“Can do” Campbell’s “Mightn’t do” Council - posted by Graham

Mandate theory is being given a work-out in Brisbane. Liberal Campbell Newman has been elected Lord Mayor, but 17 out of the 27 councillors are Labor. Neither side is taking it well. Newman says he is “the Boss” and his... More

Is the electorate more "tolerant" than we think? - posted by Jeff Wall

THE media has given virtually no coverage (bar this) to one of the more extraordinary results in the weekend’s council elections in New South Wales and Queensland – the re- election of the Mayor of Maitland, NSW, Peter Blackmore. Mr... More

Natural Catastrophe - posted by peter

I’ve been enjoying the current ABC nature series on Sunday nights. They show the amazing special effects available to even documentary makers now and highlight the growing understanding of natural relationships. The name – “Wolf (or ‘Shark’ etc) Battleground” –... More

Movie History - posted by peter

I watched ‘Pearl Harbor’ last night on TV –yet another Hollywood blockbuster that made me think, “Glad I didn’t blow ten bucks on this stinker”. It certainly palls beside the 1970s movie ‘Tora, Tora, Tora’, a joint US-Japanese production that... More

Blokey Violence - posted by peter

The allegations of sexual misconduct against rugby and Aussie rules footballers just keep on coming. What, aren’t soccer players, basketballers, etc, real men too? Of course, there may actually be something in this. It might be the specific culture of... More

Whose Decision? - posted by peter

Ah, John Howard, what a funny guy… I presume that was a joke when he said all those Coalition parliamentarians calling Latham an ally of Al Quaida were doing it on their own, and so forbid he should intervene. I... More

Someone to win, but on a losing vote - posted by Graham

Now I am sure why my ALP source only told me Campbell Newman’s primary vote, but not Tim Quinn’s. The Courier Mail published its polling today. Both candidates are each receiving only 38% on primaries. That means that Newman has... More

Dawn raids and doddering academics - posted by Graham

There is a tradition in my area of the ALP launching a last minute sneak attack using a manufactured issue designed to fill electors with fear and loathing of the Liberal candidate. Labor is a party that cherishes its traditions,... More

THE NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE’S WEAK LEADERSHIP ON SHOW AGAIN - posted by Jeff Wall

THE response by the National Rugby League (NRL) to the revelation that a “prominent Bulldogs player” tested positive to cocaine further confirms everything that is wrong about the leadership of rugby league today. So far we know that anonymous players... More

Complete Idiots - posted by peter

Likely PM Mark Latham must be very happy with Senator Bishop and his old right faction in WA right now. As Latham gets up a head of steam to wrest back government from Howard and Co, an old style ALP... More

What a Difference a War Makes - posted by peter

Well, we have a proper election on our hands, complete with increasingly stark choices between the two contenders. Mark Latham is smoking out John Howard, making it hard for him to maintain his lofty prime ministerial stature. Howard is claiming... More

Polling leaks versus the Courier Mail - posted by Graham

The source of my ALP polling information now tells me that they have Campbell Newman on 34% this week, so he's up a little again, but apparently not enough to worry them. Still, polls can be deceitful things. None of... More

Liberals slough toward despond in Brisbane - posted by Graham

Leaked ALP polling says that the Liberal Party is due for yet another hiding in the Brisbane City Council election this Saturday. As of the week before last Labor had Liberal Lord Mayoral Candidate Campbell Newman peaking on only 32%... More

Discrimination is not a sin, but HREOC is on the slippery slope - posted by Graham

But there is a logical problem for HREOC here. Something is either discriminatory or not. I have a bit of trouble seeing the practical difference between the discrimination they are prepared to licence and the discrimination they are determined to ban. Given the tens of thousands of teachers in the NSW Catholic School system, the difference between 12/12 and 12 only is negligible in its effect on the system. More

Dodgy Role Models - posted by peter

The accusations hanging over the heads of several Rugby League and AFL players of serious misconduct highlight the problem we have currently with providing role models for our young males. This problem occurs in the midst of something of a... More

The Terrorists Are Winning - posted by peter

John Howard’s announcement of an extra $400 million for the Oz intelligence services is another sign that the tiny international terrorist movement is winning its war with western civilisation. That is $400 million that won’t be going to fix the... More

Rugby League - the consequences of weak and inadequate leadership - posted by

Rugby league today is in crisis, no matter how much its national and club administrators continue to pretend otherwise. It is a crisis of confidence, the real consequences of which won't be felt for some years when mums and dads, and school sports teachers, make decisions about what code of football (if any) boys will take up. More

Victims of the Iraq War - posted by peter

My prediction made earlier in this blog that all three major leaders of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ – George Bush, Tony Blair and John Howard – would lose office by the end of this year is looking good. I... More

Is Rudd calling for reform of ASIO? and other fallout from Madrid - posted by Graham

