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Climate change strikes Canberra

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Cold winters in the Canberra region? Quelle surprise!

Like a GBU-57 bunker buster, global warming turned into global boiling and then suddenly turned into weather so cold it burst pipes in Canberra schools. Using the expression that has now been put into text by our esteemed Editor-in-Chief, it must be CLIIIIIIMATE CHAAAAAAAANGE!!!

In the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall wrote:

Are you cold? Apparently burst icy pipes in Canberra are a sign of the global warming apocalypse. Don’t question it.

In the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes wrote:

Lastly, Michael de Percy has an annoyance du jour. Canberra and its surrounding regions lately have been experiencing their severest cold weather for a while (but has it reached the regular minus 9s of my early 80s uni days at the ANU?), But no, the official explanation in the Stalinist Republic of the Molonglo is man-made climate change, and that rightly annoys Dr de Percy.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Climate change strikes Canberra.

Tony Burke’s detention inaction

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Tony Burke surrounded by supporters on the night of the 2025 Federal Election.

The Albanese government’s refusal to detain dangerous criminals, citing legal barriers, is a shameful abdication of responsibility.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke’s claim that the NZYQ cohort – former immigration detainees with alleged serious criminal convictions – cannot be held under preventative detention laws is not just weak, it is my view that it also endangers Australian citizens.

In a new low, this decision prioritises legal technicalities over public safety, exposing a government unfit to protect its citizens.

In the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall wrote:

Speaking of trouble, Michael de Percy took aim at Tony Burke for his apparent weakness regarding foreign criminals released into the Australian community. 

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Tony Burke’s detention inaction.

Trump's US Army parade, strikes on Iran, and Labor's weak response

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Back on Spectator TV Australia with Alexandra Marshall, 27 June 2025.

 Discussing President Trump's 250th Anniversary Parade for the US Army, the US strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, and the weak response from PM Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

Sussan Ley respects, reflects, and represents… others

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The address began with an acknowledgement of country, and it all went downhill from there.

From the National Press Club: It’s difficult not to like Sussan Ley. I discovered she was in front of me as we entered the Press Club and I felt her presence before I noticed who she was. I remember attending a Parliamentary Friends of Nuclear Energy event at Parliament House when the air was sucked out of the room and I turned around to see Peter Dutton. Ms Ley has similar impact, and she certainly lit up the room. She clearly has the ticker to be the leader of a federal parliamentary party. She spoke about her personal journey as a woman in Australian politics, and it’s hard not to want her to do well. But the Australians Ms Ley ‘respects, reflects, and represents’ (as she says) are not my people.

In the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes wrote:

Yesterday, Liberal leader Sussan Ley addressed the National Press Club. Simply by doing so, she declared she is the anti-Peter Dutton, given Dutton never appeared there as leader. But in truth, Ley was not appearing as Liberal leader: she was appearing as leader of the Liberals’ moderate faction, the intellectual milksops and namby-pambies who want to regain political credibility by catering to the cross-dressers, people who think Edmund Burke is a berk and Mill is a millstone, and people who idolise Greta Thunberg as a great moral thinker of our time. From the moment Ley started her speech with the chattering classes’ required obeisance to our spiritual overlords, any sensible conservative – and less sensible ones too – now know Ley has contempt for then, what they believe in, and timeless ideals they cherish which matter in a civil society. Yet, dear readers, she is still the best the pathetic federal Liberals can offer. It’s awful. Michael de Percy was there, and filed his report. His last paragraph says it all.

My latest article in The Spectator Australia, Sussan Ley respects, reflects, and represents… others.

Digital nanny deep state

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eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant appears to be both policy-maker and regulator.

A majority of politicians support the role of the eSafety Commissioner. It is couched in terms of protecting children but is dripping with unintended consequences that echo the excesses of government control during the pandemic. The pandemic is even used as an excuse for the importance of the social media ban, because apparently forcing kids to stay at home for months on end isn’t healthy and it drove them to social media.

