Some recent federally related bits-and-pieces relevant to this site’s purview:
• Geoff Chambers of The Australian reports “rising expectations” LNP member Michelle Landry will retire as member for Capricornia “before the next election”, and that Senator Matt Canavan is “expected to come under pressure from colleagues” to contest the seat. The report also says James Ashby, chief-of-staff to Pauline Hanson and unsuccessful candidate for Keppel at the October 2024 Queensland state election, is “seriously considering” contesting the seat for One Nation.
• Nine Newspapers had further results from the weekend’s Resolve Strategic poll relating to net zero, with 26% favouring the maximalist positive option (“do everything it takes to meet it”) and 28% the milder alternative (“keep it as an aspiration goal to aim towards, but not a binding law”), while 12% favoured the maximalist negative option (“abandon the target and take little or no action”) and 19% its milder alternative (“abandon the target, but still take action on emissions where it is affordable”). Twenty-two per cent felt Australia would achieve the target of 43% by 2030 while 49% did not.
• The Australian had further results from last week’s Newspoll providing familiar results on immigration, which 64% considered too high, 10% too low and 26% about right. Twenty-three per cent felt the “impact of immigration to Australia” to be beneficial for most, 20% harmful, and 55% a bit of both.
• A survey for the McKinnon Institute, conducted in July by Roy Morgan from a sample of 4400, has findings on trust in government and democracy, with fairly typical results for such endeavours in this country in registering a healthy but not poisonous level of skepticism about the political process. However, this does not extend to “the way democracy works in Australia”, and still less with the electoral process (albeit that younger cohorts were somewhat more skeptical). On the former count, 54.5% said they were satisfied in greater or lesser degree, 22.6% unsatisfied and 20.0% neither, which compares with 34% satisfied and 61 unsatisfied in an American survey by Gallup in January, and 40.7% satisfied and 49.% dissatisfied in last year’s British Election Study.
• The regular SEC Newgate Mood of the Nation report finds the federal government’s performance rated good by 35% and poor by 37%. All state governments are handily rated net positive with the distinct exception of Victoria. Labor is rated best party to manage the cost of living by 33%, which has been on a steady downward trajectory since a post-election peak of 42%, while the Coalition has kept steady at 22%, the balance going to “neither/someone else”. Views of Donald Trump have softened since July, when 15% were positive and 70% negative, the latest numbers being 23% positive and 59% negative. The survey was conducted October 29 to November 3 from a sample of 1208.
UPDATE: Further results from the Resolve Strategic poll find an upsurge in support for republicanism, now favoured by 43%, up five since September, although opposition is also up three to 28%, with neutral or unsure down eight to 29%. King Charles is nonetheless viewed positively by 36% (up seven), neutrally by 39% (down two) and negatively by 20% (down one), the problem evidently being is brother, who scores 13% positive, 20% neutral and 59% negative.
Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs submitted a formal request to the UN on 26 May 2022 to change the country’s official name in English to Türkiye.
>Diogenes says:
>Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 7:15 pm
>(When did we have to start spelling Turkey differently)
2022
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/03/turkey-changes-name-to-turkiye-as-other-name-is-for-the-birds
Luigi Smith says:
Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 7:20 pm
Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs submitted a formal request to the UN on 26 May 2022 to change the country’s official name in English to Türkiye.
中华人民共和国
There are traps here for rookies. For instance Bangkok’s Official name is:
“Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya
Mahadilokphop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit
Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit”
Try saying that over your Grilled Water Rat with Sticky Rice and Condiments.
@Hard Being Green:
“The sadest thing about the Liberals vacating the field on net zero is they give Labor an easier ride
Time for the Greens, Teals and Community Independents to step up as the true opposition and push the government ”
I literally said something about this early in the afternoon.
The Libs set out to fill the public space with lies about net zero and carbon emissions and all you guys can think about is helping them attack Labor.
If you actually care about reducing emissions, you should be working with us to trash the Tories, not focusing all your efforts on attacking the government.
You guys make no effort to win over the majority of the public on the worth of net zero, so we have to do that. And you make no effort to fight the climate change deniers so we have to do that. And you attack us so we have to fight that while doing the other two things. How are you helping again?
