I remember being in my office in the old Parliament House (now the Museum of Australian Democracy) on November 11, 1985, 10 years after the Dismissal. I was working for John Howard, who had recently become leader of the Liberal Party and the opposition. As I recall, it was a quiet day apart from the [...]
COMMENT BY GERARD HENDERSON FOR THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN, SATURDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2025 There are a few surprises in Tony Abbott’s recently released Australia: A History (HarperCollins, 2025) which, according to reports, is already undergoing a reprint. The written word is supplemented by a three-part Sky News documentary of the same name. First, the publication received [...]
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s successful meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington DC this week demonstrates that the modern-day Labor Party is better at base politics than the modern Liberal Party. Albanese’s media coverage was supportive at best and sympathetic at worst. After all, he had a positive story to tell involving Trump’s apparent support [...]
COMMENT BY GERARD HENDERSON FOR THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN – SATURDAY 11 OCTOBER 2025 On Monday October 9, 2023 I watched the opponents of Israel’s right to exist within secure borders march down Phillip Street en route to the Sydney Opera House. It was a noisy affair with much chanting and beating of drums. This was [...]
COMMENT BY GERARD HENDERSON FOR THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN – SATURDAY 4 OCTOBER 2025 For evidence that the taxpayer-funded public broadcaster is out of touch and all but devoid of viewpoint diversity, look no further than the ABC’s senior management. The ABC Board is appointed by the government – with the exception of managing director and [...]
Reference to the national interest in democratic politics is invariably embraced by governments rather than oppositions. Democracy, after all, is the resolution of conflict by nonviolent means following a contest of ideas between various interests. It is governments that invariably prevail in the battle of ideas. Foreign Minister Penny Wong was interviewed by Sally Sara [...]
It is an observable fact that some individuals of high intelligence and considerable education are sometimes foolish. Moreover, quite a few of this cohort believe what they want to believe. The recent political assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk illustrates the point. The first intelligent and well-educated fool out of the gate following [...]
A politician's lot in opposition is not a happy one, to paraphrase from the comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. But it can be useful. The Liberal Party-Nationals Coalition is destined to be in opposition for at least another three years after its disastrous performance in the May 2025 election – and possibly longer. But [...]
The term "useful idiot" is frequently attributed to the Bolshevik Vladimir Lenin who became the first totalitarian dictator of the Soviet Union. I have never been able to source this quote and it does not appear in Lenin's written work. However, it's possible that he said this in private company since it was not likely [...]
It was a speech devoid of hindsight or foresight. On August 6, Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman stood at the podium of the National Press Club in Canberra. His topic was There's Nothing Casual About Racism: Getting Serious About Racial Equity. Close to halfway through his address, the commissioner turned his attention to "current [...]