Albo is officially on the ropes after knocking himself out

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Et tu, Brute?

After three years of the worst government in Australian history, it isn’t the cost-of-living crisis, the divided society, the reduced productivity, the poor defence stance, or the increased public spending ailing Albanese.

It’s not even Tony Burke’s spurious use of citizenship ceremonies to try to save a sinking ship.

It is Albo breaking his own promise to return integrity to politics that has knocked him out of the next federal election.

Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes had this to say:
Michael de Percy argues that, politically speaking, Anthony Albanese is a rotting carcass, twisting in the breeze.  Not because of his prime ministerial record, but because he promised to restore integrity in politics and not only failed, but he and his Labor henchmen have trashed integrity enthusiastically. As we see Labor going hammer-and-tongs at Peter Dutton the man, making all manner of claims about Dutton’s integrity, Albanese hasn’t called off the attack dogs in the way Dutton did with his when the Albanese Copacabana cliffside castle hit the news late last year.  What’s that they say about the standard you walk past?
My latest in The Spectator Australia, Albo is officially on the ropes after knocking himself out.

Nobody hates light rail, but it's not going to fix Canberra's transport woes

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Nobody hates light rail, but it's not going to fix Canberra's transport woes

With suburbs growing at Yass, Goulburn, Gunning, Murrumbateman, Sutton, Gundaroo, and elsewhere in the regions surrounding the ACT, the light rail is barely a drop in the ocean in solving Canberra's transport problem.

For those who can no longer afford to buy a house in the ACT, the NSW regions provide ample opportunity for cheaper housing for those who work in Canberra and are happy to commute.

My latest in The Canberra Times, Nobody hates light rail, but it's not going to fix Canberra's transport woes.

Auction on stupidity: Uniparty vows to double down on Medicare spending spree

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No Medicare Choice from the Uniparty: $8.5 billion on the left, $9 billion on the right

In a bid to ensure Labor remains in power at the next election, the Coalition has doubled down on Labor’s Medicare spending spree. The Uniparty is in full swing and nobody can tell the difference between the major parties. While the Greens will help Labor get over the line, the plethora of conservative parties that are reacting to the Coalition’s apparent willingness to join the Uniparty is undoing Menzies’ legacy before our eyes. The recent non-debate over Medicare reform is a case in point.

Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes had this to say:

Sunday saw $17.5 billion, all-up, put on the table by Labor and the Coalition to ‘save’ the mirage of universal Medicare bulk-billing by GPs, something that should be taken out and quietly put of its misery instead of being made the eye-watering, hideously expensive centrepiece of Labor’s election policy, answered by an immediate ‘me too’ but the Coalition. Your scribe quibbles with elements of Michael de Percy’s conception of a Labor-Coalition ‘Uniparty’, but he is spot-on in his analysis of yesterday’s announcements, both unnecessary and frankly foolish wasting of your money and mine.

Flat White has added her voice to your scribe’s, Michael de Percy’s, and others of this parish denouncing both Labor’s plan to trade votes for more GP bulk-billing, and the Coalition’s indecent rush to trump it. This is going to be a race to the fiscal bottom election, and already it’s not pretty for those who value fiscal responsibility and sensible, considered policy.

Writing in the Unfiltered magazine, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

Speaking of the election, Michael de Percy was dismayed to see the ‘auction of stupidity’ where Albanese and Dutton went head-to-head, coughing up billions of dollars in public money on Medicare policies. That said, Dutton did have one success – the most popular thing he has ever said was floating the idea of stripping citizenship from those who hate Australia and act against its interests. 

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Auction on Stupidity: The Uniparty vows to double down on Medicare spending spree.

Green steel? Go woke, go broke

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Green steel is proving to be a fairy tale - only nuclear energy will save our heavy industries

After the Premier of South Australia put Whyalla Steelworks into administration, Mr Albanese found another $2.4 billion of taxpayers’ money to bail out the failed company. The Albanese government has since appeared ready to double-down on the production of ‘green steel’ at the plant. This has all the hallmarks of a bottomless pit. Without nuclear, green steel is another Labor unicorn that will reinforce what is now well-known wisdom: Go woke, go broke.

In the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

Another day, another critical industry falls – broken – into the arms of the government. This time it is the Whyalla steelworks. As Michael de Percy writes, ‘Mr Albanese found another $2.4 billion of taxpayers’ money to bail out the failed company. The Albanese government has since appeared ready to double-down on the production of ‘green steel’ at the plant.’

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Green steel? Go woke, go broke.

Australia’s Weak Response to Antisemitic Hate Crime

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The Western Wall, Jerusalem

On Feb. 6, Australia’s parliament passed a bill to amend the current crime legislation to include “hate crimes.” Widely criticized as an attack on freedom of speech by conservatives, the legislation, which will become law once it is signed by the Governor-General, was meant to be a demonstration of the government’s response to ongoing antisemitism. Rather than represent action against antisemitism, however, the bill is more talk that does little to address the inaction of authorities at both the state and federal level to prosecute those who have terrorized and continue to terrorize Australia’s Jewish community.

