After balking at its first diplomatic test over revelations of spying on Indonesia last year, there was still a reasonable expectation that the new government would quickly find its foreign policy feet. Julie Bishop as foreign minister was intended to present a firm but friendly policy face to the world, while Tony Abbott got on […]
Category Archives: Economics and Public Policy
When a government cuts spending, its non-voting constituents are always going to fare worse than those who do vote. Whatever residual anger might come at the next federal elections, Australias aid recipients wont be a part of that vote. As compared to budget cuts of $7.6 billion over the next five years, or a little […]
United States political leaders bluster, but Russia continues to be unmoved by their protestations over its annexation of Crimea and the massing of troops along Ukraines border. Long having believed itself the worlds only superpower, the US is now being delivered a lesson in real politik, if not humility. Estonia, which has a large Russian […]
If times of crisis show the true mettle of a government, Malaysians must be wondering about their governments response to missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. After decades of working with a tightly controlled media and, overwhelmingly, getting a very easy run, the Malaysian government has been asked to answer hard questions by unbowed journalists. The […]
Lining up with death and taxes, the outcome of the weekends vote in Crimea on whether or not to join Russia was certain before the event. Somewhat remarkably — with about two-thirds of Crimeas population being ethnic Russian and the other third being openly opposed to joining Russia — the vote to join Russia was […]
In the race for the Indonesian presidential elections in July, Joko Jokowi’ Widodo has just been nominated as PDI-P’s presidential candidate. This follows a decision by former president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, to shelve her own plans for an unlikely comeback to support the long-standing front-runner. The 52 year old Jokowi is streets ahead of the nearest […]
The immediacy of events in Ukraine, including the recent the pro-Ukranian demonstrations in Kiev and pro-Russian demonstrations in eastern Donetsk, have blinkered much understanding of the unfolding crisis to Moscows south. The triumphalism that accompanied the collapse of the Soviet Union left many Western observers blind to an underlying architecture predicated on Russias deeply felt […]
That Russia and Ukraine have come to the brink of war in just a few short days is obvious enough. What is less obvious is not the quickly evolving events that might unfold over the next days and weeks but Russias end game. As with its negotiations over the Syrian civil war last September, Russia […]
The ouster of president Viktor Yanukovych has ended an era of heavy-handed political rule in Ukraine, but it has ushered in a period of considerable instability. It would be distinctly optimistic to believe that the ending of Yanukovychs rule will lead to a Ukrainian liberal democracy. Among the mobs that occupied Independence Square and eventually […]
The influence of the food lobby has come into the public spotlight over the past week, with revelations that Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash’s chief-of-staff, Alastair Furnival, has strong links to the food industry. Furnival previously worked as a lobbyist for several food companies and is the co-owner of a firm that has represented the […]