The ACT is especially sensitive about asbestos due to the massive problem caused when a business called “Mr Fluffy” installed loose asbestos as insulating material in several hundred homes in the 1990s. As this occurred before ACT self government, the Commonwealth paid for inspection of all homes existing at that time, and purchase and demolition of homes affected.
‘Team Katich says:
Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 6:03 pm
I have only skimmed the posts…. I am sure someone has already claimed the $7 milk story is udder nonsense.’
————
It is enough to give you the tits.
I’m cool with new names. I live in Lutruwita, formerly known as Tasmania.
Semantically, Tasmania is easy to grasp: it’s named after Abel Tasman – some Euro bloke who saw it over 300 years ago.
Lutruwita is not so easy to explain. It’s a word from the Nuenonne people of Bruny Island and means “over there”, or across the water channel (inconveniently called the D’Entrecasteaux Channel after some other Euro guy). So now the entire island is named on the basis of being “over there” from Bruny Island. Sadly, we wiped out all the native people from “over there” and only the Nuenonne language group survived in exile on Flinders Island (also named after some Euro bloke).
But I’m happy about it. What’s in a name?
Kirsdarke (from The Age)
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/i-didn-t-agree-to-that-the-proposal-that-triggered-uproar-in-the-coalition-party-room-20251116-p5nfqg.html
“The prospect of the Coalition subsidising coal plants sparked vigorous argument among MPs in a joint party room meeting on Sunday afternoon, just as warring factions arrived at a fragile truce on climate change and energy with an agenda to elevate power prices above climate targets.”
——————————————————————
Why do we need to subsidise coal plants in a competitive market if coal gives us “affordable energy” (compared to renewable)?
The Liberals’ promises prove their own policy claims wrong. If it (coal energy) is “affordable” it shouldn’t need a subsidy to compete.
https://www.liberal.org.au/2025/11/13/affordable-and-responsible-the-liberal-plan-for-affordable-energy-and-lower-emissions
In other words the Liberal party is planning to give us more expensive energy. And of course, the subsidy will have to be paid by taxpayers.
Socrates @ #858 Sunday, November 16th, 2025 – 7:42 pm
But the anti-woke emissions will make it all worth it, according to them.
I think we shouldn’t try to analyse the NLP energy policy too closely. It’ll make our heads hurt.
Luigi Smith says:
Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 7:41 pm
I’m cool with new names. I live in Lutruwita, formerly known as Tasmania.
Semantically, Tasmania is easy to grasp: it’s named after Abel Tasman – some Euro bloke who saw it over 300 years ago.
Lutruwita is not so easy to explain. It’s a word from the Nuenonne people of Bruny Island and means “over there”, or across the water channel (inconveniently called the D’Entrecasteaux Channel after some other Euro guy). So now the entire island is named on the basis of being “over there” from Bruny Island. Sadly, we wiped out all the native people from “over there” and only the Nuenonne language group survived in exile on Flinders Island (also named after some Euro bloke).
But I’m happy about it. What’s in a name?
中华人民共和国
I’m glad you asked. Bangkok is one small area located in the Metropolis we call Bangkok.
As I mentioned earlier the official and Thai name of the City is:
“Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya
Mahadilokphop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit
Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit”
Which literally means
“City of angels, great city of immortals, magnificent city of the nine gems,
seat of the King, City of royal palaces, home of gods incarnate, erected by Vishvakarman at Indra’s behest.”
Most Thais can’t remember the whole kit a caboodle so simply call Bangkok “Krung Thep”.
Diogenessays:
Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Is anyone here fussed if Australia ie Adelaide or Turkiÿe gets it? (When did we have to start spelling Turkey differently)
Which gives rise to a bigger question.
Proper names are proper names. So why are some capital cities changed? Why Rome not Roma? Spaniards have Londra instead of London. I can see if the alphabet is different but what gives?
______________________
– The local far right wingers want Australia’s bid to fail as a: political embarrassment to Albo; a hatred of the underlying work; some confected excuses around cost.
– The local far left wingers want Australia’s bit to fail as a: political embarrassment to Albo; a hatred of some of the COP participants; some confected excuses around cost.
Australia has a 2035 emissions reduction target of 62-70% from 2005 levels; Turkeys emissions target is for a 10% INCREASE from current levels.
I think Australian are generally very good at thinking we are always in the wrong or should never stand up to diplomatic insults.
