Turned to writing at 60, reckon that'll do for the next 30 years, then I'll become a musician - after that, who knows, maybe a wizard...

Warmongers vs appeasers – the China media frenzy is the threat
Echoing the "reds under the beds" scare campaigns of the fifties, Nine Media mastheads want us to believe that war with China is imminent. Elsewhere, we are led to believe that China is a model citizen of the world and means no harm to anyone.

The Bali Bonk Ban that wasn’t – media gets it wrong. Again.
If going to Bali and you're not married, don't have sex, they'll put you in gaol say Australian mainstream media, not checking the facts.

NBN Co admits to significant competition impacts
“NBN Co needs to be a monopoly wholesale provider for it to be economically viable”. This was the view espoused by Dr Ziggy Switkowski after being appointed chairman of NBN Co by the Coalition in 2013 to implement its ‘Faster, Affordable, Sooner” version of the NBN....

Surely the NBN Co writedown is nigh
The debate over the value of NBN Co is back in the headlines. This was triggered by NBN Co’s offer in its latest Special Access Undertaking variation to cap its ability to recover losses it has made on its investment in building and operating the network. These losses...

Sustainable Investment in Regional Broadband – submission to Productivity Commission
The Productivity Commission is inquiring into Australia’s Data and Digitial Dividend. I have made a submission on ‘Investing in Regional Digital Infrastructure’ and below are my introductory remarks to the commission’s public hearing held on 7 November 2022. The...

A politically safe budget lacking in courage to tackle energy prices, fossil fuel profiteering, housing
Jim Chalmer's first Federal Budget was politically astute, containging few surprises, and lacking in courage to tackle the big challenges.

TPG and Optus fight just the latest drama over Australia’s bush telegraph
The ‘bush telegraph’ is the colloquial term for how information is informally transmitted around the rural and outback regions of Australia. It is also an appropriate description of how Australia’s telecommunications infrastructure has not kept up to date with the...

Jobs Summit: the big business lobby is part of the problem, not the solution
In the kind of double-speak that would make George Orwell proud, Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has made the most of Albo's Jobs and Skills Summit.

Vale Mikhail Gorbachev – a true leader who gave us hope
Mikhail Gorbachev single-handedly changed the world to a more peaceful place, at least for a few short years.

After a slather of lawsuits and legal threats, DPS changes its social media policy
The Department of Parliamentary Services has moved into the 21st century, finally tweaking to the need for a social media policy for its staff.