ALL ARTICLES

Trump’s ‘art of the deal’ trumps ‘the science’

No comments

Trump's art of the deal trumps the science.

Being on the receiving end of a deal with the most powerful person in the world must be quite disarming. Trump was already the ultimate deal-maker. Now as the leader of the free world, his power to make deals is unsurpassed in history. When Trump offers a deal, he starts with an extreme position that drives the experts mad. This is not crazy; it is the art of the deal.

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:
Michael de Percy says we should trust the ‘art of the deal’ over ‘the science’ when it comes to politics. After all, Michael argues, Trump has done more in two months than the experts have in years – which means there must be some wisdom to his actions.
Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes had this to say:
As a political scientist, Michael de Percy is a great admirer of how Donald Trump is doing things, Trump upending all he sees as America’s enemies, both foreign and domestic. De Percy argues that Trump’s love of transactional deal-making, er, trumps evidence-based policy advocated by self-appointed experts. ‘Trump’s art of the deal is the most democratic thing we have seen since “the experts” told us to trust “the science”’, he writes. Some will agree; some will disagree. Certainly, Trump 47’s approach to policy-making and governing is unique. There’s been nothing like him before, and there’ll be nothing like him again.
My latest in The Spectator Australia, Trump’s ‘art of the deal’ trumps ‘the science’.

Can the green energy dream power Australia's future industries?

No comments

Australia's green hydrogen dream is rapidly coming undone
 

Australia's energy policy for heavy industries such as steel production are based on storing renewable energy as green hydrogen. However, steel production is energy intensive and green hydrogen is proving to be difficult to commercialise, let alone produce, store, and transport. The renewable energy link to Indonesia and Singapore, based on the plan for the Australian Renewable Energy Hub in the Pilbara, has been replaced by the idea that green hydrogen can be converted to green ammonia for transportation, and converted back to hydrogen on the other side. Again, the process is energy intensive. Add to the energy demands that will be created by data centres and artificial intelligence, the scaling up of energy production is unlikely to be met without nuclear. The green energy dream is unlikely to materialise and is proving unworkable.

The slides from my presentation are available below.

Woke West stands with Ukraine, Trump deals with reality

No comments

Trump's diplomacy is based on realpolitik, not idealpolitik.

The rules-based world order has been destroyed by the Wokerati. The United Nations, an institution designed to address the shortcomings of the League of Nations, is exhausted and no longer fit for purpose. Nato is an under-funded paper tiger. The United States, still the richest and most powerful nation in the history of humanity, is quickly recovering from its near-death experience under the Democrats and their self-hating and divisive ideology. Meanwhile, the rest of the West dithers.

Trump’s attempt to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war is based on realpolitik, taking into account the actual circumstances rather than adopting a particular moral stance. Against this backdrop, the rest of the West, which is largely broke and unable to defend itself, has based its response on idealpolitik, a belief that ideals can be achieved through politics. In practice, Trump’s approach is based on reason, while the rest of the West’s response to global affairs is naively based on emotion.

It’s not hard to tell how this will work out.

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

As Trump freezes all military aid to Ukraine in retaliation against Zelensky’s perceived recalcitrance, making the likelihood of a ‘final push’ Russian spring offensive still greater, Rebecca Weisser has a timely piece looking at the good, the bad and the ugly of Trump’s domestic and foreign policy. As for that foreign policy, she says (but I summarise) there’s no theory, just chaos. Michael de Percy takes a contrary view, and argues that Western leaders, including Anthony Albanese, take an idealistic and anti-Trump view of Zelensky and Ukraine, while Trump plays a realist and calculated political chess game. Ramesh Thakur outlines the alleged rap sheet against Zelensky and Ukraine, while echoing de Percy’s policy argument and endorsing Trump’s actions, as he sees them.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Woke West stands with Ukraine, Trump deals with reality.

The Greens’ policies are about to come crashing down

No comments

The Greens want to recreate Australia in their own cultural Marxist image

Senator Hanson-Young’s inability to answer simple questions about Australia’s defence is representative of the Greens’ naïve worldview. In my opinion, Greens politicians are cultural Marxists propped up by the system of democracy and capitalism they hate. That same system effectively pays them to have a platform for talking nonsense. And it’s getting worse.

As the realities of economics and global politics hit home, the Greens have not only been found wanting, but completely wrong.

My lates in The Spectator Australia, The Greens’ policies are about to come crashing down.

Albo is officially on the ropes after knocking himself out

No comments
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

No comments

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

No comments

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

No comments

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

No comments

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

No comments
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

No comments
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

No comments

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

No comments

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

No comments

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?

No comments

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?

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
© 2025 Dr Michael de Percy
made with by templateszoo