Malcolm Turnbull’s easy confession on Q&A last night that he smoked marijuana when be was younger raises the obvious question – does he, and the other Australian politicians who also admit to having dabbled in this drug, think that he should have been arrested for doing so? If not, then what distinguishes him from others who have been subject to legal sanction for youthfully experimenting with marijuana? Read the rest of this entry »

This pub promotion – “No Undies Sundie”, where women get free drink cards for removing underwear – makes the pub sound grotesquely bogan, but is that any reason for it to be banned by the government? Moral suasion – as was being applied by the Australian Hotels Association – is a far better way to deal with tasteless promotions like these. Read the rest of this entry »

In the latest edition of Overland, Shane Cahill responds to my critiques (here and here) of his argument that the wartime Institute of Public Affairs was sympathetic to Japanese fascism. (His new piece is not, unfortunately, online, but it still deserves a response. The original piece is available here.) Read the rest of this entry »