First, I like to acknowledge the country on which we make our home, Terra Australis, whose landmass is over fifty percent under Native Title; whose major oil and gas projects are delayed by judges in thrall of whale song-lines, mythical undersea burial grounds, by mother sea and by rainbow serpents; whose states are busy enacting…

Self-defence is available to individuals to communities and to nations. It is ethically and legally sound to engage in self-defence. The principle of proportionality should be applied when engaging in self-defence. This means that you should do no more advertently, than is necessary to remove the threat. For example, if somebody begins punching you on…

Writing in the Australian newspaper on October 24, Greg Sheridan examines anti-Semitism and, as a convicted Christian, says this: “the biggest source of anti-Semitism throughout history is Christianity.” I’m insufficiently versed in the history of anti-Semitism to know whether this assertion is strictly true or not. At the same time, it is surely true that…

I wrote a couple of pieces for Quadrant Online (QoL)on the depraved attack on Israel by Hamas. They are here and here. Each was met with lots of intelligent comments as per usual on QoL  But, and it’s a big but, out came a few pro-Palestinian “trolls” (my description). The editor sensibly shut comments down.…

The marvels of modern technology allow us to restart a TV program which is already well underway. So it was on Wednesday that I rewound Bolt, so to speak. Bolt bled into Kenny. Swap channels? I kept watching for a bit, wondering what specious arguments du soir he’d come up. He didn’t disappoint. So far…

Historian and poet Robert Conquest was a communist in his early life until he saw the light. Light is the operative word. Communism, leftism more broadly, survives only in the shadow of ignorance. Apropos, Conquest’s first law: “Everyone is conservative about what he knows best.” Or, the version I like: “Everybody is reactionary on subjects he…

Mentioned it previously, busing again on Friday. To forestall infirmity and decrepitude I go to my club’s gym on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at about four in the afternoon. This means I can feel good about drinking when I come home. How do I manage on the other evenings? Good question. Just don’t feel as…

In September 2017, during the time of the postal plebiscite on same-sex marriage (SSM), I wrote a blog for Quadrant on corporate support for the proposal. Unsurprisingly, Alan Joyce figured prominently. My theme: Corporate entities are artifacts. They have no mind of their own. Yet Joyce reportedly said, “I think it is very important for…

What is the so-called ‘gap’? It’s the gap in wellbeing (across factors such as income, shelter, health, lifestyle) between those Aborigines living in circumstances offering no possibility of employment and everyone else. To present the gap as a difference between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians seriously mischaracterises the problem. And I suspect deliberately so. The Yes…

I am treasurer of my church. Most people now give via online banking but there is still cash and cheque giving on Sundays. I used to bank the offering each week but Westpac closed its local branch earlier this year, as did St George owned by Westpac some months before. Now, because I have to…