Rather than encourage sports and healthy lifestyles, our government turns to a ban on social media.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Digital nanny deep state.

Albo disconnects from Trump’s defining moment

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Albo exercised his right to disconnect during a generation-defining moment in geopolitics.

While Albo was ‘disconnected’, President Trump saved the world from the ‘Axis of Resistance’ and ensured world peace for at least the next three years. There will be no nuclear weapons for terrorists any time soon.

Like the first Gulf War was to Gen X, President Trump’s strike against Iran is a defining moment of a new era in global politics. Only Australia’s Gen Whatever wouldn’t know it if it punched them in the face. That’s because Australia’s state-owned media, like our Prime Minister, is disconnected from reality.

In the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall wrote:

Michael de Percy has criticised the slowness with which our political class has approached the entire situation. Weekends do not apply to world-changing events. As he wrote, ‘Like the first Gulf War was to Gen X, President Trump’s strike against Iran is a defining moment of a new era in global politics.’ And defining moments demand attention. Why Penny Wong has decided to use her social media accounts as a travel advisory board is anyone’s guess.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Albo disconnects from Trump’s defining moment.

President Trump strikes, saves the world

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Decisive, necessary. Will there be terrorists with nuclear weapons? Not on The Don's watch. 

Today’s US military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, authorised by President Donald Trump, is a global reckoning. This decisive action targeted key sites including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. The President gave the Iranian regime plenty of time to respond, but it was clear that religious bullies respect force and nothing else. Well, they got force.

The strikes, conducted by B-2 stealth bombers, were a technological response to a technological evil. A nuclear-armed Iran would be a catalyst for catastrophic proliferation, empowering terrorist proxies like the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah with unprecedented destructive potential. Iran’s refusal to allow UN inspectors unfettered access to its nuclear program, coupled with its ongoing attacks on Israel, left the United States with no choice but to act.

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

There’s only one story this morning that matters: Donald Trump and his Bunker Busting Bombers. In an impressive piece of instant analysis, Michael de Percy sums up what happened and what all this says about the wishy-washy stance of our Prime and Foreign Ministers. On the latter point, Michael’s elaborated in a follow-up article: we suggest reading them together, because they provide a good picture of what this says about how our government’s embarrassing all of us in by bestriding the barbed-wire fence.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, President Trump strikes, saves the world.

Land tax is communism

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The GST was meant to replace stamp duty. Instead, Labor want to tax your family home. Forever.

As the Treasurer looks to the guest list for the cabinet room-sized productivity roundtable to be held in August, it is clear the family home is on the hit list. Instead of owning your home, you will pay land tax, effectively rent, to the government forever. 

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Land tax is communism.


Jim Chalmers: the unsustainable Treasurer

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Treasurer Jim Chalmers at the National Press Club, 18 June 2025.

From the National Press Club: Today I had an opportunity to ask the Treasurer, Dr Jim Chalmers, a question on the sustainability of his budget. He admitted that it is not sustainable enough, or resilient enough, or enough already. It’s not good. I think he is shaping up to become Prime Minister. In the absence of a good Prime Minister, I reckon Jim Chalmers would do alright. Nobody could be worse than Elmer Thud.

In the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall wrote:

Michael de Percy had the chance to question the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, on critical things – such as defence spending – less than a day after Albanese was publicly embarrassed on the world stage at the G7. Considering the freshly signed trade deal with the UK, one might have thought that the Treasurer would have an answer ready to go… The better question, however, is if the Treasurer even understands how important the situation is. Michael was, shall we say, alarmed by the answer he received.

My question is here:

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Jim Chalmers: the unsustainable Treasurer.

Trump’s military parade exposes weak Albo and Wong

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US Army 250th anniversary parade, Washington DC.

