Political Comment

In 2011, Channel 9 scored a one-on-one interview with the Daili Lama during his Australian tour. It was handed to their larrikan breakfast guy – Karl Stefanovic.

Community Strong Australia chose to announce its existence to the world with an image showing two women, teal MPs Allegra Spender and Zali Steggall, isolated on the vast expanse of the Parliament House forecourt, while something exciting seemed to be happening in the distance.

What is it with billionaires and islands? Donald Trump wants to resurrect the notorious prison island of Alcatraz to house ‘America’s most ruthless and violent offenders’. Perhaps subconsciously he is preparing his future island residence.  The sordid Epstein network is divided into those who did and did not travel to Epstein Island where, undoubtedly, heinous crimes occurred.

Last week Australia had a glimpse of what life might be like under Prime Minister Pauline Hanson, via two speeches, one in Canberra and one in Townsville.

It feels as if AI is everywhere – whether it’s those intrusive bots on every website or every headline about how it’s either going to be a boon for humanity, or end us.

Beyond the froth and bubble of the daily political soap opera, there are some major threats confronting Australia and its government.

It hit me like a lightning strike. It was the latex gloves that did it. Those pale blue five fingered clinical sheaths made me want to vomit. Last Tuesday, having just been repatriated from my time on the Global Sumud Flotilla, I was at Tweed Valley Hospital getting a forensic medical examination for my sexual assault at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces.

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.