Remembering Robert Redford, the man who lit up my youth

Redford as The Great Waldo Pepper, a daredevil aviator chasing glory in the skies after the Great War.

This week, Robert Redford, that golden-haired icon of American cinema, quietly slipped away at age 89, the same age my grandfather passed a few years ago.

Redford passed peacefully at his Sundance retreat in the Utah mountains. The man who embodied the rugged individualism of the West, played the heist, and soared through the skies on screen, now rests among the peaks he so fiercely protected. It’s a fitting end for a life that was anything but ordinary, a life that provided the soundtrack and scenery to my coming of age.

In the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall wrote:

The golden era of Hollywood has lost one of its most dearly loved stars. Robert Redford slipped away at 89. As Michael de Percy writes, ‘Redford passed peacefully at his Sundance retreat in the Utah mountains. The man who embodied the rugged individualism of the West, played the heist, and soared through the skies on screen, now rests among the peaks he so fiercely protected. It’s a fitting end for a life that was anything but ordinary, a life that provided the soundtrack and scenery to my coming of age.’

In the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes wrote:

Michael de Percy reveals a romantic streak in his otherwise ruthless political persona – although Redford’s politics and Michael’s would be polar opposites. As an actor and director, Redford made great films although, as Christopher Tookey points out in his appreciation, he didn’t fancy himself a great actor. Too many well-known people of the 60s and 70s are popping their clogs this year, but let’s make one thing clear as many of us mourn our lost youth through them: they died, not passed, or passed away. Why is it, in an age where social media brutalises the public discourse, everyone now says dead people ‘pass away’, not ‘die’?

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Remembering Robert Redford, the man who lit up my youth.

Charlie Kirk's Assassination #NoMore Double Standards

It's time to start the #NoMore movement. No more double standards. No more two-tier policing.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk in the United States this week has sent shock waves around the world. Why did a young man ruin his life by taking the life of another? 

One of the things that I think we need to seriously look at now is our education system and how our education system, which has moved further and further to the left, is now arguing progressive points of view. 

We heard Black Lives Matter and the Me Too movement and we saw the extremes that these went to. 

Rather than riots in the United States, what we've seen as a result of Charlie Kirk's assassination have been prayer vigils. 

So for the conservative movement, a tragedy, but at the same time, we really need to start looking at what causes university students to behave this way. And I blame our education system. I think our education system has made it okay, much like the two-tier policing we've witnessed in the United Kingdom, and we're starting to see that in Australia as well. 

Two-tier policing, where leftist progressive causes are okay and conservative causes are not, represents the double standard that we're now starting to see in social and political commentary. It was okay for some to make light or even make fun of or rejoice and celebrate the assassination of Charlie Kirk. 

We saw this in particular with the incoming president of the Oxford Union in the United Kingdom. Repeatedly we hear that freedom of speech is sacrosanct. However, this only applies to the left. Anything that's said by the right is determined to be hate speech. 

Now there are extremes and I'm not arguing for extremes on either side but we need to have a much more centrist approach to this and this has been part of the great conversation and the great contest of ideas that is a hallmark of liberal democracy. 

The problem with moving too far to the left is that we're leaving behind liberal democracy and we're getting ever closer to socialism. 

Two-tier policing is a result of the double standard that is being applied. And we see this in particular with the assassination of Charlie Kirk. 

In the United Kingdom, you can lose your position for misgendering somebody, but for laughing about the assassination of somebody else. These are people in positions of responsibility. If this had happened in the private sector, there would have been outcry. 

However, when it happens in the education system, it's okay because the system looks after itself. 

Our education system has been overtaken by progressive ideas, but not just progressive ideas, but extreme leftist ideas. And this needs to change. 

It's time to start the #NoMore movement. No more assassinations. No more double standards. No more two-tier policing. No more putting up with criminal activity. It's time that our country got back on track.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk points to the radicalisation of our education system. I'm calling for #NoMore double standards. pic.twitter.com/qFkBM6RJFc

— Dr Michael de Percy (@FlaneurPolitiq) September 14, 2025

Gallipoli Scholarship gives Anzac kids a fighting chance

The audience was brought to tears on numerous occasions. Not through laughter, but pride and humility.

In an era where military service is seen by some as anti-peace and anti-humane, I was struck by the positive nature of the Gallipoli Club and the recipients of the Gallipoli Scholarship Foundation. To hear from two recipients of the scholarship, both direct descendants of working-class Anzacs, was a poignant reminder not to discount Australian youth when it comes to matters of national pride. We often assume our youth do not have the same patriotic fervour but having taught more than 20,000 young Australians over the years, and after listening to the Gallipoli Scholars, you will be pleased to know that patriotism is not dead but rather hiding in a closet.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Gallipoli Scholarship gives Anzac kids a fighting chance.