Turkeys actions are an insult.
[Also, my one visit to Adelaide in winter was extremely pleasant and I don’t get the hate]
Luigi Smith says:
Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 7:46 pm
I think we shouldn’t try to analyse the NLP energy policy too closely. It’ll make our heads hurt.
中华人民共和国
Low energy cobber. Low energy.
Hard Being Green @ #813 Sunday, November 16th, 2025 – 5:43 pm
The point is, HBG, that the milk received into the Norco factories from Norco farms in southern Queensland and NSW is locally collected in tankers, and also trucked in from some external suppliers in Victoria and SW NSW. In the factories it is received into ‘silos’, then pasteurised and separated into cream and skim milk in a continuous process. These two streams are blended as part of that process, on line, to the lower specification ‘full cream milk’ fat level, into one or more enormous tanks. The excess cream is piped to another tank. The so-called ‘full cream’ milk is bottled into the various sized containers, in batches for each of the brands that are supplied from the particular factory. The ‘full cream milk’, on any one day, will be effectively identical whether it is labelled Norco, or Coles, or Woolworths, or Aldi, or whatever.
This was playing plaintively in the background as Ley and Littleproud said they would protect people from suffering the exorbitant cost of Albo’s renewables.
Kirsdarke, Luigi
I suppose my point is that if the Liberals were really serious about affordable energy they would start with the cheapest option (renewables plus grid scale batteries) and then subsidise those. But they are subsidising more expensive energy to make consumers keep using it. The only beneficiary is the coal plant owner. And hello Gina!
Yabba
Please explain why Norco’s regular milk has a fireweed taint flavour that is absent from Dairy Farmers equivalent product. (I grew up in a dairying area)
You know they are in trouble when the “Curious Snail” starts asking questions
“Sussan Ley unveils Coalition energy plan to prioritise lower power prices
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley faces mounting pressure to explain how dumping net-zero targets and backing coal will deliver promised energy savings to families.
Ellen Ransley
2 min read
November 16, 2025 – 6:17PM
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley addresses the Coalition’s new net zero position with David Littleproud by her side. “We will prioritise affordable energy for households and businesses, Ms Ley said. “It’s hurting Australian families,” and it’s hurting small businesses. “That’s not fair on the next generation.”
The Coalition would prop up coal as part of its promise to drive down Australians’ energy bills, but its long-awaited plan doesn’t give a figure on how much they would be reduced by, or by when.
But asked repeatedly how this policy would lower people’s power bills, Ms Ley could not provide a timeline or a figure.
“We have to see downward pressure on electricity prices. Now when you get more supply into the system, that brings down pressure on prices,” she said.
“They need to see downward pressure and by changing the rules of how energy operates … We know that we will start to put downward pressure on supply.
“It’s two-and-a-half years to the election … Consumers can be absolutely confident that once we have charge of energy policy in this country, we will start to change the rules as soon as possible.”
The Coalition would dismantle Labor’s policies designed to drive down emissions including the Safeguard Mechanism, repeal the legislated 2030 and 2050 emissions reduction target and the 2030 renewables target, rewrite the National Vehicles Emissions Standard, and scrap the electric vehicle tax breaks.
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Coalition’s uncertainty would lead to an increase in pressure on power prices.
“This kills off investment certainty, that kills off investment, and less investment means higher power prices,” he said.
“That is what happened on their watch during their decade in office. And they have learnt nothing and they’re just going back to where they were before.
“Australians shouldn’t pay the price of Coalition chaos, because that is what we are dealing with now – is their failure to put in place any energy policy.”
https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/qld-politics/sussan-ley-unveils-coalition-energy-plan-to-prioritise-lower-power-prices/news-story/302d8c4134a20666a330875a48e6f8ad?amp
“Sussan Ley has just declared that immigration is “far too high”. So how many would not be “too far high”? A reasonable question to ask and not accept a non-answer to.”
Zero. Or even net negative immigration.
Works just fine in East Asia – despite there being not enough babies being born. Everything proceeds like clockwork, there’s negligible crime, and people can be served by those who share the same values as themselves.
LNP energy air quote policy air quote
What a rabble! Does anyone in the Coalition know which way is up these days?