Yesterday’s decision by the newly elected Spanish Socialist government to withdraw its troops from Iraq might decrease the chances of another Al Qaeda (assuming it was Al Qaeda) attack on Spanish soil for the short term, but it has to... More

Three Movies about War - posted by peter

Over the weekend I watched a trio of war movies on TV. “The Battle of Britain” was about perhaps the most important battle of WWII, “Thirteen Days” was about how we avoided nuclear war in 1962, and “The war of... More

Al Qaeda - Bringing governments down - posted by Graham

Today’s Spanish election result where the Socialist Party beat the right wing Popular Party will resonate in Australian politics. It is said that the result of the election turned on the government’s reaction to the terrorist bombing, and that therefore... More

The Queensland Nationals miss the point……again! - posted by Graham

This post was sent to me be one of our most frequent readers: "THE day after Peter Beattie named the date for the recent Queensland State Election I told my clients in a written brief I expected he would be... More

Easy Peasy for Johnson - posted by Graham

Liberal MHR for Ryan, Michael Johnson won an easy victory today by 328 votes to 68 over his only rival, Stephen Huang. This doesn’t really say much about Johnson. Stephen Huang was not the candidate to beat Johnson who won... More

More Controversial Movies - posted by peter

To continue my theme about the end of old politics and the rise of corporatised mass culture as the new driver of western and increasingly global civilisation, the latest talking point is the new eco-catastrophe movie ‘The Day After Tomorrow’.... More

Latham’s Way - posted by peter

In the only speech I’ve heard Latham give in person (before he was ALP leader), he compared Labor’s position with that of the ALP under Gough Whitlam before the 1972 election. He said that the ALP had to do what... More

Who's in poll position? - posted by Graham

Gary Morgan complains with some justification that this week’s Newspoll figures and last week’s AC Neilsen ones showing Labor in the lead are not new news at all. His figures were showing it as early as December. In my view... More

Peter, what are you doing? - posted by Graham

A week ago Teresa Mullan media adviser to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs lost her job. My post of three days ago has the details. I’ve checked the Premier’s press releases and no direct reason is given for the sacking.... More

Whose Army Anyway? - posted by peter

Well, I hesitate to enter the highly contested field of military procurement, but there was a sense of inevitability about the choice of the Abrams battle tank for the Oz army. Increasingly the Oz military looks like the regional task... More

Labour’s Problems - posted by peter

According to British Labour’s leader of the Commons Peter Hain, New Labour is “overcentralised, undemocratic and closed to new ideas”. I don’t honestly know how true this is of New Labour, but it certainly describes the ALP very well indeed.... More

Accepting Responsibility for Disaster - posted by peter

This blog has been considering a few religious issues lately, including Mel Gibson’s new film. While we are on this religious theme, I would suggest that there are some interesting parallels between Christ’s death and the current situation in Iraq.... More

What would Jesus do? - posted by Graham

That is the question that came home with my girls from Sunday School the other day branded across a couple of book marks. The Oxford Diocese of the Anglican Church seems to have asked themselves the same question and come... More

Pentagon Report on Global Warming - posted by peter

In my last blog entry I mentioned a Pentagon report on global warming. This was taken from the Guardian website and some have claimed the story misrepresented the actuality. Thanks to a lead from a reader I’ve got more info... More

Grapes of Wrath - posted by Graham

On the basis of its last two election results, the most competent political administration in the country is the Beattie government. So why is it in so much trouble over a ten dollar bottle of wine? The story so far,... More

Bush V The Pentagon - posted by peter

President Bush must be getting sick of the Pentagon criticising him. Recently a Pentagon report argued that the War on Iraq would only expand global terrorism and create a quagmire the Americans might be stuck in for years. And now... More

The Perils of Blogging - posted by peter

Hmmm, this blogging thing is tricky. It was originally put forward (not so long ago at all – this is very much an infant sub-genre) as being sort of like a cross between a diary and an essay – more... More

Road tour - posted by Graham

I have not been pulling my weight on this blog. Over the last month since the Queensland State election, Peter McMahon has blogged (cyber for “spawned”) twenty times and I have only blogged three. I have a number of excuses,... More

Post-Rational Politics - posted by peter

There are some strange things going on right now that suggest that we may be entering a new phase of post-rational politics. If this is true, then celebrity will replace intellectual competence as the main political asset. First, let us... More

Kids, Mobs and Violence - posted by peter

Recently we here in the west have been treated to some exciting TV footage of rioting kids battling the thin blue line (as the talkback jocks like to call it) on hot summer nights. First there was the bloody running... More

Politicians Discover the Future - posted by peter

How amusing to see the government getting so concerned about the future of Oz’s population all of a sudden. Apparently, they have found out about this thing called ‘demography’ and are now all excited about it. “Demography is destiny” is... More