Political Comment

The mantra ‘voters always get it right’ is repeated after every election by winners and losers. The decision of voters must be respected, blah, blah.

Senate Estimates descended into 'Yes Minister' territory last week when the vexed subject of AUKUS came up, following the revelation from deputy PM and defence minister Richard Marles that Australia's best case scenario was now that we would receive three second-hand submarines from the USA during the transition stage of this very expensive project, possibly between 2032 and 2038.

The sudden resignation of controversy-plagued National Anti-Corruption Commissioner Paul Brereton has served to further highlight the failings of an organisation which began with such high hopes, having been one of the key demands of the first teal representatives and a core promise of the incoming Albanese Labor government.

I believe Australians are fine with fairness for housing. The issue is messy because Labor went a step too far by increasing capital gains tax on non-housing investment. It was a tax grab out of the blue, so yes there is blowback.

Seven years since losing his seat in ignominious circumstances, Tony Abbott has returned from his long penance in the wilderness of Sky News and CPAC to become the latest president of what remains of the federal Liberal Party. He was elected unopposed after Alexander Downer withdrew.

I have decided to join Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (PHON). I have tired of voting for losers, and can sense a wave of support. After all, if they can shamelessly publicly signpost a meeting at Mullumbimby’s Lulu’s Cafe, then they must be on the up. Yep, six per cent is not a great starting point, but that’s all they got in Farrer in 2025 as well.

In the kind of move that Labor once derided in their opponents, the government used the cover of the federal budget – while most journalists were literally locked up – to deliver its response to the late Peta Murphy's report into online gambling, 'You Win Some, You Lose More'.

David Attenborough reaching one hundred years of age feels reassuring. I grew up with him and he undoubtedly shaped my love of nature. In many ways he’s the original influencer, staring down the barrel of the camera from exotic locations with an unparalleled dedication to his craft. It’s as if nature is talking through him.

The bookies were right, unfortunately. For the first time since 1996, Pauline Hanson has captured a seat in the House of Representatives via the democratic process, and this time it wasn't in Queensland.

The Farrer byelection this Saturday is being cast in almost existential terms. Will this mark the far-right party’s foothold in the political mainstream with its first-ever federal lower house MP? 

When it comes to drugs like cannabis and psilocybin, as the USA moves steadily towards decriminalisation, regulation and therapeutic reform, Australia's laws remain largely stuck in the past.

To tax or not to tax, that is the question. Whether to allow global corporations to continue plundering our resources for little return, or, by grabbing the corporate bull by the horns, make them pay their way.

Government is fundamentally about priorities, and we've just seen a striking demonstration of where this government's priorities lie. 160,000 participants are set to be removed from the national disability insurance scheme, presumably because we can't afford it, while multinational gas companies are likely to continue being sheltered from paying a fair rate of tax.

Last week, while Albo flew around the world trying to secure emergency fuel and fertiliser supplies for Australia, as a result of the international crisis caused by the United States, Acting PM and Defence Minister Richard Marles was in Canberra talking about defence.

I don’t usually start my columns with a warning, but in this case I will. Not just a trigger caution for those, like me, who are traumatised by descriptions of sexual assault, but also a ‘how long do I have to keep protesting this shit?’ anger, frustration, disgust, and alarm as well.

The latest federal leader of the Nationals, Matt Canavan, appeared at the National Press Club last week, but anyone hoping for some substance behind the spin left disappointed.

The whole world is experiencing what it’s like to be the victim of a coercive control relationship. Even here in Byron Bay our lives are being psychologically shaped, and materially impacted by the dementing malignant narcissist and his sadistic sidekick, with a pattern of abuse all too familiar, particularly to women. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese finally announced some gambling advertising reform this week, tucked into the end of a speech to the National Press Club with a principal focus on Australia's response to the fallout from the war in Iran, the day after he appeared on national television networks telling Australians not to panic.

For all the chaos he’s causing in the Persian Gulf and the global economy, one consolation is that despite all his attempts to contravene the US Constitution, Donald Trump is limited by the 22nd Amendment to two fixed four-year terms in office.

As Australia acquiesces in the United States' latest disastrous, illegal war, the Greens last week introduced a bill which would require both houses of parliament to vote before our troops can be sent overseas to engage in conflict. After one hour's debate, this was squashed by the Labor and Liberal parties, despite polls showing 90 per cent of Australians support war powers reform.