In Australian Desert, Farm Uses Solar to Grow Tomatoes

For some 300 days a year, Sundrop Farms 127m tall central solar power tower shines on the tomato farm near Port Augusta (at the northern end of South Australia’s Spencer Gulf). Around it, there are 12.5 hectares of mirrors reflecting the sun on to its collector. This enables Sundrop Farms to grow tomatoes in the […]

Elbowed and Hustled: Australia’s Yellow Peril Problem

With the babble about Cold War paranoia becoming a routine matter in Canberra, the treacherous ground for war with China is being bedded down and readied.  The Yellow Peril image never truly dissipated from Australia’s politics.  It was crucial in framing the first act of the newly born Commonwealth in 1901: the Immigration Restriction Act.  […]

Australian Table Grapes Facing Delays in Chinese Ports as Trade Dispute Hots Up

In what is being touted as the latest multi-million-dollar trade dispute between Canberra and Beijing, several hundred containers filled with Australian table grapes are backing up at ports in China. Chief Executive of Peak Body the Australian Table Grape Association, Jeff Scott, spoke about “abnormal” and “unforeseen” delays at multiple ports in southern China, which have been […]

Forgetting Citizenship: Australia Suspends Flights from India

As India is being devastated by COVID-19 cases that have now passed a daily rate of 400,000, affluent and callous Australia has taken the decision to suspend all flights coming into the country till mid-month.  The decision was reached by the Morrison government with the blessing of the State Premiers and the Labor opposition. Not […]

Fatuous Defence: Australia’s Guided Missile Plans

Even in times of pandemic crises, some things never change.  While Australia gurgles and bumbles slowly with its COVID-19 vaccine rollout, there are other priorities at stake.  Threat inflators are receiving much interest in defence, and the media is feeding on it with a drunken enthusiasm.  We live in a dangerous environment, and think-tankers, parliamentarians […]

Coming to the Playing Field: Biden Puts Australia First

It has gotten tongues wagging in the diplomatic corps of Beijing, Washington and distant Canberra.  The opening session of the two-day summit between China and the United States in Anchorage, Alaska was ill-tempered.  “We do not seek conflict,” insisted White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan from the outset, “but we welcome stiff competition, and […]

Refriended in Defeat: Australia Strikes a Deal with Facebook

The Australian Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, was unconvincing in his efforts to summon up courage.  The Australian government had been left reeling in the wake of Facebook’s decision to scrap and block Australians from sharing and posting news items on hosted pages. The company’s target of opprobrium: the News Media Bargaining Code. The Code’s ostensible purpose […]

Facebook Unfriends Australia: The Triumph of Epistemic Chaos

Creepy and ruthless Facebook has again impressed with its steely indifference to civic responsibility, as if a company established by a sociopath could ever be a model of human improvement. On February 18, Mark Zuckerberg’s antisocial company took aim at Australia by blocking those in that country from sharing local and international content.  As the […]

Lobbying for Gain: Nick Warner and Australia’s Revolving Door

Governments have an almost crippling trouble appreciating conflicts of interest.  Since tentacle-heavy lobby groups decided to move into the world’s capitals to make the case for their clients, the revolving door has become the sickening feature of politics.  Former bureaucrats, public service officials and elected representatives find few problems with joining the very lobby groups […]

China, Papua New Guinea and Australia’s Backyard Blues

Clever diplomacy rarely involves total commitment or unqualified fidelity to any one state.  Treacherous waters require careful navigation, an understanding of shifty and shifting allegiances.  The goal for the prudent statesperson is the pursuit of self-interest without alienation.  In that regard, Papua New Guinea is proving increasingly interesting, finding itself between playground thugs with varying […]