Last week the Liberal Party, and particularly its leader, opted out of debate. Following the inquiry into the racial discrimination act,...

From The Australian on 20th February 2017: “The Hurstville Boys Campus of Georges River College in Sydney recently hosted an awards ceremony at which female presenters, including several accomplished and respected members of the local community, were told by one of the school’s two principals that some students would not shake their hands because of their Muslim faith.” I think this is a serious error of judgement. It sends a message to these young men that women are infer

Indigenous disadvantage persists. The gap is not closing. In many communities, children are not getting an education, health is poor and life expectancy is low. There is a lot of drug abuse and violence, employment opportunities are few or non-existent and there is an entrenched culture of welfare dependence. Although Indigenous Australians represent only 3 per cent of the population, they represent over 27 per cent of the prison population and this is rising – up from 20

While you have been away, a lot has changed. President Trump is implementing what he promised to do. That is a novelty that you might like to emulate. Some of his key policies will require changes in Australia too. They are going to take bipartisan support. So, this is a message for you all. Firstly, he is planning to reduce personal and corporate taxes. We will need to review ours too. To compete for talent and capital we cannot be too far out of kilter with the rest of t

Noticeably absent from the list of worthy citizens who were acknowledged in the Australia Day honours were the entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial talent is scarce; not everyone wants to take the risks; not everyone has the ability or inclination. Yet it is an essential element in our prosperity. The role of the entrepreneur is crucial - not only to correct disequilibria in the market place but to discover opportunities. We need to admire those who risk their capital, their t

Quoting Radio National, Grace Collier reported in The Weekend Australian that the cost of our politicians’ expense entitlements is over $2 million per MP per year. At present, this includes travel to any event where they might meet their fellow citizens. Specifically, it includes the Melbourne Cup, AFL and Rugby football finals, and the Australian Open. Better control over this extravagance is essential. I like her solution. “Official business should be defined this

Dan Andrews has issued a proclamation telling public servants that they should desist from heterogenic terms like husband and wife, or...

On 8 November 2016, pursuant to the section 7(c) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, the Attorney-General referred to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights the following two matters for inquiry and report: whether the operation of Part IIA of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) (including sections 18C and 18D) impose unreasonable restrictions on freedom of speech; and whether the complaints-handling procedures of the Australian Human Rights

Last Tuesday I had the honour to address the Adam Smith Club on the topic Taking Responsibility for Ourselves and our Children: A Defense of Bill Leak's Message and his Right to say it. My address concluded as follows: I would now like to return to the point where we started – the Royal Commission into juvenile detention in the Northern Territory. To be effective, any solution must consider why so many indigenous teenagers are in the prison system and how to reduce the num

Gillian Triggs has made an abject apology to Kyran Findlater, one of the seven QUT students subjected to a racial vilification case brought against him under section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act over a Facebook post in May 2013. Previously, on the 7:30 Report, 2016 Professor Triggs had explained to Leigh Sales that the Human Rights Commission had spent 14 months trying to conciliate between Miss Prior and the seven students. It turns out that this was not true. M