good artistic stoush, this year is no exception. As the hordes descend on the Art Gallery of New South Wales this weekend for the usually suffocating launch of the Archibald Exhibition, all eyes will … [Read more...] about #21 THE OLLEY AND THE ARCHIES