Uncategorized | Crispin Hull

A new world disorder

Three times the world has tried. It has failed twice. And recent events suggest it is about to fail a third time. At what? Setting up an international system to prevent catastrophic wars between major powers that inflict massive civilian casualties and destruction of property and cultural assets.

The first time was the Concert of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. The second was the League of Nations after World War I. And the third was the United Nations and related international institutions after World War II.

Royal Commission knavishness

The manifold failures of 26 Australian Royal Commissions since 1980 to do anything much about the underlying sins, wickedness, and malfeasance that they were supposed to address should caution us against a repeat with the Bondi shootings.

However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who promised accountability and transparency, has delivered too much secrecy and opacity over the past four years. Voters are seeing right through that opacity, and a cornucopia of concerned citizens have joined the call for a Royal Commission as a cleansing act and panacea.

Trump dominated 2025. 2026?

Just when you think it couldn’t get worse, it does. Surely, this must be the zeitgeist of 2025.

In January, we wondered whether – as in the first Trump presidency – there would be people, institutions, and elements of civil society to restrain Donald Trump in his second term.

Subtle jurisprudential change

No member of Australia’s Jewish community feels safe. Their fear of violence has been growing since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli attack on Gaza as overseas conflicts and hatreds sadly get imported into Australia.

Of course it is about guns

The death of 15 innocent people has been used shamelessly and immorally as a political debating point. I hope the vast majority of Australians are disgusted.

Josh Frydenberg, no doubt gutted and shattered in the heat of the moment and therefore should be given leeway, should seriously now consider what he said. He said that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is personally responsible for the death of those innocent people, including a 10-year-old-girl.

The usual isolationism and profiteering

The 33-page US National Security Strategy report issued a week ago by the US government was the most selfish, greedy, and short-sighted document in the 250-year history of American foreign policy.

US as isolationist war profiteer

The 33-page US National Security Strategy report issued a week ago by the US government was the most selfish, greedy, and short-sighted document in the 250-year history of American foreign policy.

Reducing the One Nation danger

One is close family (cancer). One is a close friend (heart). One is first-name morning-walk nodding acquaintance (cancer). All have the same ghastly experience – diagnosis with a life-threatening illness facing a strained health system.

One had a rejection from a private insurer on a technicality and family came to a $20,000 rescue and early successful treatment. The second has to (and can with strain) pay $30,000 for cardiac treatment.

Ending corporate tricks

The Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, Andrew Leigh, has been busy recently on putting a stop to a number of egregious consumer rip-offs by corporations, and has got agreement from all the states and territories to legislate.

We all know the tricks. Give them your credit card and “ka-ching” every month another small, almost unnoticeable payment gets skimmed off, and trying to unsubscribe is a nightmare. Or buy something online for $50 and by the time you get to the check-out, it is $80.

The Senate numbers game

This week the Government aims to get its new environment laws passed. But it does not have a majority in the Senate. The Greens or the Coalition could block the changes – for different reasons.

The Greens say the changes do not go far enough to protect the environment. The Coalition says they go too far. It could result in nothing happening at all.

Pin It on Pinterest