Politics

More erosion of liberty

The Foreign Espionage Bill (or, to give it its full name, National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Bill) going through parliament at the moment is a threat to not-for-profit (NFP) organisations in that it could make peaceful protests punishable by up to 20 years in jail. Hundreds of thousands of people around Australia took to the streets to protest against Australian involvement in the Iraq war. Potentially, they could all be … Read more

Not everyone seeks to aspire

Years ago I received a phone call from someone saying I’d been referred to him by my local servo owner. The caller said he had a great investment that would interest me. It was one of those too good to be true opportunities and I told him I wasn’t interested. “But,” he said, “you’ll  make a small fortune.” “Still not interested,” I said. “Don’t you want to be rich?” he persisted. “No. … Read more

Is Neoliberalism the same as capitalism?

Capitalism is an economic system where the means of production and distribution of goods and services for profit are owned by a few as opposed to the state. The means of production are entrepreneurship, labour, capital goods, and natural resources. Capitalism requires a free market economy in which to operate. Neoliberalism is both an economic and a political system. It embraces laissez-faire (unregulated) capitalism, removal of all constraints to trade, globalisation (removal … Read more

Interchange between politicians and the mining industry

This post is not implying that anyone mentioned below has broken the law. It serves only to show the close relationship between mining companies and Australian politics. The influence gained is unlikely to be in the public’s best interests. *I’ve bolded the names of the people and entities mentioned. From a comment in The Guardian to an article about the interchange between politicians and the mining industry. Politicians: Former Nationals leader and deputy prime … Read more