Quelle surprise – as a French person might say, with a tinge of irony. French President Emmanuel Macron, during his trip to China last week, consciously distanced France from the US and much of Europe over China with respect to Taiwan. On a flight between Beijing and Guangzhou, Macron spoke to reporters from the US-based [...]
For humans and other creatures, mortality is a fact of life (and death). Some institutions, however, exhibit indications of eternal life – for the moment at least. The Catholic Church and some monarchies come to mind, but even their future is far from clear. After the Liberal Party’s defeat at the Aston by-election in eastern [...]
Last Monday, John Pesutto, the leader of the Liberal Party in Victoria, was interviewed by ABC 7.30 presenter Sarah Ferguson for some eight minutes. It’s a rare occasion when a new state opposition leader gets such exposure on an influential national program. And it was a discussion of the friendly genre. Early on, Ferguson called [...]
Without question, the worst response by a business or organisation facing declining support is to engage in fraud. Followed by a (possibly unconscious) decision to throw the switch to denial. In recent weeks, both News Corp and Nine newspapers have been reporting the decline in ABC ratings, particularly with respect to radio. This followed the [...]
Former Australian Labor Party prime minister Paul Keating is highly intelligent, often thoughtful and occasionally very funny. Like all of us, he is adversely affected by the consequences of what Christians call The Fall. Namely, the imperfectability that pervades the human race. On Wednesday, Keating addressed the National Press Club in Canberra. Usually such appearances [...]
Since the May 2022 election, much political commentary has focused on the threat by teal independents to the Liberal Party. And for good reason. Teal independents hold seven seats that not so long ago had been safe or relatively safe Liberal seats in affluent suburbs, mostly close to the central business district – namely, North [...]
On Thursday came the news that ABC staff who were members of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance would stop work between 2pm and 2.40pm (AEDT) next Tuesday, March 7. According to the report in Nine newspapers, members of the Community and Public Sector Union who work at the ABC will support their fellow toiling [...]
Over the decades since Federation in 1901, there have been differences on occasions between the Coalition and the Labor Party with respect to foreign policy. However, for the most part, Australian governments of whatever political flavour have pursued similar approaches. The reason for this is plain to see. Australia has a relatively small population located [...]
The ABC has a communications department that frequently fails to communicate. Along with a complaints outfit that rejects the overwhelming majority of complaints received. Many journalists, who dish out criticism of others, are oh-so-sensitive when on the receiving end. Such individuals thrive within the taxpayer-funded public broadcaster where bureaucratic structures have been established to protect [...]
In modern-day parlance, the concept of truth is a contested space. As in – “you may have your truth, but I have my truth”. Nevertheless, the concept of fact is a stubborn phenomenon and, from time to time, can hold its own in the battle of ideas. On Friday, January 27, ABC journalist Dan Bourchier [...]