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/i-didn-t-agree-to-that-the-proposal-that-triggered-uproar-in-the-coalition-party-room-20251116-p5nfqg.html
Landlubbersays:
Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 8:04 pm
“Sussan Ley has just declared that immigration is “far too high”. So how many would not be “too far high”? A reasonable question to ask and not accept a non-answer to.”
Zero. Or even net negative immigration.
Works just fine in East Asia – despite there being not enough babies being born. Everything proceeds like clockwork, there’s negligible crime, and people can be served by those who share the same values as themselves.
中华人民共和国
I don’t know what part of East Asia your are referring to Cobber – maybe North Korea??? Want to explain??
“Japan’s immigrant population hit a record high of 3.95 million this year, yet as its native-born population continues to fall, some Japanese aren’t ready for the country to diversify.
Japan has one of the oldest populations in the world (ranking at number four for people 65+ years of age), and as more people leave the workforce, the country has increasingly welcomed foreign workers to help fill the gaps. There are currently 2.3 million foreign-born workers in Japan, accounting for roughly 3.7% of the workforce, but some reports indicate that more workers are needed.
A recent survey from Japan’s Nikkei stock market index found that 98% of CEOs in the country want to hire more foreigners, and 99% plan to “actively” hire workers from overseas.
However, the country’s new far-right party, Sanseito, has encouraged a growing movement promoting the notion that immigration is detrimental to Japan’s culture, Bloomberg reported. The party and its supporters, which have expanded quickly since 2020, are driven in part by the rising cost of living and stagnant wages.
Employers are in a difficult position, and many immigrants say they have experienced discrimination at work. Some Sanseito supporters have protested outside Toyota’s headquarters in Toyota City which has an immigrant population from 76 countries. The company has turned to immigrants to accommodate expanded production because it couldn’t recruit enough local workers.”
https://www.hr-brew.com/stories/2025/10/24/world-of-hr-the-majority-of-employers-in-japan-plan-to-hire-foreign-born-workers
“What is the point of the Liberal Party’s Moderate faction?” asks James Massola.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/what-is-the-point-of-moderates-in-the-liberal-party-20251116-p5nfsf.html
Some have been asking this question for decades now.
Mostly Interested @ #870 Sunday, November 16th, 2025 – 8:07 pm
The Coalition’s decision to abandon its commitment to net zero emissions as part of a dramatic weakening of its energy policy has failed to arrest its slide in popularity, with a new poll showing support plummeting while the One Nation vote has continued to surge.
The latest The Australian Financial Review/Redbridge/Accent Research poll shows that amid a tumultuous week, the Coalition’s primary vote fell 4 percentage points in a month to a poll-record low of 24 per cent, while support for One Nation rose 4 points to a poll-record high of 18 per cent.
Labor’s primary vote also shot up 4 points to 38 per cent, giving it a two-party preferred lead over the Coalition of 56 per cent to 44 per cent, a two-point swing since last month and an increase on its 55-45 victory at the May election.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/what-is-the-point-of-moderates-in-the-liberal-party-20251116-p5nfsf.html
Meanwhile households are set to get a daily window if free electricity from July next year. Honestly, the Liberal party is just a joke.
So, combined Coalition/ON vote of 42 percent, greater than the Labor vote, meaning that there’s essentially an increase in the Right vote since the last election. Meanwhile there’s negligible shift on the Centre-left/Right balance.
It’s only a matter of time before the Albanese government’s gloss completely falls off to rust and the election of the most right-wing government (probably with ON as a major coalition partner or as part of a united Conservative party) in Australian history.
Thanks HH
Landlubbersays:
Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 8:17 pm
So, combined Coalition/ON vote of 42 percent, greater than the Labor vote, meaning that there’s essentially an increase in the Right vote since the last election. Meanwhile there’s negligible shift on the Centre-left/Right balance.
It’s only a matter of time before the Albanese government’s gloss completely falls off to rust and the election of the most right-wing government (probably with ON as a major coalition partner or as part of a united Conservative party) in Australian history.
中华人民共和国
Are you really the Pied Piper in disguise?
Another Liberal MP said the meeting had not been nasty but they said Moderates had expressed frustrations “because they were trying to understand …the policy, so we know what to say tomorrow”.
_________________
This will not be possible. Dan hasn’t put the work in – he’s come up with a series of thought bubbles; there is nothing inside those bubbles. Even if there was and somehow they were elected, they would need to convince the senate and/or states and territories to support them.
