Comment

It is no coincidence that in the campaign against the Voice this is happening again. Forbidding words from usage is a powerful form of disenfranchisement. The rule now is that a ‘Yes’ campaigner cannot say the ‘No’ case is racist, even when it is.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is finalising a trip to China in early November … The timing offers an excellent opportunity to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Gough Whitlam’s historic diplomatic visit to China – the first for an Australian prime minister – which set a complete redirection of our foreign policy.

Going into the last sitting week before the referendum on a Voice to Parliament, Anthony Albanese was desperate to have something positive to talk about, to assure Australians he was paying attention to their immediate concerns.

It is becoming clear the Voice referendum is our Brexit moment. The ‘No’ case is being built around misinformation and fear. The basest anxieties are being stoked. As with Brexit, the choice made on October 14 will say a great deal about the country that made it.

Tony Abbott’s skill is to say one thing is another thing, even when it is not. It is as close to transubstantiation as politics comes.

The word ‘woke’ has taken on too much negative connotation in our political debate. It has become a derisive term to disparage and effectively dismiss virtually any position that doesn’t accord with the extreme conservative, hardline right agenda.

Somehow Anthony Albanese is being blamed for the catastrophic failure of governance by the Qantas board and its long-time chief executive. The behaviour of Qantas since Alan Joyce became boss almost 15 years ago is marked by arrogance and anti-competitive bullying.

The current debate on rent controls in Australia, such as it is, is stuck in the tired old narrative of the beneficiaries of property price increases.

Most governments don’t think, plan and manage with a view to the longer term – but Treasurer Jim Chalmers has claimed the latest intergenerational report is the basis for action. These reports, typically published every five years to provide an outlook on the next few decades of economic challenges, are pointless if their conclusions aren’t reflected in annual budgets and other policy initiatives.

By any measure this week marks the official countdown to a significant moment in the history of the Australian Federation and its foundation on the dispossession of the original owners of the land.