Author: Andrew Whalan
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Dear Mr Abbott
Originally posted on From Bridget's Pencil:
Dear Mr Abbott I met you a few years back at the Sydney Writers Festival. I’d just sat through your session with Annabelle Crabb in conversation with you about Battlelines. You spent the first few minutes at the lectern in the Sydney Theatre Company delivering a paid Liberal… -
Racism : The Double Standard
Strewth! Stone the flaming crows! It’s bloody hard to be a racist in this country or what? I mean just the other day I was listening to the radio. And one of those shock jocks and his politician mate was sayin’ stuff about those illegals that come here by boat ‘cos they want to take […]
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A Letter to Mr Pyne
Originally posted on EduResearch Matters:
Nicole Mockler, University of Newcastle & Greg Thompson, Murdoch University Last week on Radio National, Shadow Education Minister Christopher Pyne gave us a glimpse of the Coalition’s vision for education should the Coalition win government. He focused on two specific areas, school funding and “teacher quality”, specifically on teaching methods.… -
Anzac Day : Some Reflections
Despite learning about Anzac Day all my life, it wasn’t until recently I found its meaning to me. As a child, I did attend Dawn Service with my Dad. I tried my best to stay awake and not appear bored.I remember reading the plaque which had far too many names for a small country town. […]
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Tony Abbott’s Director of Policy Is No Spy
Much has been written and said about the incident between Peter van Onselen and Dr Mark Roberts. But there is another side to all of this. It isn’t that we’ve found out that Tony Abbott has a Director of Policy. That’s way too trite. It is the offer allegedly made to Peter van Onselen. According […]
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The LNP Know Nothings : Criticism Without A Solution
If you examine politics sooner or later one finds some trends that repeat themselves. One of these is the LNP’s approach to politics. It is almost completely negative and oppositional. But it is not the first time that this approach has been tried and failed. Let me take you back in time. When One Nation […]
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Vale Chrissie Amphlett
It was the early ’80s, and the Cabbage Tree Patch in Wollongong was packed full. Friday night and my brother and I were out to see a band. I drew the short straw and went to get a couple of beers and nearly didn’t make it back. In the end I choose to sip my […]
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The Gonski Masterstroke (Still Confusing Christopher Pyne and Tony Abbott)
A month ago, I wrote a post on Gonski and here’s an update: None of the State Premiers except for Barry O’Farrell have signed up to the Gonski reforms. Recently, Tony Abbott has stated that he is against the reforms. Christopher Pyne’s response is to say to the least, confused. He recently stated O’Farrell was conned although […]