Author Archives: andrew

Adversarial or collaborative democracy?

Posted on June 16, 2012 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban I was invited to attend this week’s Yaketi Yak organised by the Centre for Social Impact,  in which the ABC’s Peter Thompson interviewed Luca Belgiorno-Nettis about his ongoing search for a better system of democracy. Luca has … Continue reading →

Posted in Making A Difference | 1 Comment

Labour distressing democracy – Part 2: Sky is not the limit

Posted on April 14, 2012 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban   The most alarming sign that the Gillard Government has no qualms about stomping on democratic principle was the mess that was the Australian Network tender process, in which two independent assessments, departmental and legal advice … Continue reading →

Posted in By The Way | Leave a comment

Australian Labour is distressing democracy

Posted on December 18, 2011 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban Ever since Julia Gillard climbed over Kevin Rudd in his first Prime Ministerial term in 2010, Labour collectively has behaved as if it is determined to diminish and distress Australian democracy, slippery bit by slithering bit. … Continue reading →

Posted in Regimes | Leave a comment

Censorship is power; transperancy required

Posted on December 7, 2011 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban Censorship these days is essentially about the use of minority power; the power of a small group denying the entire wider society access to a film (or book, or painting, etc). Besides all the rational arguments … Continue reading →

Posted in Should Know Better | Leave a comment

Time for the drover’s dog ….

Posted on August 28, 2011 by andrew

Letter to the Editor, The Australian, August 29, 2011 Quite right Peter van Onselen, your own mini-Q&A “Will replacing Gillard, even done smoothly, save Labor? Probably not,” (Labor Should Take The Risk and Dump Gillard, The Weekend Australian, August 27-28) … Continue reading →

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Gambling on pokies reform

Posted on August 20, 2011 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban Independent Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie seems to have a good heart – not sure about his thinking prowess, though. He is wagering the Gillard Labour Government against poker machine reform. If the Government doesn’t pass the … Continue reading →

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Democracy in the carbon sandwich

Posted on August 10, 2011 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban   [Elements of this paper form a submission to the Australian Select Senate Committee on the Scrutiny of New Taxes, August 15, 2011.]   In the interests of democracy,Australiashould re-frame the discussion on climate policy as … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy and global warming policies, Making A Difference | Leave a comment

Democracy and speed cameras

Posted on July 30, 2011 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban It’s encouraging to see that people do participate in democracy when given a chance. And just as gradual, almost invisible erosion of democratic principles is as dangerous as large scale trampling of those principles, so is … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotidian | Leave a comment

Misplaced party loyalty

Posted on July 27, 2011 by andrew

There are those who vote for their preferred political party out of blind loyalty; this is one of the features of democracy, of course, but it shows poor quality of thought. Loyalty to a sporting club or other social group … Continue reading →

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The faked killing of Osama bin Laden

Posted on July 27, 2011 by andrew

16/5/2011: General Hamid Gul, a former director ofPakistan’s ISI, believes that Osama bin Laden’s killing by US Navy SEALS on May 1 was “an elaborate hoax by Obama to get re-elected and an excuse to go after our nuclear assets. … Continue reading →

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