E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Originally published in the London Telegraph The vast majority of Australians have nothing but respect and admiration for Her Majesty the Queen and will be wishing her good health and even longer life on the occasion of her platinum jubilee. On her 21st birthday, she declared that: “my whole life, whether it be long…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Originally published in The Spectator Australia If you want an inside view on the Trump White House, there could hardly be a better read than Joe Hockey’s account of his time as our US ambassador. It’s funny, deep, wry and revealing; and full of insights drawn from a long and successful public life. Joe…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Originally published in The Daily Telegraph It always hurts to lose, especially to a seemingly inferior opponent. Yet no government lasts forever and the challenge for Liberals and Nationals is to remember the successes of the Morrison government while working diligently to become a more effective political movement. A new government that’s limped into…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Originally published in The Hindu As a Rhodes scholar travelling from Sydney to Oxford, way back in 1981, I didn’t feel that I could fly over nearly a billion Indians without stopping to learn, and to pay my respects. Even then, in the three months I spent back-packing here, it was obvious to me…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Originally published in The Australian Every time he has addressed a national parliament, the Ukrainian leader has made a request. Only one country has immediately delivered: that’s Australia, which has now slapped punitive tariffs on all Russian imports and is preparing swiftly to despatch Bushmaster armoured vehicles to Ukraine’s heroic defenders after Volodymyr Zelensky’s…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… I’m speaking tonight, not just as fellow of the Institute of Public Affairs, but as patron of Worldwide Support for Development, that’s sponsoring this event. That’s one of the many charities, of Dr Haruhisa Handa, one of the world’s serious philanthropists, whom you might know better, as the founding sponsor of the Handa Opera…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Some years ago, at an East Asia Summit in Burma, I found myself standing with Japan’s Shinzo Abe, plus China’s Le Keqiang and the Sultan of Brunei. China’s premier was upbraiding the prime minister over Japan’s war record, so to create a distraction, I grabbed the sultan and loudly told him that he must…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Originally published in The Australian What do Australians think about a more powerful country invading and subjugating a nation of 44 million people; how ready are we for the global economic disruption that would accompany the first big European war in seven decades; and are we psychologically prepared to become more like Israel in…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Originally published in First Things Paul V Mankowski SJ, Jesuit at Large, Essays and Reviews, edited by George Weigel, Ignatius Press, ISBN 978-1-62164-514-6, 237pp, $17-95 A decade or so back, after he had been turned down, yet again, for full membership in the Jesuit order, I asked Father Paul Mankowski why he didn’t pursue…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Originally published in The Daily Telegraph It’s only thanks to NSW Premier Dom Perrottet that we’re still able to look forward to a decent Christmas. But for Perrottet, all overseas arrivals would still be stuck in two weeks quarantine; but for him, we’d still be forced to wear masks at all indoor venues; and…