This emotional element of youthful sacrifice underscores Australia’s military history. It is often disregarded by contemporary political narratives.

It made me wonder if our youth would behave with such valour if in a similar situation today.https://t.co/p2vPdmcWKv

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) September 12, 2025

It’s time to end union stranglehold on industry super funds

Paul Schroder at the National Press Club: Super funds are not a government 'piggy bank'.

Government interference in investment decisions would be a ‘disaster’ for members, he argued, and here Schroder hits the nail on the head. Super funds must remain independent, focused on delivering returns to everyday Australians rather than bending to Canberra’s whims. His vision of super as an ‘engine room’ for national prosperity – investing in housing, energy transitions, and infrastructure on a risk-adjusted basis – is at least workable, provided it’s not dictated from above.

Yet, for all his talk of modernisation and adapting to ‘changes in society’, Schroder’s address curiously sidestepped the most glaring anachronism in the room: AustralianSuper’s own governance structure.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, It’s time to end union stranglehold on industry super funds.

Super isn’t a piggybank for politicians. But nor should it be a slush fund for union agendas. If we’re to reimagine prosperity, as he urges, let’s start by modernising the boards that control $4.3 trillion of Australian’s hopes and dreams for the future.https://t.co/xL4fJLBsXz

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) September 5, 2025

Malcolm Roberts calls for an inquiry into immigration policy

One Nation are the only party questioning the impact of immigration on our economy during the crisis. 

Senator Roberts has called for a straightforward parliamentary inquiry into the impacts of mass immigration on housing prices, rentals, wages, infrastructure (such as schools, roads, and hospitals), and social cohesion.

He has invited submissions from all sides, stating that if data shows immigration as a strength, Australians should see it.

Otherwise, our immigration policy needs re-evaluation.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Malcolm Roberts calls for an inquiry into immigration policy.

One Nation is the cat 🐱 set loose among the pigeons 🪶 with unhinged outrage following Roberts' sensible call for an inquiry into mass migration.

"When a political party cops more than its fair share of mud-slinging, they’re probably on the money."https://t.co/9KEufKnlh1

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) September 4, 2025

King Albo of Multicultural Australia

With no credible opposition in sight, Albo struts around like he is the King of Multicultural Australia.

After failing to win The Voice to Parliament referendum, King Albo was forced to cancel the Assistant Minister for a Republic.

Multiculturalism, however, now has its very own Cabinet Minister.

In Question Time on September 1, Ashvini Ambihaipahar asked this Dorothy Dixer of Labor’s Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Dr Anne Aly:

How is the Albanese Labor government strengthening and building upon the success that is multicultural Australia.

In response, Dr Aly could not hold back her excitement:

For the first time, Australia has a standalone Minister for Multicultural Affairs.

Aly is also the Minister for Small Business. It’s a pity that small businesses are standing alone as their hopes and dreams are dashed on Labor’s socialist beachhead.

For a beachhead it is.

Alexandra Marshall wrote in the Unfiltered newsletter:

The narrative of Multicultural Australia is coming under intense scrutiny, including in the Senate where One Nation has pushed for an inquiry to get to the bottom of whether or not diversity really is our strength, economically speaking. Well, according to Michael de Percy, Anthony Albanese appears to see himself as the King of this ideological movement. ‘In the presence of his court jesters and an Opposition scared of its own shadow, King Albo presides over Conflation Nation.’

Terry Barnes wrote in the Morning Double Shot newsletter:

Michael de Percy tells us why the Prime Minister is ‘king’ of exploiting multiculturalism for political gain better than your scribe ever could. As his article’s subtitle says: Australians deserve better; Middle Australians demand it.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, King Albo of Multicultural Australia.

What a crock. Treasurer’s talkfest forgets to cut spending

Treasurer Jim Chalmers claimed this gabfest would forge consensus on bold reforms.

Productivity isn’t some esoteric puzzle requiring endless panels and PowerPoints. It’s the driver of our standard of living, but it’s been stalled by Labor’s bureaucratic bloat and fiscal profligacy. Chalmers’ roundtable, with its leaked Treasury advice hinting at timid outcomes like freezing certain expenditures, reeks of the same old Labor playbook: consult, delay, and deflect.

In the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall wrote:

Anyone else suspect ‘productivity’ might be Jim Chalmers’ code word for ‘raising taxes’? We’re hearing a lot of whispers leaking out of the roundtable about grave robbing (inheritance tax), raising the GST, a 2 per cent wealth tax, and other hikes. Tax is a punishment. Tax is meant to deter us naughty citizens from a bad activity. That’s the reason the government gives us for taxes on alcohol, cigarettes, and petrol. How does taxing productivity encourage productivity? What sort of magical money trees is the Treasurer planting in Canberra?

