If I was a young gay man, I would be disturbed to know that the Islamists who control Hamas in Gaza regard me as a “bestie”. But this is the fate that has befallen Australian comedian Tom Ballard, who identifies with the LGBTQI+ movement in Australia. On January 4, Nine journalist Garry Maddox reported that [...]
It speaks volumes for the ABC that one of its key current affairs programs has discussed the first anniversary of the Capitol building riot in the US but ignored the alleged arson attack on Old Parliament House in Canberra on December 30 last year. On Radio National Breakfast last Thursday, presenter Hamish Macdonald interviewed Mick [...]
And so it has come to pass that there will be an election in 2022. This should not have come as any surprise – despite the fact that quite a few commentators predicted an early poll. The truth is that this never made much sense. Moreover, Scott Morrison has consistently mentioned that his government would [...]
This was the Year of the Ox – a symbol that represents, among other things, honesty. But, alas, not this time round. For we have lived through a period of massive hyperbole, wilful exaggeration, calculated deception and false prophecy on an industrial scale, along with bucketloads of pomposity and invincible ignorance. As can be judged [...]
When the Queen had a bad 1992, she used the words “annus horribilis” to describe her fate. It was a year that saw the separation of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, the devastating fire at Windsor Castle, and more besides. On any objective analysis, the ABC experienced a difficult 2021. However, you would [...]
If ever there was a case of political appropriation, this is it. In The Australian on Wednesday, Greg Brown reported that Simon Holmes a Court, the convener of Climate 200, has declared himself to be a “Menzian Liberal” who has lost faith in the modern Liberal Party. The reference is to Robert Menzies, who was United Australia [...]
Looking at the state of the Liberal Party and the Nationals in Parliament House right now, it seems that their parliamentarians are undertaking a general rehearsal for the end of the (political) world as they know it, to somewhat rephrase an old saying. As a result, it will be an extraordinary achievement if Scott Morrison [...]
Believe it or not, Howard Kurtz’s MediaBuzz program on Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News Channel in the US (it airs on Foxtel in Australia) is fair and balanced – whereas Paul Barry’s weekly ABC TV Media Watch program is devoid of pluralism. Before going to Fox News, Kurtz hosted CNN’s media criticism program Reliable Sources. Prior [...]
The term fascist used to have real meaning. It applied to Benito Mussolini’s dictatorship that prevailed in Italy from the March on Rome in October 1922 until the man who liked to be called Il Duce was overthrown in July 1943. The word liar used to be applied to someone who said something false with [...]
The concept that a book cannot be judged by its cover is a cliche of long standing. However, in democratic societies at least, it has been accepted that the scope of an organisation can be ascertained by its title. Not so the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption. As the recent public hearings in ICAC’s Operation Keppel demonstrate, [...]