On June 14, Washington DC roared to life with the thunder of tanks, the wokka of choppers, and the march of some 7,000 soldiers celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the US Army. Hooah!

This spectacle of military might and national pride, unusual in the self-loathing West, was a bold declaration of America’s strength that coincided with President Trump’s 79th birthday.

Predictably, the usual chorus of left-wing critics in the US and abroad erupted in outrage, clutching their pearls while crying ‘dictator’ over what was, at its core, a celebration of the nation’s resilience and its defenders.

In the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall wrote:

Michael de Percy has savaged those who critised Donald Trump’s celebration of the US Army’s 250th Anniversary. Those whole piece is excellent, but particularly this line: ‘The same critics who cheer diversity and inclusion balk at displays of martial pride, as if celebrating a nation’s military history somehow negates its pluralism. They forget that the freedom to protest and wave Mexican and Palestinian flags was secured by the very institution they now vilify.’

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

Resident flaneur, Michael de Percy, says President Trump’s military parade on the weekend (and Trump’s birthday) highlights America’s strength and our defence weakness. Something must change. The Trump administration says spending 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence should be our goal: at his meeting with Trump today, Anthony Albanese should at least accept a goal of that magnitude is a realistic ask of Australia. But the Prime Minister also must brace himself to do what’s necessary to do the right thing and pursue it – and that’s not to raise taxes. Jettison unaffordable election promises. Cut wasteful programmes – not matter how popular – and cancel ideological vanity projects. Dump economy-crippling Net Zero. Incentivise productivity growth and defence industry investment. Even consider reintroducing national service in some form – after all, the old National Service Act is still on the books. National defence must have top priority, and government must lead by example. Our tip: Albanese won’t do anything but talk.

My latest opinion piece in The Spectator Australia, Trump’s military parade exposes weak Albo and Wong.

Warwick Stacey: One Nation’s Senate ‘stunner’

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One Nation's Senate 'stunner'

One Nation’s newly elected senator, Warwick Stacey, brings to the table skills and experience that most Australian politicians have only ever seen at the movies. Our own Professor David Flint has sung his praises, and after discussing Stacey’s views about the long-forgotten idea of representative democracy, in my opinion there is much to like. Warwick Stacey’s responses to my questions are outlined in the article below.

Alexandra Marshall wrote in the Unfiltered newsletter:

Michael de Percy sat down with newly elected One Nation Senator Warwick Stacey to talk about what sort of agenda he would like to see in a political system that seems to be stacked against conservatives and free thinkers.

My latest report in The Spectator Australia, Warwick Stacey: One Nation’s Senate ‘stunner’.

Surfing the waves of nostalgia with Brian Wilson

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Wilson wasn’t just writing songs. He was building worlds.

As I write this, I’m struck by how much of my childhood was shaped by Brian Wilson’s sounds. The Beach Boys weren’t just a band, they were a feeling, a memory, a tether to a time when the world seemed simpler, even if it never really was. Brian Wilson’s genius wasn’t just in his music but in his ability to make kids like me believe in the endless summer, no matter where we were. And for that, I’ll always be grateful.

Alexandra Marshall had this to say in the Unfiltered newsletter:

Michael de Percy has written a fond farewell to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. ‘Wilson’s genius lay in his ability to uplift one’s spirits, even though his were deeply troubled,’ he wrote, adding, ‘Wilson wasn’t just writing songs, he was building worlds.’ It’s a shame that we are slowly losing talent only to have it replaced by … well, I’m not really sure that much of the noise today can be considered ‘music’.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Surfing the waves of nostalgia with Brian Wilson.

Tassie heads to the polls as the Liberals leave the building

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Fight for your principles. Fight for your base. Fight to win...

Tonight, the Tasmanian Governor, who had previously acted appropriately by stalling an election, has capitulated at the request of Rockliff and Tasmanians will head to the polls on July 19.

This should never have happened, and, in my opinion, while Rockliff is hardly a conservative, he was let down by the Liberal Party that was supposed to support him.

