Crikey > Independent Commentary >

Safe search off…

Safe search off…

Sometimes I embrace delusions of owning a small apartment. As a single, young, working-class professional with no particular victim cards, the bank will loan me about five cents with a kidney kept as collateral on a 40-year loan. The search results are dire. For hours, I sit there wondering if I’d be prepared to share a laundry with strangers and ...
There goes the neighbourhood!

There goes the neighbourhood!

After decades of relatively tight development controls and delays in approving new building developments in New South Wales, especially mid to high-density residential housing, the shackles are now off. Major problems are already arising with community anger on the rise. The state government, through a set of new planning instruments (most notably Low ...
The Tories aren’t dead yet

The Tories aren’t dead yet

In 1997 the doyen of Democrat political columnists in the US, E.J. Dionne, published They Only Look Dead. He argued that while the received wisdom was that the Republicans were set to dominate politics for a generation, there were underlying factors which pointed to a Democrat revival. Dionne was both completely wrong but also completely right. George ...
Why unemployment is at a five-year high

Why unemployment is at a five-year high

Britain’s jobs market continues to struggle. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning show that the unemployment rate increased to 5.2 per cent, the highest rate in almost five years. Today’s release contains other worrying signals. The number of payrolled employees fell by 134,000 in the year up to January. Some 11,000 ...
We need a way to punish architects

We need a way to punish architects

I’ve got a new thriller out this week, under my pen name of S.K. Tremayne. I am pleased with the book, and I believe it’s entertaining. I am also aware that, in a tough and competitive market, that may not be enough for it to succeed. I am even more aware that readers might decide the book is dreck. They might give me one star reviews, and no sales. ...
Robert Duvall was one of the Hollywood greats

Robert Duvall was one of the Hollywood greats

The death of the actor Robert Duvall at the age of 95 – almost exactly a year after that of his friend Gene Hackman – brings to the end another chapter of Old Hollywood. But unlike Hackman, who combined on-screen brilliance with a combustible, confrontational personality, Duvall was a thoroughly professional and popular figure who was a delight to work ...
‘Not met their duty of care’: new report finds racism is widespread at Australian unis

‘Not met their duty of care’: new report finds racism is widespread at Australian unis

Racism is a “widespread” and “systemic” problem in Australian universities, a major new report has found. According to the Australian Human Rights Commission, about 80% of surveyed Indigenous, Chinese, African, Jewish and Middle Eastern students and staff say they have experienced racism at university. Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan ...

Safe search off…

Safe search off…
Sometimes I embrace delusions of owning a small apartment. As a single, young, working-class professional with no particular victim cards, the bank will loan me about five cents with a kidney kept as collateral on a 40-year loan. The search results are dire. For hours, I sit there wondering if I’d be prepared to share a laundry with strangers and ...

There goes the neighbourhood!

There goes the neighbourhood!
After decades of relatively tight development controls and delays in approving new building developments in New South Wales, especially mid to high-density residential housing, the shackles are now off. Major problems are already arising with community anger on the rise. The state government, through a set of new planning instruments (most notably Low ...

The Tories aren’t dead yet

The Tories aren’t dead yet
In 1997 the doyen of Democrat political columnists in the US, E.J. Dionne, published They Only Look Dead. He argued that while the received wisdom was that the Republicans were set to dominate politics for a generation, there were underlying factors which pointed to a Democrat revival. Dionne was both completely wrong but also completely right. George ...

Why unemployment is at a five-year high

Why unemployment is at a five-year high
Britain’s jobs market continues to struggle. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning show that the unemployment rate increased to 5.2 per cent, the highest rate in almost five years. Today’s release contains other worrying signals. The number of payrolled employees fell by 134,000 in the year up to January. Some 11,000 ...

We need a way to punish architects

We need a way to punish architects
I’ve got a new thriller out this week, under my pen name of S.K. Tremayne. I am pleased with the book, and I believe it’s entertaining. I am also aware that, in a tough and competitive market, that may not be enough for it to succeed. I am even more aware that readers might decide the book is dreck. They might give me one star reviews, and no sales. ...

Robert Duvall was one of the Hollywood greats

Robert Duvall was one of the Hollywood greats
The death of the actor Robert Duvall at the age of 95 – almost exactly a year after that of his friend Gene Hackman – brings to the end another chapter of Old Hollywood. But unlike Hackman, who combined on-screen brilliance with a combustible, confrontational personality, Duvall was a thoroughly professional and popular figure who was a delight to work ...

‘Not met their duty of care’: new report finds racism is widespread at Australian unis

‘Not met their duty of care’: new report finds racism is widespread at Australian unis
Racism is a “widespread” and “systemic” problem in Australian universities, a major new report has found. According to the Australian Human Rights Commission, about 80% of surveyed Indigenous, Chinese, African, Jewish and Middle Eastern students and staff say they have experienced racism at university. Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan ...