Trinkets for the masses and jewels for the rich
Mathias Cormann has always reminded me of a toy I had as a child – a doll with a painted face who had a string […]
Articles by Kaye Lee
Our Minister for Women misses the point … again
In 2012, Tony Fitzgerald summed up the state of politics in Australia with this observation (firewalled on The Australian): “… insiders see problems with insiders’ […]
If Abbott and Kelly want to cross the floor, let them
One of the most important roles of government is to prioritise. They must identify the challenges facing us and the consequences of inaction. They must […]
Shifting sands in the Galilee Basin
Wondering what’s happening with Adani? Well there have been a few developments of late. Adani’s original plan was to use the coal from the Carmichael […]
The government ignores the value of the ABC
It took the offer of a Chinese company to bring better telecommunications to the Solomon Islands to remind our government of the value of soft […]
They know it is wrong but, if it works, who cares?
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells has written an essay in which she acknowledges that Muslims in Australia face prejudice, and that instilling fear and hatred is an easy, […]
Rewarding incompetence – yet another scathing report about Dutton’s department
The 2014 National Commission of Audit decided there were “too many government bodies in Australia” and suggested abolishing, merging or privatising 99 of them. One […]
The law should not be a plaything of the government
From the beginning, the Coalition government has shown an unhealthy disregard for the law, using it for political purposes when it suits them and ignoring […]
We have forgotten what is important let alone how to fight for it
The trouble with neoliberalism is it focuses on the how and not on the why. The result of this headlong pursuit of continuous growth is […]
With Abbott and Joyce gone we have an opportunity for a reset
For almost a decade, Tony Abbott and Barnaby Joyce have been hugely instrumental in the destruction of bipartisan support for action on climate change (and […]
We are mired in the gutter of character assassination for political purposes
The Coalition’s political strategy has been, for some time now, to attack individuals in relentless smear campaigns. This does absolutely nothing to advance policy. It […]
Vicki Campion’s judgement
If you are a politician who has, for your whole career, deliberately courted the cameras for your own purposes, you cannot expect them to just […]
Why do governments find it so hard to say we were wrrrr……….
Government is, in some ways, like running a business. They must decide what they are trying to achieve, examine different approaches, choose which one to […]
Increasing the Superannuation Guarantee would be a smart move
Nothing exemplifies better how totally lacking in judgement the Coalition is than the superannuation saga. (Ok, maybe their determination to exacerbate climate change, but that’s […]
Dodgy dealings
Tony Abbott promised a government that would be transparent and accountable. Malcolm Turnbull promised to respect the intelligence of the electorate. But increasingly, we are […]