I’ve noted earlier how globalised terrorism has moved the front-line behind us in a war in which we are all footsoliders, whether we like it or not, and whether we approved of invading Afghanistan and Iraq or not. I was dismayed to see the news reports that Jason Gillespie thinks we should call off the […]

Looking at the disasters of the first half of John Howard’s career, who would have thought that second half would be so fortunate. Howard’s latest stroke of good luck is the new website http://getup.org.au/. The site claims to be part of “a new progressive movement in Australia” and is fairly transparently modelled on http://moveon.org/ in […]

Liberals are scratching their heads about the new demand by Bruce Scott, the Queensland Nationals’ new State President, that they form a Coalition with the Nationals before the Redcliffe and Chatsworth by-elections. Is this deliberate sabotage, or just incompetence? What our polling (rtf) shows is that Queenslanders want a decent opposition and don’t think they […]

The resignation from parliament today of Queensland Treasurer Terry Mackenroth forces Premier Peter Beattie to take a position on a by-election quinella. It also gives Liberal Party State President Michael Caltabiano a decisive part to play in proving that the Queensland Liberal Party is fit to help provide Labor with a decent opposition. In a […]

Queensland’s Labor Party appears to believe it is born to rule, and that could help the Queensland Opposition to win the Redcliffe by-election. That’s as long as the opposition can convince the public that they are not born losers – and the signs are not good on that front – which is probably the reason […]

The latest Newspoll shows the Coalition winning the same proportion of the vote now as at the last election (within the statistical margin for error). This is a very bad result for Labor as it comes at a time when popular commentary suggested that the Government was in trouble over its IR changes. If that […]

Apprehensions of bias will create actual bias, at least in the case of two health bureaucrats who are threatening to take the Morris Royal Commission to court. Actually, one of the bureaucrats, Peter Leck appears to have stepped back, while keeping the threat alive, no doubt a face saving gesture. The other, Director of Medical […]

Schapelle Corby is to have her case reopened. This would appear to be her last chance to work out what the Indonesian justice system is really about. It is not about abstract notions of justice, it is about power, influence and most significantly, money. Probably the stupidest thing that has happened in the whole affair […]

Another entry for my yet to be constructed database of predictions is climatologist Dr Roger Stone of the University of Southern Queensland and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries. On the first of June ABC Rural carried these pars: The prospects for normal winter rainfall and crops have deteriorated, with news today Australia is officially […]

Neophyte Senator Barnaby Joyce is hogging the limelight this morning on a false premise. While the Howard Government theoretically takes control of the Senate today, it is not because of Joyce’s election, but that of Russell Trood, the third elected Liberal Senator from Queensland. So I thought it was worth drawing a bit of attention […]