As Health Minister in the Howard government, I’d given much thought to a potential pandemic. In those days, our fear was a readily transmissible version of avian flu, a poultry disease with a 30 per cent plus case fatality rate for those who caught it, typically chicken farmers living cheek-by-jowl with their birds. In response,…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… It’s an honour to be at a conference such as this, that brings people together, from different countries, to work for the betterment of mankind, based on all that we have in common. It’s so fitting that we meet here in India, the world’s largest democracy – also one of the world’s oldest democracies…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Originally published in The Australian Probably not a single death in human history will be as widely felt as that of Queen Elizabeth II. Thanks to television, that was just coming into its own at the start of her reign, there’d hardly be anyone, anywhere unfamiliar with her. Unlike mere celebrities, she’s been consequential;…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Originally published in The Australian Andrew Morton, The Queen, Hardie Grant, ISBN 9781789294644, $32-99 At one level, this is an extraordinarily well-informed and reasonably sympathetic account of our Queen’s life. At another level it’s an incredibly detailed and relentlessly unsparing chronicle of one family’s crises. I suppose that’s to be expected from the author…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Originally published in the Spectator Jim Molan, Danger On Our Doorstep, HarperCollins, ISBN 9781460762608, $34-99 This is not the book for anyone complacent about the China challenge yet it should be compulsory reading for everyone concerned for our country’s future. Very few have seen more of war, and the preparations for war, or thought…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Originally published in the Australian I’m all in favour of recognising indigenous people in our constitution but not if it means making a race based body part of our parliament and not if it means changing our system of government. The problem with entrenching in the constitution an indigenous voice to the parliament is…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Originally published in the Australian The murder of Shinzo Abe has sent shock waves around the world because he was not just a distinguished former prime minister but had established Japan as the leading democracy of the western Pacific. Like most Japanese statesmen, he never fell into the trap of wishful thinking about communist…
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………………… Originally published in the Australian On an otherwise discouraging election night, it was good to see more Indigenous people entering the parliament. We’ve come a long way since 1971, when Neville Bonner was the first to arrive as a Liberal senator for Queensland. But with 10 Indigenous MPs, what’s the point of a separate…
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…