It comes as no surprise that the Coalition have targetted Mark Latham’s past, even comparing him unfavorably with ‘Boozer’ Bartlett. Latham has had an interesting time, and like most of us, he’s made mistakes. The less you experience of life, the fewer mistakes you’ll make. The trick is to […] Continue Reading…

I’ve got a soft spot for the Democrats – I think what they were trying to do was a legitimate experiment in Oz politics. But with all the structural change that has hit them, like the rise of One Nation and the Greens, it seems to be a lack […] Continue Reading…

I’ve just finished a long decade working as an academic. I’ve been very successful in my teaching and research, even being awarded a special university medal a few years back for my efforts. More importantly, personal and professional feedback from my students told me that my efforts have paid […] Continue Reading…

Last night’s last Lateline for the year was a funny one. Here was Grahame Morris (ex-Howard staffer) waxing enthusiastic about the new Labor leader and Michael Costello (ex-Beazley staffer) being pretty negative. Is this indicative of the new uncertainties that go with this untried and complex new leader, or […] Continue Reading…

One of the more disturbing aspects of the constant development of new technology that underlies our increasingly global civilisation is the tendency it creates in some people to see all problems in technical terms and all solutions in new technology. Hence the ballistic missile defence system that Australia has […] Continue Reading…

Although we will see how much leadership changes Mark Latham’s views, on the surface of it we now have two political leaders who assume that a new era of market-based social realtions is upon us. As such they both focus on the most salient politcal (or at least electoral) […] Continue Reading…

Not that the demise of Southern Pacific means there is no future for the shale oil deposits themselves. This article puts the case that we are rapidly running out of economic stores of liquid fossil fuels, and if it is correct that means that the price of reserves of these fuels, including oil shale, will soar.
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Mark Latham’s first job is to disavow all those interesting things he said before the gravitas of leadership transformed him. Like Howard being an arselicker and Bush being flaky. Funny thing, of course, is that his forthrightness – such a change from the usual banal polly-speak – seems to […] Continue Reading…

Kim Beazley’s father famously observed that once the Labor Party was full of the cream of the working class, but that now it has become full of the dregs of the middle class. Latham may be generational change, but if he is, it is retro – he is the cream of the working class
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There is a fair bit of confidence within the ALP that Labor can win the next Federal election. The view is that the electorate is fed up with Howard and would try any sort of genuine alternative.
So how does a Latham win affect things? There are two big questions: […] Continue Reading…