My latest in the Jewish Journal, Australia’s Weak Response to Antisemitic Hate Crime.

Our Short-Shrifted Academic Journals

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What is now The Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy was first published in 1935.

When Australian researchers publish their work, the journal they choose to publish in has implications for their academic careers. Journals are important vehicles for peer-review and a particular journal’s reputation is a useful measure of the quality of the research output. However, the system is often skewed to ignore research focused exclusively on Australian issues.

My first article in Quadrant, Our Short-Shrifted Academic Journals.

Dear farmers, nobody wants to eat fungus-fed beef

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Sheep near Gunning NSW

In an era where ‘trusting the science’ is the medieval equivalent of paying to touch a relic to cure cancer, I think it’s time Australians told climate activists who don’t want us eating red meat to go and get stuffed. That is my opinion.

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

Side-stepping slightly to agriculture, but still on the topic of idiotic green things, Michael de Percy drags fungus-fed beef over the coals. ‘In an era where ‘trusting the science’ is the medieval equivalent of paying to touch a relic to cure cancer, I think it’s time Australians told climate activists who don’t want us eating red meat to go and get stuffed. That is my opinion.’ I agree with him, but what about you? How do you feel about taxpayer money being spent on fussing about with cattle feed in the name of Net Zero?

 My latest in The Spectator Australia, Dear farmers, nobody wants to eat fungus-fed beef.


Matt Canavan responds to Hate Crime bill fallout

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Senator Matt Canavan at CPAC 2024 in Brisbane

Following the fallout from those conservative senators who did not vote against the government’s Hate Crime Bill last week, I questioned Senator Matt Canavan about his support for the bill. In drafting legislation, there is always a trade-off for politicians between the process of enabling legislation and the optics of voting for legislation that might not be popular to one’s base.

Canavan has been an advocate for Australia’s traditional resources and energy sector. I heard him speak at CPAC 2024 in Brisbane last year and he is usually not backward in coming forward about issues that are dear to conservatives. I was curious to know his reasons for supporting the Hate Crime Bill.

Here’s how Senator Canavan responded to my questions.

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

Senator Matt Canavan has answered Michael de Percy’s questions regarding the changes he tried to make to the Hate Crime Bill and the reasons he decided to vote for it in the end, even though he has faced some backlash from his followers. ‘I am not a libertarian. We must maintain an orderly and harmonious society. People threatening or inciting violence should be charged.’

In The Best of Flat White, Alexandra wrote: 

The tightening of restrictions on speech and lowering of the bar for incitement has left Australia in a heated debate – no more so than on the right where the Coalition and several members of centre-right minor parties either voted in favour of Labor’s bill or abstained. Even much-loved figures in the Blue Ribbon movement, such as Matt Canavan, have faced criticism for ultimately following the government’s lead. If you wish to hear his response, please refer to Michael de Percy’s article.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Matt Canavan responds to Hate Crime bill fallout.

Senator Canavan responded:

Australia’s Nuclear Future: Plan B for our energy needs

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Australia needs to remove the prohibition on nuclear energy before it is too late to catch up

Below are the slides and other details from my presentation entitled 'Australia’s Nuclear Future: Plan B for our energy needs', to the Forrest Men's Shed at the Wesley Uniting Church Forrest, Canberra.

Through his research, Michael has developed a model to explain networked infrastructure deployment and how technological legacies influence the policy choices available in the future. Based on this model, he will address the challenges to nuclear energy in Australia originating with the antinuclear narrative and the role of the McClelland Royal Commission into British Nuclear Testing in reinforcing this narrative. Michael will then discuss the policy legacies created by the Howard Government’s prohibition of nuclear in 1998, and the policy and infrastructure legacies created by Energy Minister Chris Bowen. He will explain the necessity of a government-controlled nuclear reactor fleet, what that might look like, and the importance of a civilian nuclear industry to support AUKUS. Michael will conclude with a discussion of the absence of a "Plan B" for Australia's energy needs, and the results of renewables-only strategies internationally and what these might mean for Australia’s energy future.

The slides are available below:

Uniparty Hate Crime Bill won’t stop hate crime

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This type of activity is already illegal, we need more action, not words.

The voting behaviour of senators on February 6 was bizarre to say the least. Labor’s Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2025 passed both houses in what can only be described as a whirlwind. The passing of the bill has left conservatives scratching their heads as a mixed bag of conservative senators voted ‘no’, one abstained, and another well-regarded conservative upset his fans by voting ‘yes’.

Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes had this to say:

Michael de Percy is adamant that the Labor-Coalition hate crimes bill, just passed, will do nothing to stop the hate crimes that it purports to target.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Uniparty Hate Crime Bill won’t stop hate crime.

