Political manoeuvres
The right-wing agenda backed by Rupert Murdoch’s media machine in Australia is changing the face of public discourse, writes Geoff Kitney. Australia recently marked the birthday of one of its most extraordinary…
Kitney
Battling for Australia’s hearts and minds
A referendum will take place next week on whether or not to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders a formal place in their Constitution, more than 200 years after Britain’s ‘First Fleet’…
Brexit: when rhetoric finally faced facts
Trade experts warned from the outset that Boris Johnson was putting his ambition ahead of the reality of Britain’s ability to negotiate deals, writes Geoff Kitney. When Boris Johnson set out to…
Has Queen Elizabeth’s death made an Australian republic inevitable?
The prime minister says protocol requires him to declare allegiance to the new King. Australians are not happy, writes Geoff Kitney. There will be more than one controversial guest at today’s coronation…
Australia stopped the boats but the UK may flounder
The BBC may have reinstated sports pundit Gary Lineker, but the debate on the United Kingdom government’s tough new refugee policy will go on and on, writes Geoff Kitney. In today’s democracies,…
Brexit puts paid to the ties that bind
Britain’s exit from the EU, the death of Queen Elizabeth and debate about Australia’s colonial history have led to growing calls for Australia to become a republic. When the Brexit bandwagon was…
New Australian PM promises to end climate wars
Anthony Albanese, Australia’s 31st prime minister, is offering a different kind of politics, starting with inclusion not division, writes Geoff Kitney in Canberra The elephant in the room that Australia’s political leaders…
Putin’s Russia: dreams of a normal country dashed
When Russians went to the polls in March 2000, they had high hopes for democracy and stability, writes Geoff Kitney. They had chosen a new course under a new young leader. Twenty-one…
Australia: the politics of border control
When Novak Djokovic took up residence at Melbourne’s Park Hotel for a few days, the world noticed the desperate refugees locked in with him. But he has left the building and the…
Securing borders is neither easy nor cheap
The UK should beware when it looks to Australia for a solution to ‘stop the boats’. The cost to the Australian taxpayer of detaining asylum seekers has been estimated at A$4 million…