Archive
Free speech and state power
During my first sitting week in the Senate, I was waiting in line for a daily ritual known as the door-stop – where politicians talk to the media before entering the parliament for their day’s work. The government senator before
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‘If You’ve Done Nothing Wrong, You’ve Got Nothing to Fear’
If Nick O’Brien was still at New Scotland Yard in 2006, he would presumably have heard the Pet Shop Boys song ‘Integral’, in which they launched a blistering attack on the Blair government and its extraordinary plans for DNA data
Read MoreBikies have rights, too
For those of us who value liberty highly, the moral panic over outlaw motorcycle gangs is deeply troubling. When the panic subsides, as it inevitably will, we will be left with laws that weaken fundamental liberties and undermine the independence
Read MoreWhy our intelligence agencies need to smarten up
An Australian Bureau of Statistics recent report on causes of death says that nearly 60 Australians died in 2011 after falling out of bed, 26 died falling off a chair, and four after bumping into another person. I mention this,
Read MoreRod Sims of the ACCC loves The Sims. Yes, really
‘The Sims 4’ is the latest instalment of a computer game best described as a virtual but living dollhouse. There’s no specific goal; players just create characters and then care for or irritate them as they please. It has been
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