Landlubber I strongly disagree, I think it’s only a matter of time before Australia’s security apparatus is turned on the far right and they’re rounded up and put in camps.
They don’t have a plan.
Plans have numbers. Plans are costed. Plans have time lines. Plans have targets.
They have a ute-load of bullshit.
Landlubber
You are doing what the Greens do and the results won’t be any better for the One Nation Party. Many Coalition supporters will never vote for One Nation and about a third of One Nation voters preference the Labor Party over the Liberals.
New thread.
The current LNP cannot win a lower migration fight – because all Labor needs to do is stand up and say “we will reduce the numbers while protecting multiculturalism”.
It is practically impossible for the LNP to navigate and appeal both to the rabid racists (lost to One Nation) while trying to pick up the multicultural vote (alienated by Price); and not further alienating Teal voters (the university industrial complex).
Late 2027 “Sensible Migration Plan” DD remains my bet.
These days, there are days for anything.
Redbridge Primaries – 38 Labor, 24 LNP, 18 ONP, 9 Green, Other 11
TPP 56 Labor, 44 LNP
By Generation –
Gen Z 51 Labor, 10 LNP, 5 ONP, 24 Green, 10 Other
Millennial – 34 Labor, 23 LNP, 18 ONP, 11 Green, 14 Other
Gen X – 38 Labor, 26 LNP, 20 ONP, 6 Green, 10 Other
Boomers – 34 Labor, 30 LNP, 24 ONP, 3 Green, 9 Other.
PPM – Albo 40, Ley 10, About the same 9, Neither 28, Unsure 13
Leaders Favourability –
Albo – 37 favourable, 39 Unfavourable
Ley – 13 Favourable , 34 Unfavourable
Waters – 6 Favourable , 13 Unfavourable
Hanson – 34 Favourable, 45 Unfavourable.
Sample size is 1,011 MOE 3.4%
Redbridge:
The poll also shows Opposition leader Sussan Ley to be in the most precarious position since she took the helm of her devastated party in May, with just 10 per cent of voters preferring her as prime minister, compared with 40 per cent for Anthony Albanese.
The Coalition has flagged cutting immigration as its next major goal after gutting climate policy, as the poll also showed One Nation is more trusted than Labor or the Coalition to deal with the influx of migrants.
“ Confessions says:
Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 8:11 pm
“What is the point of the Liberal Party’s Moderate faction?” asks James Massola.”
_________
That’s easy: to con petite bourgeoise toss pots like chicken massola into ‘Labor bad, Liberal aspirational tax rorts good’ group thought.
[‘The first authorised neo-Nazi rally to take place in New South Wales occurred last Saturday, 8 November 2025. As per state protocol, White Australia, the rebranded National Socialist Network, had lodged a Form 1 with the NSW Police two weeks prior, which included their aim to demonstrate against the “Jewish Lobby”. This was scrutinised by senior police a week prior, and it was permitted to go ahead.
The left unchallenged neo-Nazi rally before NSW parliament happened amidst a monthslong moral panic around antisemitism. It also occurred during the ongoing Israeli-perpetrated Gaza genocide, which has driven much criticism of the Israel lobby or the Zionist lobby. But with their beliefs distinctly embedded in 1930s Nazism, the NSN intentionally chose to target the ‘Jewish lobby’.
Sworn in as new NSW police commissioner barely a month ago, Mal Lanyon has been at pains to tell every news outlet that senior police, specifically deputy commissioner Peter Thurtell, didn’t notify him that neo-Nazis were rallying, so it’s not his fault. However, the unblemished record of not approving Nazi rallies in this state has been squandered, after he’s been about six weeks in office.
NSW premier Chris Minns is livid over the “pissants”, who paraded out the front of state parliament. He repeatedly decried the fact that these young Anglo Celtic Australians raised the Anzac legend during their Nazi rally. And it’s likely that the NSW Labor government is the first in Australia ever to have authorised a rally held by Nazis, who harbour white supremacist and anti-Jewish beliefs.
