Keywords: Christian Porter
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AUSTRALIA
- Binoy Kampmark
- 10 March 2020
6 Comments
Authorities can also be fearful, paranoid at the unruly nature of their subjects. Public health emergencies have been declared in various countries and while these are deemed necessary, they come with the exercise of broad, muscular powers.
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AUSTRALIA
- John Falzon
- 03 March 2020
27 Comments
The Morrison government despises the working class. There is no other explanation for its behaviour. For all the ‘lifters and leaners’ or ‘workers and shirkers’ guff that we’ve seen over the years from this and past governments, the truth is that, according to the neoliberal worldview, whether you’re in paid work or on social security, you’re despised unless you belong to its own big money elite.
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AUSTRALIA
- John Warhurst
- 11 November 2019
10 Comments
The Labor Party's dismal performance this year has been bookended by May's election loss and this month's campaign review report. As it reflects publicly on the devastating election loss, discussion has also begun among Labor supporters about whether it has chosen the right leader for the future in Albanese.
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INTERNATIONAL
- Sophie Raynor
- 09 September 2019
13 Comments
Australia’s priority is clear: self-protection at all costs, no matter the sacrifice required of Timor-Leste. And it’s a theme that continues today: Australia’s neighbourly relationship with Timor-Leste remains one of taking anything it can, not of sharing like friends.
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INTERNATIONAL
- Jeff Sparrow
- 17 July 2019
9 Comments
The conservative base wants religious protection for Christians, but has a long history of vilifying Muslims, who, presumably, could also claim protection from any new law. One struggles to imagine a law that might enable a footballer's right to send homophobic tweets, while enabling courts, parliaments and schools to ban burqas.
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MEDIA
- Binoy Kampmark
- 03 April 2019
5 Comments
The thrust of the Morrison government's changes is one of heavy handed and forced deferral, outsourcing government policing by vesting it in social media platforms. Israel's Cyber Unit, by way of contrast, has been seeking the same object via more subtle means, collaborating with Facebook and YouTube to remove errant posts and content.
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AUSTRALIA
Maybe I'm just a bleeding-heart lefty, but I hope that most people would answer this question with a 'no'. Unfortunately, if you read the comment section of any news story on the recent spate of drug-related deaths at music festivals you will find a mixed response.
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AUSTRALIA
- Binoy Kampmark
- 15 February 2019
16 Comments
Having failed to prevent tinkering to the border protection regime, the Morrison government returned to the well Australian politicians have drawn upon when faced with electoral crisis. Mathias Cormann was no less crude in adopting a mode that speaks wonders to the desperation of a government awaiting its electoral deliverance.
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AUSTRALIA
- Alexandra O'Sullivan
- 23 November 2018
1 Comment
It is imperative that the courts examine all the evidence thoroughly with expert analysis and allow time for perpetrators of violence to show their true colours, before any potentially life-changing decisions are made. Efficiency and cost cutting shouldn’t be the goal.
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AUSTRALIA
- Lizzie O'Shea
- 03 July 2018
10 Comments
Over this last week, two remarkably contradictory things happened in Canberra. The Attorney-General shepherded through some of the most significant changes to foreign interference laws in recent times. It was also reported that he signed off on charges laid against Witness K, a former officer of ASIS, and his lawyer.
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AUSTRALIA
- El Gibbs
- 30 November 2017
3 Comments
A group of people living on income support has been working with local councils across Adelaide to ask them to advocate on their behalf. As Newstart payments remain pitifully low, councils are caught up in these issues because they run community services that support the unemployed.
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AUSTRALIA
- Frank Brennan
- 29 August 2017
10 Comments
In an age of 'budget repair' when both sides of politics are trying to contain the welfare budget, the search for savings and silver bullets is relentless. If Ministers Porter and Tudge are really seeking 'a way of assisting people to get off drugs and back into work', they should convince their cabinet colleagues of the need to increase the Newstart and Youth Allowance so that it might provide a real start for assisting people to survive with dignity while preparing for and getting back into work.
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