Why Queenslanders should vote for the Democrats in the Senate

I just read a couple of really interesting pieces on the Senate competition in this election, which (as it should be) has been receiving much more attention than in some of Australia's elections from recent history. Over at Larvatus Prodeo Anna Winter has argued that if you're in WA your vote is best spent on the Labor Party in the WA Senate race1. That probably makes sense for WA voters, but I will argue strongly that for Queenslanders, a vote for the Democrats 2 (Andrew Bartlett and Sharon Neill) is easily the best way to help ensure the Senate both ... more

Taking out the trash

It's high time I took out the trash. Each of these paragraphs summarises a draft that I never got around to publishing and more than likely never will: I got a new job...ages ago. In fact I'm only four weeks from leaving that very position. Sometimes, friendships slip away, not because you don't care for the person anymore, but because you and they simply forget to maintain it. Even if you still call yourselves friends, there's not the same level of comfort and intimacy that there once was1. I have this vague idea that I should keep and regularly review ... more

Interested in Australian Political History?

A while ago, I went looking for a good book to read on Australian Political History, and I'm still looking. I really didn't manage to find one that inspired me to fork over $20-30. Most books on Australia's Political History seem to be biography based, which really isn't what I'm looking for and neither do I want something that's detectably partisan. So, while I'm still looking for the book1, I've found a resource almost as good. A team in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne led by Dr Sally Young, Senior Lecturer in the Media and Communications ... more