Judicial officers lose their majesty - posted by Graham

Two of the undercurrents lurking in the Fingelton saga are the increasing politicisation of court appointments and the increasing willingness of judicial officers to go public. We published a piece yesterday by Senator Joe Ludwig, who was is Federal ALP... More

Fisycian heal thyself - posted by Graham

In all the Wagnerian sound and fury as Di Fingleton swoops on the Queensland legal and political establishment blaming everyone but herself for her conviction and incarceration I have yet to hear anyone ask one of the more basic questions.... More

A climate model worth studying - posted by Graham

Those who paid attention to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy will know not just that 42 is the answer to the meaning of life the universe and everything, but that the earth is actually a giant super-computer whose purpose... More

Expert predicts this could be another "mega" moment for Flannery - posted by Graham

A few posts ago I threatened to start a database which would check on experts' predictions after the event to see how many of them are correct. Now I'd like to make a nomination, even though I don't yet have... More

Convert don't forgive international debt - posted by Graham

The British push seems to have tipped the balance in favour of debt forgiveness for poor countries, with an agreement by the G8 to write off US $40 billion in debt. Is this really what is needed? To me it... More

Northern Territory election result - confirmation bias - posted by Graham

I'm not about to undertake any deep analysis of the Northern Territory result because I haven't done any research on what NT voters thought and so would just be retailing chattering class gossip and my own prejudices. But that doesn't... More

Parkinson's Laws - Recommendation 23 - posted by Graham

The inquiry into the Child Support Scheme headed by Professor Parkinson has some intriguing recommendations in its report, and I will be devoting a series of blog posts to them, starting with the most intriguing. And the most intriguing recommendation,... More

Wacko, I was right about Jackson: Time for some more predictions - posted by Graham

In this blog post I predicted that Michael Jackson should get off. That was two months ago. Now I'm waiting for the stories probing the litigation industry, asking how the matter could have got to court, and putting the media... More

How influential is this? - posted by Graham

We generally boast that On Line Opinion has 70,000 individual readers each month who visit a total of 230,000 times, but sometimes you can be staggered by where these readers come from. While the majority is from Australia, a substantial... More

Rethinking National Parks in the light of Terra Nullius - posted by Graham

There is a myth around that declaring something a National Park represents a return to a former pristine state, and that this can be done by merely leaving the property alone. This idea is in many cases just another expression... More

Labor is killing Queensland - posted by Graham

It isn't true, it's not smart politics, it's authorised by the Queensland Nationals and it is on a billboard just metres away from where Campbell Newman started his billboard campaign to rid Brisbane of gridlock. I know people from National... More

Balance of power and unfair dismissal - posted by Graham

There are a couple of assumptions underlying the unfair dismissal debate which deserve to be challenged. The first is that "unfair" is the appropriate adjective - this is always taken for granted by opponents and interviewers, and never explored by... More

Child support and taxes - Howard's battlers are battling - posted by Graham

When John Howard criticised the proposed Georgiou private member's bills in the party room he is reported to have asked "Don't you know how we won the last election." This isn't just a reference to so-called "dog whistling" but a... More

Some days are Diamond, some days are Jared - posted by Graham

Thursday last week I went to hear Jared Diamond, over here, over-hyped and with the most outrageous comb-over I've ever seen. What is it with Australians that we are such suckers for the latest snake-oil salesman from the US, unless... More