Chronicle
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Thirty years ago today the Native Title Act became law, the stated goal being to uplift and enrich indigenous communities. This was a case of good intentions at odds with history. Earlier, after the Gurindjis gained title, they swapped life and work on a productive cattle station for welfare, and they were not alone. By 1990, 30 other stations had also been abandoned, as Quadrant reported in 2012
December 21, 2023
9 mins
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Australians once thought politics akin to sport -- lose the contest, revise tactics, do better next time. Today it is civil war, with blatant and irresponsible lies prominent in the Opposition leader's arsenal. His contemptible myths about poisoned waterholes demonstrate just how low he can stoop
April 5, 2017
8 mins
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One glaring characteristic of many Remain bitter-enders is their imagined superiority to Leave voters, some some thinking themselves cleverer, others more cosmopolitan. That self-confidence contrasts with the modest intellectual quality of their arguments
January 4, 2017
8 mins
The latest
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Other Republicans might have won this election by the same or larger margins, but Trump triumphed by winning over a large slice of the electorate that had been neglected -- indeed, often disparaged -- by both parties. Like the dog that caught the car, we watch and wonder what he will do next
December 2, 2016
8 mins
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Mrs Clinton is plainly a globalist like President Obama, Donald Trump an opponent—if not the best one. But this election will not decide the issue which of its nature pits most voters against the progressive elites. It’s your politics for the next century
November 6, 2016
9 mins
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Brexit expressed something fundamental: Britain was moving away from the liberal-Left social vision that was the basis for Cameron’s strategy after 1997. His resignation was a quiet non-event, but it marked a major change in his nation's political direction
October 7, 2016
9 mins
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The immediate reaction of those who fought and feared Brexit was entirely predictable: something much worse than the Seven Plagues of Egypt was about to descend. Wrong, as usual, all they succeeded in demonstrating was the habitual arrogance of the elites
September 3, 2016
9 mins
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On June 4, 1975, I sat down at my clattering […]
July 1, 2016
8 mins
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Those who wish Britain to remain in Europe are given to depicting Leave supporters as ill-educated simpletons, not to mention crypto-fascists and, inevitably, vile racists to boot. Perhaps they haven't noticed that elitist disdain is driving a global wave of populist rebellions
June 4, 2016
9 mins
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If David Cameron really is an ideological soul-mate of Malcolm Turnbull, he also serves as a warning about the consequences eroded political authority -- a decline attributable in large part to the consequences of striking socially liberal poses without regard to cost
May 7, 2016
8 mins
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The ousted PM's Quadrant essays brought immediate howls from many pundits, especially on the left, who accuse him of white-anting his successor. It seems, if taken at their word, the Coalition's detractors are more mindful of party loyalty than party members themselves
April 10, 2016
8 mins
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Americans have seen living standards stagnate, habits of neighbourhood co-operation undermined, job opportunities reduced and their sense of moral equality with the new American educated class decline. The establishment grasps as much, but only Donald Trump stands poised to exploit it
March 1, 2016
8 mins