China not plastic fantastic - posted by Graham

As part of the FTA being negotiated with China Australia is required to recognise that China is a market economy. I actually didn't think there was much doubt that this was the case these days, but a recent news report... More

What are the Queensland Libs offering the Nats? - posted by Graham

One of the most common complaints you hear from politicians is that they have been misrepresented by the media. Generally it's whinging, but occasionally you come across the real thing. It's insidious when the media misrepresents what public figures are... More

Labor in favour of flat tax and non-means-tested welfare - posted by Graham

I never thought I would see the day when Labor members were arguing for flat rate taxation and non-means-tested welfare. But then the Voluntary Student Union debate is unusual. The arguments for keeping compulsory student unionism appear to be that... More

Queensland Liberals - history repeating - posted by Graham

Here we go again. It's like a familiar school ground dust-up. You know that whenever the Queensland Nationals throw a punch, the Queensland Libs are going to walk straight into it. This morning's Courier Mail provides yet another example with... More

Is the Internet balkanising political debate? - posted by Graham

Good question, and one I've always answered in the affirmative after reading work by Cass Sunstein on group polarisation. That's why On Line Opinion has a determinedly multi-partisan point of view - the last thing we need is more intellectual... More

Mogadon versus heroin - posted by Graham

Rob Davis of the Queensland Law Society is opposed to using private laboratories to augment the John Tonge centre's DNA testing. Apparently private companies couldn't be trusted not to tamper with the evidence! Read Bernie Matthews' series of articles about... More

Tower of Babel shows democracy alive in Iraq - posted by Graham

The Iraqi Parliament is due to sit today and the parties still haven't managed to form a government - that's a good sign. Much of the Australian commentary on the Iraqi elections, including a number of articles published in On... More

More evidence of evolution? - posted by Graham

Our environmental narratives tend to exclude man as being a sort of non-natural being. A termite nest is a thing of wonder, but a sky-scraper is a blight, that sort of thing. Until recently man has been such an insignificant... More

Memo to Howard: They're armless - posted by Graham

The Courier Mail reports this morning that John Howard is going to broker a peace between the Queensland Libs and Nats. Here we go again. Not that the CM journalists appear to be aware of this. The CM reports "Mr... More

Urban environment shapes urban violence - posted by Graham

One thread binds the riots in Redfern's "The Block", Palm Island and Macquarie Meadows. It's not race, it's public housing. In all the talk of tougher laws and social intervention, hardly anyone is dealing with the root cause. If you... More

Will Ingrid equal Tracy? - posted by Graham

The Queensland coast has had a period of relative cyclonic calm since the storms that brought the Brisbane floods of 1974, but is that about to change? Cyclone Ingrid, centred 330 kilometres off Cooktown has just intensified to category five.... More

You've got to be mean to be green - posted by Ronda Jambe

It's not easy being an eco-fem. That why Vandana Shiva and Arundhati Roy are heroines. Long ago, I also had some sympathy for Ros Kelly as she struggled to place 'brown issues' on the policy agenda. Overall Labor has not... More

Another interest rate story - posted by Graham

Some were well and truly banking on an interest rate rise this morning. Westpac was very fast out of the blocks with this email. Curious thing is that I've never received anything from them by email before, and as far... More

How rich do you have to be to read The Australian? - posted by Graham

Today's front page on The Australian illustrated the interest rates story with yarn about a poor Sydney woman who would now have to pay $160 more per month on her mortgage. The accompanying table showed that she must have had... More