Comment

The basic mechanisms of the US–China relationship have now been reset to square one. This is bad for Taiwan, bad for the long-term strategic stability of the US–China relationship, and bad for regional stability to boot.

Our society is losing sight of the significance and requirements of ‘good governance’. Governance refers to the system by which our key organisations are managed, most importantly elected governments and corporations. It clearly identifies who are the decision-makers and how they are held accountable.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is putting extreme strain on Australia’s bipartisan foreign policy when it comes to dealing with our biggest trading partner, China. He continues to speak very loudly while Australia is carrying a stick he admits isn’t yet big enough.

In early May, the High Court delivered a judgement that further undermines the fragile patchwork quilt of anti-discrimination law in Australia. You might have missed it – Citta Hobart v Cawthorn received little attention with all eyes on the federal election. But pensioner David Cawthorn’s case highlights the increasing challenges facing those who experience discrimination in its many forms and wish to seek legal redress.

The policy challenge for the Albanese government is compounded by pressures left deliberately by the Morrison government, or attributable to its incompetence and neglect – in aggregate, record debt with budget deficits stretching as far as the eye can see. Important and urgent structural challenges are needed in the health system, and aged and disability care in particular, along with energy, housing, defence and climate policy.

It still hasn’t dawned on the Liberal and National parties why they suffered such a stunning defeat at the May election. Maybe Labor’s slender majority masks the rejection of the Liberals in their heartland seats, which resulted in a near-record number of independents. So far the Liberals seem to have no obvious strategy to win back support.

Curiosity and impatience for referendum detail is unsurprising. This is the second decade of the constitutional recognition journey in Australia, and it is Australia’s first referendum since 1999. It is worth pointing out, however, that much of the early mainstream media discussion is consciously or subconsciously mimicking the republic referendum debate.

Australians are, on average, the fourth-richest people in the world. Before we start celebrating our luck or cleverness, we should be sobered by The Smith Family’s statement in its most disturbing TV advertising, that one in six of our children and young people are growing up in poverty.

More than any other figure in our democracy, a prime minister can influence the direction of the nation. Anthony Albanese knows it, and he is not allowing the most difficult economic and strategic circumstance in more than three decades to deter him from forging new pathways.

This is the year of hope, denial and cognitive dissonance about the emergence of newer and more challenging variants of SARS-CoV-2 far outpacing vaccine development. Like saying your grandfather smoked all his life and lived to 100, thus smoking is fine, people are telling each other ‘I had Covid and it was mild’.