Constitutional Reform
14 Reasons To VOTE NO In The Voice To Parliament Referendum
On Monday 19 June 2023, the Australian Senate passed a bill for a referendum to occur later in the year to establish a constitutionally-enshrined Voice to Parliament. In short, and especially for our subscribers outside Australia, the Voice proposal is for a consultative body - let’s be blunter and say it’s a representative body - to which all federal government policies and legislation...
Section 51(xxvi). Repeal. Rescind. Delete!
By crikey, I’m a little bothered we’re always at sea politically. The Left is pounding us with wave after relentless policy wave. The Liberal Party has drowned, its body face-down, bobbing and drifting. We libertarians, classical liberals and the otherwise centre-right are in danger of the rip sweeping us to sea. Things are perilous. Just look at the eddies and currents fatiguing...
It’s Not Our Fight. Vote Yes.
I read hundreds of bills when I was advising Senator Leyonhjelm. Some of the bills would significantly alter the size of government or the extent of government interference in the lives of individuals. For these bills, my advice and the Senator’s decisions were aligned and easy to predict. But most bills were not like this. We should consider ourselves lucky that, in...
Welcome To Warburton, Where Yes Is A Death Sentence
Shareholders are being taken for a ride, as are donors, trade unionists, sports fans and taxpayers. The relatively few high-profile CEOs, charity leaders, trade union leaders, sports administrators and politicians foolish enough to forsake their duty and send other people’s money to the referendum Yes case are doing harm. Many of their supporters and funders, and possibly a majority,...
5 Dangerous Blind-Spots In ‘Yes’ Arguments (Part 1)
"Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making." John Milton Libertarians believe in free speech. We do not have to agree with the arguments we hear. I therefore defend the publication of former Senator Duncan Spender’s debut article It’s Not Our Fight...
What Happens After Saturday?
She was a young tall Indian beauty, perhaps a model, but maybe an engineering student. She passed me as I handed out No how-to-vote cards to prospective voters at the pre-poll in Brisbane. She called to the exuberant Yes booth worker beside me, “I’m not a citizen, I can’t’ vote, but I am with you, why wouldn’t I, just...
A Chinese Australian’s Voice: NO
As a Chinese Australian who has called this nation home for the past 11 years, I am compelled to vehemently oppose the Voice referendum. The decision, for me, feels instinctive but is rooted in principles and values deeply ingrained in my perspective as a new migrant. In Upholding the Principle of Anti-Racism While society, media, and certainly politicians discuss “racism” all...
5 Dangerous Blind-Spots In ‘Yes’ Arguments (Part 2)
"The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism."Wole Soyinka My inbox was jammed and my phone was ringing all day in response to the debut article It’s Not Our Fight Vote Yes by former Senator Duncan Spender. To see what all the controversy is about, read that article first. Then read 5 Dangerous Blind-Spots In ‘Yes’ Arguments (Part 1). That’s...
Trial The Voice At The ALP National Conference
Here’s a great idea. The Albanese government could trial the ‘Voice to Parliament’ by enlisting Aboriginal representatives to attend the national ALP Conference commencing in Brisbane on 17 August. The Prime Minister already has a posse ready to go, the members of his referendum working group, most of whom would be very familiar with ALP National conferences. Indeed, I observed...
A Serving of Humble Pie, Minister?
Arrogant and egotistical are the two words most equated with politicians. Australians who voted NO to enshrine race into our Constitution will no doubt confirm the veracity of these two terms now that some states have declared they intend to legislate it anyway. Despite the overwhelming NO vote, state politicians, through their arrogance and egos, are ignoring that majority by either...
