Category Archives: By The Way

By Andrew L. Urban. It is not the idea that our system is broke but the emotive plea “our Head of State should be Australian” that drives the movement for an Australian republic. It needs no explanation and brooks no … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban I can claim to have interviewed someone from perhaps the smallest and potentially most vulnerable minority group in contempo Australia: a club footed black dyke. Rachel was a delightful interview subject and anything but a victim. … Continue reading →

30/5/2013: One definition of Godswallop? Is it perhaps the fuss over the Pope’s misspeak (love that word) about atheists being redeemable. Here’s a report from The Huff Post on it: “Shortly after Pope Francis gave an homily in which he … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban By a fateful coincidence Thomas Vinterberg’s latest film, The Hunt, opened in Australia (May 2, 2013) just two weeks before Vinterberg walked the red carpet at Cannes as the head of the jury for Un Certain … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban In the age of postcolonialism, Muslims have become largely preoccupied with the attempt to remedy a collective feeling of powerlessness and a frustrating sense of political defeat, often by engaging in highly sensationalistic acts of power … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban You know the story: if you put a frog in water and slowly bring it to the boil the frog won’t notice it is being boiled alive. In the first half of 2013, Australian democracy is … Continue reading →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →