What do Robert Menzies, Malcolm Fraser, John Howard and Tony Abbott all have in common? Well, all four led the Liberal Party to government from opposition (in 1949, 1975, 1996 and 2013 respectively) and not one was popular on the night of their election victory. Also, this successful quartet presented themselves as conviction politicians. Sure, [...]
It’s a rare occasion indeed when six of Australia’s seven former prime ministers unite on one issue of public policy. This gives special importance to the statement issued by John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison last Monday, which declared there was no place in our country for racial [...]
I remember the Six Day War of June 1967 in which Israel fought and won a defensive war against the combined forces of Egypt, Jordan and Syria – gaining control of the Sinai, Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights in the process. At Melbourne University at the time, the academics and students on [...]
GERARD HENDERSON’S MEDIA WATCH DOG ISSUE – NO. 658 27 October 2023 * * * * Stop Press – Nine News airs a pro-Palestine chant, minus the calls for Israel’s elimination; The ABC rushes to blame Israel for the Gaza hospital explosion MWD Editorial - The ABC blames “news avoidance” for falling audience numbers Can You [...]
It comes as some surprise when the ABC is criticised by one of its own and a senior judge in less than a week. But not so much that neither event was regarded as big news on the taxpayer-funded public broadcaster. Last Saturday, Nine newspapers reported that ABC TV political editor Laura Tingle, who is also [...]
Whatever happened to Jacinda Ardern? It’s a reasonable question to ask about the former New Zealand Labour prime minister as that nation heads to a general election on October 14 – the same day as Australia’s constitutional referendum on the voice. As the saying goes, it’s unwise to make predictions, especially about the future. Less [...]
Another day, another revelation about the extent of historical child sexual abuse in government institutions, including schools. This, close to six years since the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, chaired by Peter McClellan KC, wound up. On Tuesday, Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff released the final report of the Commission of Inquiry into the [...]
It was once reported that former prime minister Paul Keating opposed televising proceedings of the House of Representatives. He was said to be concerned that footage of parliamentarians behaving badly, particularly at question time, could be counter-productive to the standing of politicians when shown on TV news bulletins. In the event, the House of Representatives [...]
Once upon a time, cartoonists presented as a cynical lot who preferred a clever and witty line at the bottom of a caricature drawing to, say, membership of the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge. Not any more, it seems. Not with respect to the cartoonists of the leftist kind. Late last week, news broke that some journalists [...]
Talk about a pair of failures – involving a taxpayer-funded royal commission and the taxpayer-funded public broadcaster. In one instance at least. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, headed by former NSW Supreme Court judge Peter McClellan KC, was set up by Julia Gillard’s Labor government in late 2012. It enjoyed [...]