Class war in Australia
A report published by the Australian Council of Trade Unions shows that class inequality in Australia is deeply entrenched. The authors of “Inequality in Australia: an economic, social and political disaster” estimate that the top 20 percent of households “earn” just shy of 50 percent of t...CONTINUE READING
‘Socialism sounds good, but how are you going to pay for it?’
Whenever some measure to alleviate the lot of the poor or oppressed is proposed, you can always rely on some right winger to chime in: “Where’s the money going to come from?” They accuse socialists of believing there is some bottomless pot of government cash that can pay for what they reck...CONTINUE READING
Royal commission lets banks off the hook
Tens of millions of dollars outlaid on the Commission’s hearings. Ten thousand submissions from aggrieved customers. A mountain of corporate crime unearthed. But the main outcome of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Financial Services Industry has been to let the big four banks o...CONTINUE READING
Understanding the political crisis in Britain
The British political establishment is in its biggest crisis for more than a century. The country that has for many decades been a lynchpin of Western political stability, a pillar of Western imperialism, is now the source of instability that threatens to precipitate a broader political cr...CONTINUE READING
Australia’s poverty disgrace
Two reports published in October make clear the widening gulf between rich and poor: luxury at the one end, barely getting by at the other. Investment bank Credit Suisse’s latest global wealth report revealed that there are nearly 3,000 super rich in Australia – those with wealth of more t...CONTINUE READING
Endless cruelty to refugees must stop
The Morrison government has indicated that it will transfer all refugee children and their families detained on Nauru to Australia for medical treatment by Christmas. But don’t start celebrating. While the announcement by George Brandis, Australia’s ambassador to the UK, was welcomed by ma...CONTINUE READING
John McCain was a warmonger
Out they rolled, one after the other, gushing obituaries for John McCain, six-term US senator for Arizona, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who died from cancer on 25 August. Former president George W. Bush described McCain as “a man of deep conviction and a patriot of the...CONTINUE READING
Turnbull, Morrison and the crisis in the Liberal Party
The right wing insurgency in the Liberal Party brought down Malcolm Turnbull. But it has failed to elevate its number one candidate, former home affairs minister Peter Dutton, to the prime minister’s office. The 45-40 party room vote to elect former treasurer Scott Morrison has, for now, q...CONTINUE READING
Peter Dutton, right wing horror show
Malcolm Turnbull may have won the vote in the party room, but he’s finished. He has lost all authority among his colleagues. It is now only a matter of time before a fresh party room meeting votes to remove him. Peter Dutton is in the box seat to become prime minister. This prospect is jus...CONTINUE READING