Policy Spotlight
The Rule of Law is Being Ignored by Conservatives
The High Court recently ruled that: - if immigration detention is not a practical step towards a person being removed from the country, the detention amounts to punishment, and - governments can only mete out punishment if they are sentencing someone for a crime. This ruling led to the release of around 140 people who were in immigration detention but not on...
No, Men are not OK
As a society, we generally do not like to talk about suicide. And when we do, we tend to avoid a key issue – why do so many men take their own lives, and why are so many of them middle-aged? The statistics are stark: of 3,249 Australians who took their own lives in 2022, 2,455 were males. That’s more...
Exciting times ahead for uranium mining in Western Australia
During the 2017 WA election, McGowan’s Labor opposition campaigned hard to reinstate the ban on uranium mining. They followed through on this after winning the state election that year. Both Labor and the Greens ran scare mongering campaigns conflating uranium mining with the public’s historic nervousness regarding nuclear energy. Prior scare mongering has led to uranium mining projects being distrusted...
Granny Basher’s Discharge Sends the Right Message
One year ago I made a young man famous. The video footage of the horrific political violence he perpetrated against a 71 year-old lady at a Women’s Rights rally shocked the world, leading to international condemnation of New Zealand. Two weeks ago I was in court to witness his sentencing: he received a discharge without conviction and his name was...
A Letter to My Kid’s Childcare Centre
Background: A few weeks ago, when dropping off my child at their childcare centre, I noticed something on the classroom whiteboard that I hadn't paid attention to before – the "Daily Routine". Amid the usual activities, one particular sticker caught my eye: “Acknowledgement of Country”. I was SHOCKED. It prompted me to write the following letter to the Centre. Dear Centre...
None of your Business
Housing affordability is a perennial issue that seems to be spilling over into the political domain in a way that is more divisive and acute than ever. And as usual, the political class is more interested in sounding like they are engaging with the issue than actually addressing it. Oddly enough it is the left side of politics that has...
The Everyday Libertarian
In today's politically charged atmosphere, evangelical libertarians often stray into polarising debates around topics like firearms or drug legalisation. Is there a subtler, more effective approach? I suggest the “everyday libertarian mindset”. It involves reframing common complaints and concerns through the lens of smaller government and individual liberty. I often hear myself responding to complaints about government by saying “that’s why...
Who will watch the Watchers?
The Inspection House Principle Curiosity for a deeper understanding of how Jeremy Bentham’s Inspection House principle relates to our current world has got the better of me. There is so much to dissect in the Panopticon that I thought it fitting to follow on from last month’s contribution. At the end of his treatise, Bentham stresses that his principle of inspection...
The University Trap
As the university semester begins and students head back to classes for another year, it is worth examining the troubling history and reality of Western higher education. THE INCOME CEILING It is widely acknowledged that without a university education the ability to earn an income can be limited. While trades, vocational institutions and technical colleges do present lucrative opportunities, achieving a...
Finding common cause with the Greens
Because politics isn’t meant to be easy In Australia, libertarian candidates are rarely ranked highly on voters’ ballots. Libertarian candidates get first preferences from the small fraction of society who know and support the idea of libertarianism. And if they are still in the race when a conservative candidate is eliminated, they tend to get a reasonable share of the conservative candidate’s...
