I relied quite heavily on Google and Gemini for this piece because it’s a sensitive subject, and I didn’t want to get anything wrong. I cop enough abuse as it is.

Since 7 October 2023, the Australian government has frequently cited social cohesion as a national priority. But a critical look at the last 12 months or so suggests that official actions have often worked against this goal. Governments have adopted a lopsided approach that has deepened communal rifts and left many Australians questioning whether the nation’s values truly apply to everyone.

The imbalance began at the highest levels of leadership. While federal leaders offered immediate, relentless and unwavering support for Israel, recognition of Palestinian suffering arrived far too late, with far less noise. This was reinforced by the high-profile meetings and significant security funding that were directed toward Jewish...

Quite a bit of confusion about the arrest warrants out for Netanyahu, so I’ve done a little digging and will try to clear it up - not that I’ve become the sudden expert.

The war crimes and crimes against humanity allegations against Benjamin Netanyahu arise from international humanitarian law, which governs how wars must be fought, even when one side claims self-defence. These laws don’t judge whether a war itself is justified; they judge how it is conducted and whether civilians are protected.

In 2024, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that he was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israel’s defence minister, alongside warrants for Hamas leaders, over alleged crimes committed during the Gaza war. The ICC is not, in theory, a political body; it is a permanent court established to prosecute individuals for the gravest crimes under international law...

We’ve so far avoided nuclear power generation despite the fact that we sit on some of the world’s largest uranium deposits and have a long history of uranium mining. Federal and state laws currently prohibit nuclear power plants, and most state governments maintain legal bans on their construction.

Proponents of nuclear power, mainly voices within the federal Coalition - what’s left of it - and some industry commentators, argue that Australia’s future energy mix should include nuclear alongside renewables. Their basic case is that nuclear power offers reliable, low-emission baseload electricity that could help stabilise the grid as fossil fuels are phased out. They point to the energy crunch that has led to sharply rising electricity costs for consumers, and to the fact that other countries are turning to advanced nuclear technologies. On this view, small modular reactors or large...

I’m growing tired of the constant talk about antisemitism, but not because I don’t care about Jewish safety or history, but rather the sense that antisemitism is condemned more strongly than other forms of racism. While antisemitism is taken very seriously, racism against Muslims, Indigenous Australians, refugees, or other minorities often gets less attention or is treated as more open to debate. Over time, this uneven focus leads to resentment and doubt, especially among those who believe all prejudice should be addressed equally. Simply put, we’re sick of the constant bang-on.

People are also frustrated with how the word itself is used in public discourse. It’s often used too loosely or for convenience, especially when criticism of Israel or its military is quickly mixed up with hatred of Jewish people. When real political criticism gets confused with bigotry, people don’t stop caring...

At checkout, it’s easy to forget that we’re at the end of a long, largely invisible chain. We pick up a five-dollar t-shirt or the latest piece of technology without pausing to consider the people whose labour made these goods possible. Much of the convenience and abundance we enjoy is built on human suffering taking place far beyond our borders. This hidden reality is rarely acknowledged in advertising, yet it’s central to understanding how far our consumption has drifted from the idea of enough.

Modern global supply chains are designed to minimise costs, not to protect people. Production has been outsourced to distant countries where wages are low and labour protections are weak. According to Walk Free’s 2023 Global Slavery Index, around 50 million people worldwide are living in conditions of modern slavery. Many of them work in industries that directly supply Australian consumers...

The idea that the orange-coated, kiddy-fiddling golf cheat single-handedly extinguished eight wars isn’t just infantile, proud rhetoric; it’s demonstrably false. What’s being touted as ending wars is, at best, a series of very partial diplomatic interactions, ceasefire pauses or agreements that are either still fragile, disputed, or haven’t stopped the underlying conflict.

1. Israel and Hamas (Gaza conflict)
Trump has claimed credit for ending this war via a U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal. While he played a key role in negotiating a major truce and prisoner exchange, the conflict is far from permanently ended. Significant issues remain unresolved—including disarming Hamas, Gaza’s governance, Israeli troop withdrawal, and a path to a two-state solution—and fighting has flared up again in some periods after the initial ceasefire.

2. Israel and Iran
Trump has taken credit...

Here’s a measured, comparative picture of where Australia sits on the renewables uptake at the start of 2026; what’s working, where it still lags, and how it stacks up with a handful of other advanced economies.

Recent progress (and why it matters)
Australia has moved very quickly in the last few years. In the December quarter of 2025, the National Electricity Market (which covers the eastern and southern states but excludes Western Australia and the Northern Territory) recorded renewables supplying just over 50% of generation, a genuine milestone driven by rapid additions of rooftop and utility-scale solar, strong wind output and a fast expansion of battery storage. That shift also coincided with declining coal output and a substantial increase in battery discharge.

That progress is important because it demonstrates the technical feasibility of high renewable shares in a large...

I have a new book out that I’d like you all to buy, firstly because my royalties will be donated to a community group here on the island - and you all know how important community is to me. The second reason is that it’s been swinging between 2nd and 5th place on Amazon’s Best Seller List in the Utilitarian Philosophy category for a few weeks now, and I’d really like it to hit 1 - ego and all that.

Although it’s called On God, the Wider Self, and the Expanding Circle, it’s not about religion, but rather about living an ethical life without religion. It offers a grounded, practical exploration of how we might live more coherently in a world shaped by interconnection rather than domination. Drawing on the philosophical foundations of Spinoza, Arne Næss, and Peter Singer, it invites us to rethink who we are, how we relate to others, and how our everyday choices ripple outward through...