Category: Politics

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P&I editor’s husband accused of lack of disclosure in article

Barrister Andrew Fraser, husband of the editor of Pearls & Irritations, Catriona Jackson, has been accused of not declaring his interest in the ACT justice system in an article he wrote for the site claiming that there was a threat to “the efficient operation of its criminal-justice system before the financial year is out”.

Sydney resident Greg Bray said in a letter to P&I: “How unfortunate that the only view of the ACT justice system is given to us by one of the people to profit from its existence.

“Andrew Fraser (barrister) should declare his interest, and P&I would do well to balance Mr Fraser’s views with those of an independent and trained investigative journalist.”

[Full disclosure: I worked for P&I for some months between August 2024 and November 2025.] Continue reading “P&I editor’s husband accused of lack of disclosure in article”

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Albanese should realise not everyone can second-guess his intentions

It is more than a little surprising that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has got so much blowback for his announcements at the Canberra women’s rally against domestic violence.

Albanese has never made any secret about his goals during his first term: everything would be aimed at getting re-elected and all that he promised to do during the election campaign would be done. He said that on day one.

That’s why he went ahead with his Voice referendum, even though it became patently clear well before the referendum that he would lose and lose badly. The only change he has made to any of his pre-election promises was to tweak the third-stage tax cuts in a way that he was sure would not have any impact on his poll numbers. Continue reading “Albanese should realise not everyone can second-guess his intentions”

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ABC and the AFR begin the rehabilitation of Mike Pezzullo

Many politicians and public servants in Australia enjoy an incestuous relationship with journalists and have long done so.

Such relationships often leave the journalist compromised when some hidden detail about an interview or story is exposed, but those in this category do not mind being outed as long as they get what they deem to be an “exclusive”.

Mike Pezzullo, the former Home Affairs secretary who was terminated last year following 14 breaches of the public service code of conduct, is one person who could never be described as humble, not even by his best mate. Continue reading “ABC and the AFR begin the rehabilitation of Mike Pezzullo”

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Andrew Probyn is an excellent PR operative. The ABC did well to let him go

There has been much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth over the recent sacking of Andrew Probyn, the political editor at Australia’s taxpayer-funded broadcaster, the ABC.

Andrew Probyn. Courtesy Sky News/ YouTube
Andrew Probyn. Courtesy Sky News/ YouTube

If one were to believe all the praise gushing forth about this doughty individual, then he was a combination of all that is good about journalism.

But Probyn’s last contribution to the ABC shows that he is much better suited to a role in the public relations industry. That is, if one goes through his documentary Breaking the code, which, to be blunt, is one of the most sickening exhibitions of sucking up to some of Australia’s intelligence operatives. Continue reading “Andrew Probyn is an excellent PR operative. The ABC did well to let him go”

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Lehrmann’s Channel 7 interview does not show him in a good light

Ever since former Liberal Party adviser Brittany Higgins alleged, in an interview with the news.com.au website on 15 February 2021, that she had been raped in Parliament House by a colleague in early 2019, the story has rarely been out of the news. The colleague, who was later revealed to be one Bruce Lehrmann, has always denied the charge.

Image by helen35 from PixabayThe case went to a jury trial in 2022 but a juror was caught in possession of material that compromised his/her status as a jury member and a mistrial was declared. The prosecutor said later that a second trial would not be held as it would be detrimental to Higgins’ mental health.

Since then, there has been a ding-dong battle in the media, with Higgins’ supporters and Lehrmann’s supporters trading barbs. Lehrmann refused to testify in court during the trial, but suddenly decided to give an interview to Channel Seven on 5 June. Continue reading “Lehrmann’s Channel 7 interview does not show him in a good light”

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Liberal Party is still stuck in the white picket-fence era

Last weekend, Australia’s Liberal Party made history by losing a by-election to the government, something that had not happened for more than 100 years.

The seat in question, Aston, in the outer-east of Melbourne, had fallen vacant due to the retirement of the sitting member, Alan Tudge. The two main parties, Labor and Liberal, both put up female candidates.

The Labor candidate, Mary Doyle, obtained 53.62% of the vote, while the loser, Roshena Campbell, won 46.38%. Continue reading “Liberal Party is still stuck in the white picket-fence era”

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Voice questions: Dutton is either lying or else he cannot read

Australian Opposition leader Peter Dutton is either lying or else is unable to read. Those are the only two reasons why he has been asking questions about the detail of the Voice.

It took me just half-an-hour this morning to answer all his questions. I had to refer to just one website.

As Senator Patrick Dodson has said, the Australian people are being asked to vote “on principle, not on detail”. Continue reading “Voice questions: Dutton is either lying or else he cannot read”

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Credlin doco indicates Libs growing desperate as Vic election looms

With elections in the state of Victoria just a week away, politicians are in a feverish mood as they try to rustle up support to win their seats.

The rush to push their barrows has been sped up no end after early voting started on 14 November and reports emerged of big numbers voting ahead of the election. More than 2.2 million of the state’s registered 4.4 million voters are expected to cast their votes before election day. The first four days of early voting saw 556,193 people exercise their franchise.

Thus one can understand why badly crafted election propaganda like a Sky News documentary titled The Cult of Dan Andrews are making an appearance. The opposition is desperate to make inroads into the Labor vote, but with a leader like Matthew Guy, who went backwards in the last election, the task ahead is like rolling a huge boulder up a mountain. Continue reading “Credlin doco indicates Libs growing desperate as Vic election looms”

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After nine years, Labor finally wins government in Australia

Australia finally has a change of government. After nine long years under Liberal/National rule, the Labor party has ensured that it will lead the next administration.

Labor won the most seats in Saturday’s election and it remains to be seen whether they will govern in their own right or as a minority government.

But they will have the first shot at governing given that they have close to the 76 seats needed for a majority in the lower house.

Continue reading “After nine years, Labor finally wins government in Australia”

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Is Scott Morrison really a Christian?

Politicians normally try to keep their private lives separate from their public personas. And the media generally respect this separation, unless any probing can be justified as being in the public interest.

But some politicians purposely ventilate aspects of their private lives when they feel that it will help them in their jobs.

Scott Morrison: pretending to be what he is not. Courtesy Channel 10

And that is the case with the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison who has, right from day one, broadcast the idea that he is a Christian, claiming that this is what drives him. Continue reading “Is Scott Morrison really a Christian?”