Are we in a Cold War with China?
Clive Hamilton It is remarkable how entrenched Cold War thinking is, even among those, like the editorial board of the New York Times, who warn against ‘glib invocations of the Cold War’ in United States policy towards China. Like a number of others pushing back against bi-partisan efforts to limit China’s rise to strategic dominance, […]
Plucky country: world now sees Australia in a new light
Clive Hamilton When speaking with analysts and journalists in Europe, I’m surprised to find that Australia is no longer seen as a bit player in the Indo-Pacific region but as a substantial power. They speak of the high regard in Europe for our resolve and express a degree of confidence in our role and abilities […]
What would it take for antivaxxers and climate science deniers to ‘wake up’?
Published by The Guardian, 13 September 2021 Facts are puny against the carapace of denial when people’s sense of self is at stake. However, in the case of Covid deniers, imminent death seems to do the trick In 1927, an article in the venerable medical journal the Lancet commented on the opposition to smallpox vaccination […]
The Nationals’ climate position has become symbolic posturing and no longer represents Australian farmers
Published in The Guardian, 20 October 2021 The narrative of the beleaguered farmer runs deep in the national psyche. It’s one often weaponised to berate pampered city-slickers who don’t understand what life in the bush—what real life—is about. The National Party has come up with a new twist on the old grievance—farmers have been paying […]
Barilaro’s ‘brumby bill’ has been a catastrophe for the high country
Sometimes sheer bloody-minded politics overrules hard science. A good example is Deputy Premier John Barilaro’s “brumby bill”, passed by the NSW Parliament three years ago. Scientists had been raising the alarm about the destruction of Kosciuszko National Park caused by the explosion in the feral horse population, but Barilaro’s bill vetoed culling. Since then, numbers […]
China’s security threat to Britain’s energy infrastructure
Clive Hamilton After banning Huawei from Britain’s communications system, investment from China in the country’s energy system poses a greater security risk. It’s often said that investment from China should be treated in the same way as investment from other countries. If only it were true. But China is different because businesses in China cooperate […]
Time for a ‘China reset,’ before it’s too late
(Published in the National Post (Canada), June 18, 2020) As someone who has studied the influence of China in Canada, it is clear to me that this country needs to put in place defences against the covert, coercive and corrupt influence of the CPC, which has been systematically eroding resistance to it from within Under […]
University sacrifices pro-democracy student for China romance
(Published in The Australian, May 6, 2020) A 20-year-old philosophy student campaigning against uni’s links with Chinese Communist Party subject to assault, online hate, death threats. The University of Queensland is going to extraordinary lengths to silence its most effective critic, a 20-year-old philosophy student who has campaigned against the university’s tight links with the […]
« En Australie, nous devrons faire le deuil de l’avenir » (on Australia’s devastating bushfires)
(Published in Le Monde, 10 January 2020) It feels like the apocalypse has come. A national catastrophe is unfolding, with each day bringing new shocks. ‘The sky was on fire.’ ‘So fast and so angry.’ ‘It was like a warzone.’ These are some of the words used to capture the ferocity of the firestorms by […]
How to lose friends and influence the future security of your nation
It’s uncomfortable when a belief you have long held is contradicted by new facts. Even more so if an entire worldview comes under pressure from the evidence. Psychologists call it ‘‘cognitive dissonance’’ and it explains why it is so hard to change our minds even though we flatter ourselves that we base our opinions on […]