My latest in The Spectator Australia, What a crock. Treasurer’s talkfest forgets to cut spending.

‘Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it.’

Australia is living this nightmare.https://t.co/IQ8piqmzym

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) August 21, 2025

Albo breaches social contract with Palestinian recognition

Albanese’s recognition of Palestine smacks of Burkean folly.

Australia’s longstanding alliance with Israel, rooted in shared democratic values and strategic interests, has been a pillar of our foreign policy. Recognising Palestine prematurely, amid ongoing conflicts and without ironclad commitments to peace, will strain ties with key partners like the United States, which has historically opposed such moves without bilateral agreements.

The US is the only other ally in history who spilt blood defending us against an eternal aggressor. Anyone who doesn’t understand this is an ungrateful recipient of history.

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

Michael de Percy adds that Albanese has breached his social contract with the Australian people be doing so, saying that the move by the Prime Minister ‘reeks of ideological posturing over prudent statecraft to ensure our national security’. He also adds that it ‘smacks of Burkean folly’.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Albo breaches social contract with Palestinian recognition.

Recognising Palestine prematurely, amid ongoing conflicts and without ironclad commitments to peace, will strain ties with key partners like the United States, which has historically opposed such moves without bilateral agreements.https://t.co/98Qr4MnMc5

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) August 15, 2025

Royal Enfield Intercontinental GT 650 bar end update

The new bar ends work a treat. Much nicer than the chunky grey originals.

I purchased the bar end caps from Cafe Racer Club and tried to fit them to my Royal Enfield Intercontinental GT 650 yesterday.

The original bar end caps.

As others had found, the bar end weights, designed to minimise vibration in the handlebars, do not allow bar end insert mirros to be fitted, or after market end caps.

Left: Original end cap and bar end weight. Right: Cafe Racer Club bar end cap and insert.  

Others have found that removing the bar end weights is relatively easy. Not for me. In the end, we used a slide hammer to get them out.

The new bar ends are much narrower.

Once removed, the Cafe Racer Club end bar caps were fitted, and it works a treat.

The Cafe Racer Club bar ends are the tapered version. They are much narrower than the originals.

With the bar end mirrors and the end caps, I have noticed no noticeable difference to handling or vibration in the bars.

The original bar ends are quite chunky.

I think it looks great and it has shaved a bit off the width of the bars which has proven handy for getting through my gate.

EV hype hits the wall

EVs have become such a virtue-signal that the thought of driving one makes me want to puke.

The latest real-world testing from the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) delivers a sobering jolt. Many popular EVs are falling short of their advertised ranges by up to 23 per cent, leaving potential buyers grappling with the perennial problem that refuses to die – range anxiety. This isn’t just a minor glitch, it’s a fundamental flaw in the EV ‘narrative’ (there’s that leftie term again) that policymakers seem determined to ignore.

Let’s start with the facts, courtesy of the AAA’s groundbreaking independent testing program, launched to cut through the manufacturer spin and provide Australians with honest data. In their initial round of real-world assessments, models like the BYD Atto 3 SUV clocked in a staggering 111 kilometres short of its promised range – a 23 per cent deficit that translates to real frustration on the open road.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, EV hype hits the wall.

EVs have become such a virtue-signal that the thought of driving one makes me want to puke.

The latest real-world testing from the AAA delivers a sobering jolt.

Many popular EVs are falling short of their advertised ranges by up to 23%.https://t.co/UnctoMEXYJ

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) August 11, 2025

Speakman silent while renewables wreck regions

Wendy Tuckerman has actively engaged with regional Australians impacted by reckless renewables.  

Blindsided by the resignation of frontbencher Wendy Tuckerman over the party’s limp support for Labor’s controversial renewable energy laws, NSW Liberals leader Mark Speakman has presided over a fiasco that exposes the deep fissures within the Liberals.

The crisis erupted when Tuckerman, the MP for Goulburn, sensationally quit the opposition frontbench in protest over her party’s handling of Labor’s rushed electricity bill. This legislation, aimed at accelerating the transition to renewables, has been slated for its lack of consultation and its blatant disregard for the impacts on rural landowners.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Speakman silent while renewables wreck regions.

MICHAEL DE PERCY | "Blindsided by the resignation of frontbencher Wendy Tuckerman over the party’s limp support for Labor’s controversial renewable energy laws, Speakman has presided over a fiasco that exposes the deep fissures within the Liberals."https://t.co/MNv17yQEol

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) August 10, 2025

Royal Enfield Intercontinental GT 650 bar end mirrors problem solved!

Royal Enfield 2025 Intercontinental GT 650 bar end mirrors problem solved!

