Why Australia Marched to War
How Iraq brought Australia into America’s war machine — just in time for a showdown with China.
7 Articles by: Ben Eltham
Ben Eltham is a Melbourne writer and academic.
To Solve Australia’s Cost-of-Living Crisis, Labor Should Tax Superprofits
Inflation is eroding paychecks and rising interest rates are hurting people with mortgages. Anthony Albanese’s government could defend workers’ living standards by taxing the rich and controlling prices, but Labor’s neoliberal orthodoxy stands in the way.
The Australian Federal Election Offers a Choice Between Disaster and Disappointment
Scott Morrison is widely disliked, and his conservative government is divided, incompetent, and mired in corruption. Despite this, the Labor opposition’s platform is one of the most timid and conservative in memory.
Scott Morrison’s Right-Wing Government Wants to Scrap Austerity — But Only for the Rich
Scott Morrison, Australia’s conservative premier, is selling his 2021 budget as a job-creation package. But in reality, it’s a miserly budget — except when it comes to handouts for business and the wealthy.
If Australian Universities Are Going To Survive, They Can’t Just Produce “Job-Ready” Graduates
After decades of chalking up record profits, Australian universities are now mired in a deep crisis. But if we’re going to defend — let alone rebuild — the sector, its champions have to reject the subordination of education to the bottom line.
Josh Frydenberg’s Budget Takes From the Poor to Give to the Rich
Instead of providing sorely needed stimulus, the 2020 budget from Australia’s Coalition government transfers wealth toward millionaires and big business and away from the poor, the unemployed, women, and the government’s ideological enemies.
Australia Is Doubling Down on Fossil Fuels
Australia’s response to the COVID-19 crisis should be turning its economy away from resource extraction. Instead, it’s doubling down.