May 18, 2019

You are here:

May182019

BOOK REVIEW Philosopher hits all the right notes

Music Cinema & BooksMay 18, 2019

MUSIC AS AN ART by Roger Scruton Bloomsbury Continuum, Sydney Hardcover: 272 pages Price: AUD$50 Reviewed by David James Writing about music is often an unrewarding task. It is an art form that leaves the philosopher or critic either confined to talking about technicalities, or in generalities that are too abstract to say much about any composer, or genre. The results are often empty, or say little. It is thus refreshing to read Roger Scruton’s Music as an Art, a brilliant display of philosophical analysis, critical insight, cultural reflection, close, attentive listening and extensive erudition. For anyone who wants to…

To access the full article, please subscribe OR login.

Read article

EDITORIAL Religious freedom will be suffocated if ALP elected

Human Rights & Freedoms, National AffairsMay 18, 2019

Labor and Greens promise end to exemptions from gender laws for religious schools Parental liberty to choose the religious and moral education of their children is trampled Duty of care for non-transgender children is fatally compromised It is a sad reality that in Australian law there is an absence of strong protections for freedom of belief. Indeed, as some leading lawyers have commented, religious freedom has been reduced to tenuous exemptions in anti-discrimination laws introduced since the 1980s. Now, key exemptions in the federal Sex Discrimination Act (SDA), that allowed faith-based schools to enrol and employ people according to…

To access the full article, please subscribe OR login.

Read article

FEDERAL ELECTION Majors fling barrels of pork in the way of disillusioned voters

PoliticsMay 18, 2019

The ALP’s “vision” is constricted to doing the Greens’ bidding The ALP and Coalition family policies differ only over how much money goes where Labour DLP policies reflect most closely of all parties the NCC’s Five Primacies When you cut through all the campaign bleating of Bill Shorten and Scott Morrison, it is clear that not only does neither of the major parties have a positive vision for Australia, but that their policies will actually add to the high cost of living, unemployment and the decline in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors. The ALP’s “vision” is largely based on…

To access the full article, please subscribe OR login.

Read article

May182019

CANBERRA OBSERVED If independents rule in House, stability is a goner

National Affairs, PoliticsMay 18, 2019

Should the May 18 election end up being a close result, the outcome of a gaggle of independents and minor party members controlling the House of Representatives looms as an unwelcome prospect. Such a result would be bad news for Labor, which would have to cut even more bad deals than it did under Julia Gillard with the insatiable Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott and Greens in control, but even worse for the Coalition, which would be unlikely to be able to form government. As things stand, Labor remains favourite to win the election in its own right. Bob Katter is…

To access the full article, please subscribe OR login.

Read article