Alexandra Marshall had this to say in the Unfiltered newsletter:

Crazy news, Tasmania is headed to the polls! Michael de Percy writes: ‘Tonight, the Tasmanian Governor, who had previously acted appropriately by stalling an election, has capitulated at the request of Rockliff and Tasmanians will head to the polls on July 19.’ Will the Liberal Party be returned?

Breaking news for The Spectator Australia, Tassie heads to the polls as the Liberals leave the building.

Albo plays masterclass while Opposition forfeits

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at his National Press Club address, 10 June 2025.

Albo’s performance was a masterclass in polished rhetoric, delivered with the unflappable confidence of a man who knows he’s playing on an empty field. But as I sat there, nursing a glass of red and a growing sense of unease, it wasn’t the Prime Minister’s aplomb that struck me… It was the deafening silence of the Opposition, whose absence of vinegar is fast becoming a national scandal.

Albo stood at the podium with the air of a leader who has assumed political inevitability. He spoke of economic stability, renewable energy investments, and a recalibrated foreign policy. All of these were set somewhere in the future, grand promises that deserved to be dissected with surgical precision by a competent opposition.

Alexandra Marshall had this to say in the Unfiltered newsletter:

Michael de Percy had the pleasure (misfortune?) of witnessing the Prime Minister speaking live at the National Press Club this afternoon. By the sounds of it, the most disappointing part of the ordeal was how polished Albanese’s propaganda has become. Weaving narratives that outrage democracy and picking apart capitalism comes to him as naturally as breathing. Worse, the Opposition is nowhere to be seen – disarmed by disunity and too confused about what they should be opposing to actually oppose.

Terry Barnes followed up the next day in the Morning Double Shot newsletter:

Talking of identity crises, from his National Press Club appearance yesterday, PM Anthony Albanese thinks he’s in another country altogether, one in which he and Labor won a huge mandate on 3 May. The reality is Albanese had no positive mandate, illustrated by several campaign Newspolls finding a strong majority of voters thought he didn’t deserve re-election. He won only because the Opposition failed to show up for the policy fight, and Left preferences boosted a pathetic Labor primary vote. Michael de Percy attended the Press Club to endure Albanese’s vapid speech of one-sentence paragraphs with its vacuous claims about Labor and the electorate, and gives his verdict.

My latest report from the National Press Club for The Spectator Australia, Albo plays masterclass while Opposition forfeits.


Greta Thunberg’s irresponsible ‘Selfie Yacht’

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Thunberg and other irresponsible activists on their 'Selfie Yacht' [NBC News]

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist turned self-appointed geopolitical saviour, has once again commandeered the global stage with her latest stunt. Thunberg claimed to have been ‘kidnapped’ by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on her so-called ‘humanitarian’ voyage aboard the Madleen, a vessel aimed at breaching Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.

This stunt, cloaked in the veneer of altruistic aid delivery, ended in her interception by the IDF on June 9 aboard her ‘selfie yacht’. While Thunberg’s flair for theatrics has long been her hallmark, this latest episode is not just reckless, it is a costly distraction that burdens Israeli taxpayers and diverts attention from the Israeli hostages still held in Hamas’ grip.

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

Is there anything more pitiable than the ‘selfie flotilla’ featuring Greta Thunberg carrying a snack-sized humanitarian aid cargo to Hamas-controlled Palestine? There are only two likely outcomes for this story – an actual hostage situation or a faux hostage narrative. The latter played out on social media with Ms Thunberg releasing a rather dubious ‘if you see this’ video which was quickly contradicted by Israel Defences Forces. Instead of ‘being taken hostage’, Thunberg & co have been fed and are on their way to Israel where they will be sat down in front of the October 7 footage and forced to watch the true horror of what took place during the terror attack.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Greta Thunberg's irresponsible 'Selfie Yacht'.

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