Will Trump inspire Dutton to undo the Uniparty?

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Donald Trump is draining the swamp! [Epoch Times CC BY-NC 2.0]

There is so much hot air blowing around at the moment. Almost every leftie on social media is having a meltdown. Never mind that their partisan nonsense caused the swamp to need draining in the first place. Many conservative voters are not convinced that Mr Dutton will turn the Liberals around in the way Donald Trump reformed the Republicans. But will the Don’s decisive action be enough to inspire Mr Dutton to undo the Uniparty?

Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes said:

Michael de Percy, who sees an opportunity to disrupt the ‘Uniparty’ Tweedledee and Tweedledum political settlement of the ALP and the Coalition. Trump certainly has energised the conservative base, but how sold are many not rusted-on Australian voters on the Trump agenda, or are there bits of it embraced enthusiastically and others in the lead balloon category? Peter Dutton’s cautious cherry-picking of what’s on offer from the Trumpian menu, notably on patriotism, the flag, and rightly rejecting multi-genderism and its fallout for women, speaks practical political judgment, as in a parliamentary system evolution tends to be more successful than revolution. Encourage Dutton for starting to go in the right direction, not disparage him for not going far enough.

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

Christian and Jewish groups, in particular, are very worried about clashes with the LGBTQ+ movement. Why, when Dutton is desperately trying to rebuild the blue ribbon brand, is his party committed to anti-liberty laws? As Michael de Percy writes, many are hoping that Donald Trump will inspire Peter Dutton to undo the idea of a ‘uniparty’. ‘If the Opposition acts in any way like Labor, especially on no-brainers like social media bans or anything that impacts freedom of speech or religion or that tries to reinvent nature, they confirm the Uniparty theory.’

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Will Trump inspire Dutton to undo the Uniparty?

The Menzies Ascendency Book Launch

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Michael Kirby, Michael de Percy, and Paul Kelly at King and Wood Mallesons, Sydney

This week I attended the launch of the Robert Menzies Institute volume, The Menzies Ascendency Fortune, Stability, Progress 1954–1961, at a Sydney Institute event held at King and Wood Mallesons in Sydney. Zachary Gorman edited the volume, published by Melbourne University Press.

My chapter in the volume was on Menzies in the Atomic Age.

Australian legends, Michael Kirby and Paul Kelly, were the guest speakers.

I was able to ask a question about governments trying to establish a vision and how this gets in the way of them creating the conditions that enable individuals to thrive. The response is in the video below.

Beer and spirits are too expensive, Mr Dutton!

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Did Jim Chalmers invent the Dishwater Martini?

It’s no secret that Labor and the Greens want you to ‘eat ze bugs’. The way our economy is going, eating insects will soon be all we can afford. Steve McQueen was the epitome of cool, but a real-life version of his bug-eating prisoner in Papillon is not the ideal I aspire to. And while McQueen managed to escape by jumping off a cliff, all we have to do to be free from tyranny is get Mr Dutton to shout us a few drinks. I’d vote for that.

Writing in Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

Aussie pub culture – as well as our beautiful wineries – are in big trouble with excise tax going up again. This greedy and limitless money-grab by the government has reached the point where it is collapsing businesses across Australia. Not to mention that teenagers have switched from having a drink with their mates to engaging with extremely dangerous party drugs. It’s a sad state of affairs and the Treasury is wholly responsible.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Beer and spirits are too expensive, Mr Dutton!

The WHO is finished: step away, Mr Dutton!

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Peter Dutton with Michael de Percy in Goulburn, 22 January 2025.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is a horse that’s been flogged to death. Then it’s been turned over and flogged again. Twice. Now it is time for Mr Dutton to put down the whip and step away.

The WHO’s situation is a result of the United Nations system being exhausted. Like the League of Nations before it, the UN has lost its way. Whereas the League was unable to stand up to Mussolini and Hitler, dictators and other anti-democratic leaders have managed to white-ant the UN from the inside.

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

As the US changes its international alliances, so too must Australia consider what it spends money on. The World Health Organisation was never considered a good deal for Australia and now it looks like an outright liability. With the loss of US funding, how long before the WHO comes digging around in our Treasury? Michael de Percy argues that it’s time for Dutton to step away from the WHO.

Days later, my article was still trending, and Terry Barnes had this to say in the Morning Doiuble SHot newsletter:

His piece has been running for a few days now, but it deserves widespread reading. Michael de Percy is delighted that Donald Trump is taking the United States out of the World Health Organisation, and wants Peter Dutton to do the same with Australia. Let’s face it, the WHO was in cahoots with China in refusing to sheet home Covid-19 to its place of origin – Wuhan – and was Xi Jinping’s willing beard when it came to dodging any international attempt to inquire into the origins of the virus. There’s little point trying to reform it, so defund WHO and walk away from it, as de Percy suggests.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, The WHO is finished: step away, Mr Dutton!

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