Breaking the Adoption Taboo
Over 40,000 Australian children are currently in government-sponsored care. Approximately 30,000 have been there for more than 2 years. Less than 200 were adopted. The first question that must be asked is, ‘Why are so many children cycled in and out of government care?’ And second, ‘Why are there so few adoptions in Australia?’ Compared with similar countries Australia has very...
The Problem with the Police
Virtually all political persuasions agree on the need for police. For libertarians, maintaining a criminal justice system, of which the police are a major component, is viewed as one of the few legitimate roles of government. The first modern and professional police force was the London Metropolitan Police Service, established in 1829. At the time there was substantial public opposition...
Bacon Sandwiches, Sausage Sizzles and Red Tape
On Saturday the 5th of October 2024, a friend and I were visiting Melbourne when we decided to attend an anti ACMA bill protest being held on that day. Upon arrival, I noticed a sausage sizzle but was disappointed to find there were no bacon sandwiches, just sausages in bread. Later I went up to the stall to suggest they...
I’ve got a little list
In Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera The Mikado, the character Ko-Ko is appointed to the position of Lord High Executioner. He prepares a list of people to be executed, singing: “I’ve got a little list. They’d really not be missed.” I’ve often thought this should be the way we deal with those responsible for Australia’s tragic response to the Covid hysteria....
This is What We Get for a Billion a Year
Australians more and more have reason to question why over a billion dollars of their taxes are poured annually into what has become nothing but a far-left propaganda outfit. A particularly nasty one at that, with a decided proclivity for feting anti-Semitic terrorists. The ABC has made multiple changes to a story about Israel’s attack on Lebanon after receiving complaints...
Know Thy Enemy
We all love to hate politicians, understandably so, and the last thing I want to do is advocate that we start treating politicians nicer. But it is important to identify the true threat to liberty. STARRY-EYED BEGINNINGS Whether we agree with them ideologically or not, it is true that most politicians begin their career with a genuine desire to improve their...
Knee-Jerk Laws Are Bad Laws
Flag-ban laws should be repealed immediately, and let sunlight be the best disinfectant Let’s be clear, here: as a free speech advocate, I don’t believe that states should be banning flags, symbols or slogans of any group. Whether it’s the Nazi hakenkreuz, the communist hammer-and-sickle, a Che Guevara icon or the Hezbollah flag. Not only because the same state that can ban the iconography...
No Books, No Wisdom, No Future
The ancient story is told of Tarquinius, the last of the seven legendary Kings of Rome. When the pagan goddess Sibyl offered to sell Tarquinius the nine books containing all the world’s wisdom for a high price, Tarquinius refused. Sibyl then promptly burnt three of the books in front of Tarquinius and offered to sell the remaining six books for the...
Enemy of the state
The clothes we wear may change, but the virtues and vices of mankind do not. As a historian of ancient Rome, I am in awe of the vast and rich sourcebook of knowledge it offers to guide us on what to heed and what to avoid. Yet it appears that those we elect, rule over us with no regard for...
What is at Stake in Religious Freedom
Religious freedom is poorly understood in Australia. This has a lot to do with the fact that it is not really a freedom per se, so much as a collection of more fundamental individual freedoms with which people are much more familiar: freedom of conscience, freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of assembly. What makes...