THE HYATT HOTEL, CANBERRAE&OE While life membership is a way for a political party to say thank you, to those who’ve served it, really, this party should less be thanking me, than I should be thanking you. But for the Liberal Party, I would never have been a member of parliament; never have been a…
E&OE It took me 24 hours by plane, 6 hours by car and 12 hours by train to get here. But I’d gladly do it again and again to salute the Ukrainian heroes who are on the frontline of freedom. For me, Putin’s war on Ukraine has long been personal. At about 515am, on July…
Originally published in The Australian Because Voice supporters are worried that the referendum might fail, they’re now arguing among themselves about whether to water down their proposed change to our system of government. A constitutionally entrenched indigenous Voice that was only to the parliament would certainly be less radical a change. But it would remain…
Originally published in The Australian The Prime Minister’s emotion was understandable last week, talking about the Indigenous voice to parliament, because a better deal for Indigenous people should be a key part of our national project. All of us want to close the outcomes gap between the First Australians and everyone else; and almost all…
Originally published in The Spectator Australia When it comes to the Voice, Anthony Albanese is breaking all the rules for successfully changing the constitution. First, he hasn’t thoroughly explained how the change would work. Second, he hasn’t given both sides of the argument a fair go to make their point. And third, he’s made no…
Originally published in The Sydney Morning Herald The chief frustration for an ex-prime minister is watching your former colleagues making big decisions without you, especially if you disagree with them. After offering advice in private, the big temptation is to repeat that advice in public on those occasions when it’s not acted upon. Sometimes, this…
Originally published in The Australian As Prime Minister, I regularly affirmed that: climate does change, mankind does make a contribution, and we should do whatever we reasonably can to reduce our emissions. I’d normally add, though, that there was little point reducing emissions in ways that drove up our cost of living or just sent…
This funeral, is less a sad farewell to a great friend; and more, a joyous tribute to a great hero. It’s the celebration of a wonderful life; a once-in-a-generation gathering, of the people of faith; to re-dedicate ourselves to the ideals, George Pell lived for; and to draw strength, from each other, for the struggles…
23 January 2023 E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Originally published in The Telegraph It is easy to be so consumed by day-to-day international events that you miss a major development. Some days ago, one such development occurred. The treaty, signed at the Tower of London, allowing British forces to be stationed in Japan, and vice-versa, marks a new phase…
Originally published in The Australian The best way to honour the dead is less to elaborate on their human decency than to take seriously the causes that mattered to them. Of course, it was hard to find a better man than the late Senator Jim Molan who was utterly dedicated to his family and to…