When my brand new Royal Enfield 2025 Intercontinental GT 650 turned up, the bar end mirrors were slipping all over the place. The message from the workshop was that I would need to adjust them. They also didn't have any blanks to fill the holes left from the stock mirrors.

You can buy the blanking caps for the stock mirrors from Cafe Racer Club.

I bought these mirror blanking screws from Cafe Racer Club and fitted them with some 222 Loctite Screw Lock. Tip for new players: Use a piece of cloth or cardboard so the screwdriver doesn't scratch the paint off the driving slot on the blanking plug.

My GT 650 arrives.

I'd purchased the Royal Enfield branded mirrors but they just didn't seem to fit. Then I watched a YouTube video where the original bar end inserts were replaced when fitting some chrome Stadium mirrors. To get the bar end inserts out seems to be a two-person job. If you peel back the grips slightly, you will see a hole on top and bottom of the bar. These holes fit little lugs in the bar end insert to hold it in place. You have to depress the lugs in each hole simultaneously to remove the insert.

I intend to replace the original inserts when my new Cafe Rider Club bar ends arrive.

On the end of the original insert is a keyway that matches the original bar end caps. Some people file these flat but I wanted to keep the old parts. I also wanted my mirrors to stay in place. I found the metal and plastic sleeves provided in the bar end mirror kit were superfluous.

The sleeves are superfluous on the GT 650 and the original cap screw is too long.

But if you take the original bar end caps off, you can bolt the mirrors straight into the bars, leaving a small gap between the throttle and the mirror. I also put the mirror flush with the end of the bars (not the bar end lug). The mirrors will stay put.

I left a gap for the throttle.

Next, I re-fitted the original bar end caps by using a shorter cap screw (and with a full thread). This means the original end caps fit flush with the lugs on the original bar end insert.

The screw is a M6 x 16mm, 1.0 pitch, socket head cap screw. Works a treat! I will update this once I work out how to fit the Cafe Racer Club tapered bar end finishers.

My café racer removed the stink of propaganda

My Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 helped remove the stench of Hamas propaganda. 

In an era where the nanny state wants to bubble-wrap us, where electric vehicles hum like drones and autonomous cars threaten to erase human agency, the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 café racer stands as a symbol of unapologetic Anglo individualism. After taking redundancy from my 20-year academic career, I did the most un-Woke thing possible: I bought a motorcycle. As a flâneur of politics and open roads, I’ve always believed true freedom lies not in policy papers but in the raw thrill of machinery that harkens back to an age of adventure.

In the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall wrote:

Our political correspondent, Michael de Percy, has gone out and bought himself a motorbike in an act of defiance against political correctness. He writes, ‘While Australia seemed to crumble on the Bridge last Sunday, I celebrated my Anglo heritage in a part of NSW untouched by what I see as misguided activism.’

My latest in The Spectator Australia, My café racer removed the stink of propaganda.

In an era where the nanny state wants to bubble-wrap us, where electric vehicles hum like drones and autonomous cars threaten to erase human agency, the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 café racer stands as a symbol of unapologetic Anglo individualism.

After taking redundancy… pic.twitter.com/W0n2toGriA

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) August 6, 2025

Is it time we elected judges in Australia?

Ordinary Australians are being held to ransom by activist groups that do not represent the mainstream.

The Palestinian Action Group’s win in the Supreme Court of NSW is not a victory for freedom of speech. It demonstrates that unelected judges are able to stymy the ability of NSW Police to put a stop to a protest that endangers peace and public order.

It begs the question: Who holds judges to account?

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Is it time we elected judges in Australia?

Today’s decision to allow the Palestine Action Group, the same group that organised the October 9, 2023, rally that got out of hand at the Sydney Opera House, to march across the Harbour Bridge tomorrow makes no sense at all.https://t.co/qxvREhc9A1

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) August 2, 2025

Trump’s tariff wins? It’s FAFO, stupid

If you fear what Trump might do, that’s the whole point. The tariffs have little to do with economics.

From Seoul: While there are fringe anti-Trump tariff protests here in Asia’s most successful liberal democracy, mainstream opinion supports the alliance with the US. The first time I was here, a Korean army general thanked me for my service and for the 340 Australians whose ultimate sacrifice enabled Korea to rebuild following Japanese occupation and later communist aggression. The Republic of Korea is nothing short of an economic, social, and cultural miracle, and the strength of the US has been key to that success.

So, when President Trump went on his tariff tirade and economists all pooh-poohed his economic unorthodoxy, they missed the point.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Trump’s tariff wins? It’s FAFO, stupid.

Almost every other Western nation in the world including the European Union, has agreed to Trump’s trade deals.

Australia hasn’t because the worst Prime Minister in Australian history lacks the ticker to do anything his Woke Brigade don’t like.https://t.co/nyMnMBtY2X

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) August 2, 2025