THE passage of the ACT Marriage Equality Same Sex invites some reflections on the law and politics of marriage and the Australian Constitution. Continue reading “Howard messed up blocking gay marriage”
Month: October 2013
Charity starts and ends with sacrifice, not money
FIRST to Andrew Forrest’s $65 million gift to the University of Western Australia, then to Queensland’s bikies law. Forrest has said that he and his family had agreed that they had more than enough to live on in whatever style they wanted, so they should give the surplus to good causes. It means he is sacrificing exactly nothing with this gift. It is easier than giving away unwanted second-hand clothes for him. He does not even have to drive to the Salvos bin. Continue reading “Charity starts and ends with sacrifice, not money”
In and idler moment when population did not matter
IN 1968 an obscure pop-folk group called The Idlers Five produced a silly, mediocre hit called “Melborn and Sideny”. 
Included in the brash, jingoistic ditty were lines so excruciatingly bad that they became seared in my memory: “We’ve got Australian Rules and the Melbourne Cup each year. Sydney’s girls are way out front but we’ve got stronger beer.” Continue reading “In and idler moment when population did not matter”
Should public servants be political mutes?
LET’S hope the Case of the Twittering Immigration Employee (Michaela Banerji) has not ended with her dismissal. 
The rights of all public servants are at stake here. Continue reading “Should public servants be political mutes?”