The premier has since been applying his cure-all to social blemishes that his government lets slide or seeks to propagate: the promise of new laws and criminal offences. But not only is Minns attempting to apply a band aid to a first ever authorised Nazi rally that can never be fixed, but there is already an official inquiry about the dubious manner in which he passed another large swag of laws in February.’]
https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/nsw-police-authorise-neo-nazi-protest-at-state-parliament-and-watch-on/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=week-47
At first blush, I had thought that heads should roll & without more, I’m still thus minded. However, it did give police an opportunity to gather crucial intelligence on these mainly young Nazi thugs, so it might not have been entirely counterproductive. Whether this mitigates the ostensible lack of communication by the police will no doubt be revealed by the inquiry announced by Minns.
subgeometer @ #870 Sunday, November 16th, 2025 – 8:00 pm
Where are you?
SL:
One of the many wonderful things about South East Asia is not having to hear much Christmas music at this time of year.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-16/coalition-joint-net-zero-position-leaked-submission/106015290
___________________
This isn’t conservative policy.
It’s economic madness and it’s a disaster for farmers and the great outdoors.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/opposition-presents-its-plan-to-put-power-prices-at-the-centre-of-climate-and-energy-policy/f2dnh0zl3?cid=newsapp:socialshare:other
We had years of this with the Turnbull/Morrison mob.
They have a plan, but without any actual methods of achieving the stated goals and the media just let them get away with it.
Just ask them how?
@Rex
“This isn’t conservative policy.”
IPA not happy that after years of riding the populist right beast, the beast has turned around and eaten your face?
Socrates at 6.02 pm
Fernandes’ book is well-marketed but light-weight. The chapter on AUKUS is largely block quotes from Senate estimates with little analysis.
E.g. he could have discussed why the government has refused to answer the substantive questions from Evans and Hugh White et.al. on which subs were chosen, when and why.
The simple proposition is that Albo et.al. have no answer at all to Evans’ questions. If they had a real answer it would have been made public by now.
So the AUKUS policy, which started as a tactical refusal to debate ProMo Morrison over seeking Australian security via a knees-up with the Convict (B. Johnson) in Somerset (as Keating put it), has become a gravy train for Defence bigwigs without any underlying strategic rationale.
Don’t look for a rationale in the hope of finding any strategic coherence. There isn’t any. Allan Behm, a former adviser to Wong in Opposition and a former senior Defence bureaucrat, made that clear in his ‘Castles in the Sky’ commentary (on Menadue blog).
Labor’s AUKUS policy was always just a political fix inspired by domestic timidity, of the type that Stephen Smith (an implementer of the policy as Ambassador in London) once criticised federal Labor for.
It is the timidity that is the problem. This was highlighted in the 4 Corners program on selling zirconium to China, in the last section on the nuclear weapons ban treaty. Marles answered with Olympic level lying.
By contrast Evans, also a lawyer by trade but with a bigger perspective and much more curiosity, made a lot of sense when interviewed by David Marr on Late Night Live last week. Worth following that interview up.
By the way, next Friday 21 Nov at 12.30 there is a panel of education MA students reporting on the Finnish education system, based on their study tour there, under the guidance of Prof Gosia Klatt at Melbourne Uni.
It is part of an annual European studies conference, at 100 Leicester St (level 9) all day Friday. I am talking in the penultimate session on whether the EU can influence the resolution of Putin’s war in Ukraine, which is now only six and a half months shorter than the Great War (hybrid format).
As we have noted before, this Labor government is very under-endowed with foreign policy expertise. None of the key ministers have had any prior background, with a partial exception for Minister Wong, who was climate minister under Rudd. But she is an industrial lawyer by trade.
She made a bit of a novel rhetorical tilt in her Insiders interview today, by describing Australian foreign policy as based on the Region, the (main) Relationships and the Rules (i.e. UN).
Previously, going back to Evans & Co., it was region, US alliance and the UN.
The shift is that Relationships is now broader than the US alliance. Such is the turbulence wrought by Trump.
Note that Fernandes lacks evidence for his proposition that Trump’s foreign policy is a far-sighted pursuit of venal billionaires’ interests. The problem with his view is that Trump, an average rambler, is chronically ignorant (e.g. according to J. Bolton, who would know, about Finland now being not part of Putin’s jurisdiction).
Foresight and ignorance do not mix. Coherence joins only with the former.
Oh good we have a glossy brochure with a plan inside.
Where have we seen that before?