Make Sydney and Melbourne city-states

How else are we going to save New South Wales and Victoria?

The rift between Australia’s big cities and their regional counterparts is no secret. Sydney and Melbourne, with their swelling populations and progressive agendas, wield disproportionate influence over state governments.

Take, for example, policies cooked up in the cities: cancelling Christmas, funding climate change grifters, expansive socialist housing programs, and a raft of ‘progressive’ ideas that undermine individual freedoms and the primacy of the family.

Such progressive nonsense undermines the realities of life in the bush.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Make Sydney and Melbourne city-states. 

With wayward political ideologies hell-bent on bankrupting our two largest cities, Australia’s federation is due for a refresh.

To save the democracies of New South Wales and Victoria, Sydney and Melbourne should be carved out of the existing states to become independent… pic.twitter.com/jWEJukTYFX

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) January 2, 2026

Young Australians should travel instead of going to Woke universities

I’ve prioritised my education above my finances, my health, and my personal relationships.

Some people will read the German icon Thomas Mann on a train from Berlin to Dresden, marvelling at his wit and insight. Others will spend three years and $80,000 to be told that Mann justifies Germany’s out of control immigration program because his mother was Brazilian and therefore an immigrant. Such biased thoughts would occur despite having taken unconscious bias training.

Today’s Australian university sector has embraced the socialist fantasy of equality of outcomes with a zeal that belongs in the former German Democratic Republic. Pass rates must rise, failure must be abolished, feelings must be protected, and if the content has to be hollowed out to achieve this, so be it. The result is a credential that certifies nothing except endurance of the process and a desire to don a rainbow lanyard.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Young Australians should travel instead of going to Woke universities.

HAS AN AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITY EDUCATION LOST ITS VALUE?

With universities willing to hand out the parchment for little more than turning up (or not turning up), then a degree itself has become all but worthless.

Employers already know this, that’s why graduate recruiters now… pic.twitter.com/SEbbtgZlxL

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) January 1, 2026

Merry Christmas from the heartland of Santa Claus

Easily the most amazing experience I have had so far is visiting the Neuschwanstein Castle.

From Munich: German Christmas markets are the best in the world. There’s something about Germany that makes Christmas feel more like Christmas than anywhere else. The focus is on food, drink, and good cheer, just as the Santa of my childhood represented. Back then, Christmas was special. It was a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. It was a time where everyone said Merry Christmas to each other, and it was the most special time of year.

In light of recent events in Australia, I think the Christmas spirit, much like chivalry and civility, is not dead. It has just been hiding in a closet, biding its time. The good news is that that time has come. And Germany, for all its faults, has reminded me of all that is great about the Christmas spirit.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Merry Christmas from the heartland of Santa Claus.

In light of recent events in Australia, I think the Christmas spirit, much like chivalry and civility, is not dead. It has just been hiding in a closet, biding its time. The good news is that that time has come. And Germany, for all its faults, has reminded me of all that is… pic.twitter.com/ATMAuV3O4D

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) December 24, 2025