Oh to be an actor. You get to play make-believe every day. Or a rock star, even a social campaigning one. Seems that lyrics are no more than the words that come out of your mouth, not the beliefs that you hold in your heart. […] Continue Reading…

THE endorsement of Peter Garrett as Labor Candidate for Kingsford Smith is now a foregone conclusion. If his proponents had looked over the record of “celebrity” candidates in Australian politics they might have had second thoughts.
Choosing celebrity candidates is not new in state or federal politics. Both major parties […] Continue Reading…

IT is hardly surprising that some commentators have sought to highlight only Ronald Reagan’s failings, and ignore totally his not insignificant achievements.
One or two have been quite unbalanced in their commentaries. That is their right, but I am reminded of the saying “if you can’t say something about some […] Continue Reading…

Appointing front man of apocalyptic rock group Midnight Oil as the new member for the safe Labor seat of Kingsford Smith is Mark Latham’s biggest mistake to date. It reinforces perceptions that Latham represents style over substance; reeks with the smell of un-democratic “fixing” that characterizes NSW Labor […] Continue Reading…

MY friend Sir James Killen occasionally reminds me of some very sound advice Sir Arthur Fadden gave him when he entered Federal Parliament – there are more Members who talk their way out of Parliament than who talk their way into it!
The Federal Liberal Members for Blair and Ryan […] Continue Reading…

This is a slightly edited version of a piece I wrote some time ago for Heretical, the University of Queensland’s Women’s Area publication. I thought I would drag it out since Cheryl Kernot has been mentioned again as a warning about Peter Garrett’s potential new career as a Labor […] Continue Reading…

Mark Latham’s cancellation of his plans to travel to the USA later this year was smart, judging from the electoral problems John Howard’s trip is generating him.
I am not in the school which says that George W Bush is stupid. He may not be the intellectually sharpest tool […] Continue Reading…

HAVING written, speeches, statements and communications strategies for politicians here and in Papua New Guinea for over 30 years I perhaps have a greater appreciation than most of good communicators.
I am old enough to have heard Sir Robert Menzies speak at Brisbane City Hall, and listen in to […] Continue Reading…

I recently invested some time investigating a government press release merely to find it was one of the worst beat-ups I have ever seen. Rather than waste my time, I’ve decided to write about the experience.
The release came to me courtesy of another, perhaps more gullible, Liberal Party […] Continue Reading…

According to Rory Callinan in The Australian Afghanistan is expecting a bumper 3600 tonne opium crop – the same as last year. This “will provide a huge narcotics war chest for Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorists who have been squeezed by new financial tracking operations.” In fact, it […] Continue Reading…