Formal comment by the Australia Defence Association: 2014-15
Botched 99-year lease of Darwin port compounded by largely irrelevant public debate
The NT Government's flawed 99-year lease of Darwin's port to a Chinese company has been compounded by most political, official and public commentary missing the higher-order strategic issues actually involved.
Treachery as the crime, not how we revoke citizenship as a punishment, is the real issue
The nature and social consequences of any crime need to be discussed before deciding how guilt and punishment is to be determined. Not following this logic sequence with the very serious offence of treachery has led to a signififant categorisation error sidetracking discussion of how citizenship revocation might occur as a potential punishment. There is also a major conceptualisation fault further sidetracking much public debate. Where the treachery involves Australians choosing to serve overseas with the so-called "Islamic State" this is essentially a wartime crime and even more serious, yet many of those trying to discuss the treachery issue remain subjectively trapped in unduly "peacetime" mindsets and ignore or downplay wartime treachery as the nub of the issue.
"Anzackery": A draft dictionary definition
Some commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings has clearly detrimental aspects.
First-principles Review 2015: Yet another missed opportunity for real reform?
The first-principles review is a mixed bag, not least for some recommendations clearly resulting from second-principles analysis.