The primary question in considering the merger of three universities in Perth is "Who benefits?"

A secondary question is "What is the Premier trying to prevent us from noticing by putting this controversial proposal front and centre?"

That a former mining executive is chairing the Committee set the task of making the case says a lot about whose opinions the government prefers to listen to.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-11/wa-progresses-university-merger-plan/107253400

Trump's statement about an Energy Ceasefire between Russia and The Ukraine was meant only for local consumption in the USA - remember the Mid-Terms - so Putin and Zelenskyy were not consulted, nor do they have to pay any attention to it. Just saying.

Another piece of evidence that Trump lives in a different really than the rest of us in the world.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-12/ukraine-trump-zelenskyy-elections/107254072

Australia resettled Indochinese refugees held in camps in Southeast Asia and negotiated an “orderly departure program” for others to leave Vietnam. With fewer refugees having reason to risk the journey by boat, arrivals on Australian shores all but stopped.

This is what "off-shore" processing was supposed to be about - but Australia's political discourse made it into punitive step intended to discourage asylum seekers.

Fraser got that one right.

Sometimes a Trump Threat is so ridiculous. I can imagine Premier Carney trembling in his boots over this possibility. Imagine threatening something that you actually have no power to carry out. Roll in the Mid-terms. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/trump-lake-america-ontario-canada-trade-war-tariffs/o7udweihr

Someone needs to start petitioning the Governor of Tennessee for a pardon for Christa Pike. The state has executed her, yet she lives. Now she needs to be free. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-11/christa-pike-back-in-prison-after-botched-execution/107252594

This Credit Card Surcharge thing in Australia is a nonsense. What the new rule means is the price is the same whether you pay cash or by card - no differentiation is allowed on the basis of the method of payment. Retailers may review their prices in light of this and other cost rises and raise them but they cannot differentiate on the basis of the method of payment. That means, even, no discount for paying cash. But that doesn't apply to the ATO. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-10/labor-reverses-credit-card-surcharge-call-after-backlash/107247904

How can any country that believes in International Law and the international institutions of peace and cooperation continue to support the stance of the USA on the ICC let alone count the USA as a vital ally? Wake Up Australia!!!
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-10/us-to-sanction-icc-after-trump-overlooked-for-peace-prize/107250264

Most of the state governments in Australia have been captured by the fossil fuel industry and they have been gradually ensuring that EPA approvals for new projects do not have to take into account environmental concerns and the full impact of emissions over the life of the project and from the product they sell on to third parties.

Of course they are afraid. Their cosy deals for funding their political future are now in jeopardy. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-08/wa-energy-sector-sounding-alarm-over-high-court-ruling/107239890

Here is a petition that may be worth putting your name to - "Don't let Israel define Antisemitism." It is an attempt by the Jewish Council of Australia to take us away from the IHRA definition that so many find problematic. I signed. Maybe you will, too.
https://www.jewishcouncil.com.au/2026/08/dont-let-israel-define-antisemitism?_se=am9obi5hLmNsYXB0b25AcHJvdG9uLm1l

Private-Public partnerships are a win-Win for the wealthy and the corporations. They enable governments to get by with less tax revenue from the wealthy and the corporations and they provide contracts for the corporations which then pay higher dividends to their shareholders.

They are also based on a false premise that the Private Sector does things more better than the Public Sector. Shame, Labor, Shame!!!
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-08/melton-council-thornhill-park-mount-atkinson-train-stations/107237802

The problem with leaving the EV Charging Network to the private sector to establish is that they will only provide services where they can cover their costs. This is why the Poles & Wires networks are being allowed to focus on establishing a complete infrastructure with no gaps. It will be a great day when this is done.

BTW most of those so-called EVs that are now outselling ICE vehicles don't need a charging network - they are HYBRIDS. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-08/ev-lagging-infrastructure-lagging-in-northern-wa/107216800

Itemising a bank's surcharge for using a credit card for payment is a bit like also itemising the cost of council rates and charges for your business in the Invoice, and itemising the cost of utilities for your business. All these things were once called the cost of doing business, and they were generally invisibly covered by the final price of the goods and services. Blame accountants years ago who decided that good business practice demanded segregation of on-costs. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-07/ato-special-meeting-small-business-credit-card-ban/107018106

The Death Penalty is totally abhorrent to me, and the prevalence of long years on "death row" in the USA makes it even more cruel.

In this particular case, I wonder if a clever lawyer would be able to argue that the state had forfeited its right to the execution of this woman by trying twice and failing.

The sentence has been carried out - twice - and she lives. Let her live. Give her her freedom.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-07/christa-pike-wakes-after-botched-execution/107229618

Well done, people of Perth. It is disgraceful that our governments seem excited about this trade in death and genocide. Why is it here in Perth? Who is the audience for these weapons? Or is it just a show of the extent of militarisation that has taken place in Australia over recent years? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-06/hundreds-protest-against-land-forces-defence-expo/107223822

Mineral Exploration is a mongrel thing. Once the miners know something is there - they think it is theirs and that its free, and come heel or high water, they will have it. It is better that they do not know these things about minerals on the sea bed floor. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-07/is-the-deep-sea-mining-gold-rush-viable/107130150

Immigration policy is all about emotion and sloganeering. None of the parties have weighed the economic consequences because they know the modelling would show they were on the wrong tram.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-06/migration-cuts-comparison-labor-coalition-one-nation/107232222?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

LinkedIn used to be a social networking platform for people in the market for a new job. Now it is a locked-in data-harvesting machine that makes money for someone else but doesn't do much about getting you that next job. They have made it impossible to close your account so your information is there forever and for all to see. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-06/australian-jobseekers-targeted-by-employment-fraud-job-scams/107077466

Who benefits from the #LandforcesExpo2026? Are foreign military personnel here to inspect weaponry? Are the spruikers here to persuade the Australian Military to buy their wares here? Or is this a case of gradually normalising the Military Industrial Complex that Australia is increasingly becoming at the behest of the USA?

These are weapons of mass destruction. This is trading in the death of civilians, the death of women and children. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-06/wa-government-defence-conference-trade-show-land-force-security/107223860

#LandForcesExpo2026 - just wondering how many exhibitors at this glorification of death and destruction are based in Israel and how many exhibitors unashamedly sell their weapons of mass destruction to the IDF and Mossad.

Assuming some exhibitors fall into one or both of these categories, how culpable then is the Australian Government for the Genocide being committed in Gaza and the West Bank? Laws protecting exhibitors are antidemocratic. An end to trading in death.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-20/land-forces-expo-could-see-wa-police-get-new-powers-explainer/107056136

The "Life" this article refers to as intrinsic to AI is not in the technology itself. It is in the unapologetic greed of the TECH-BROS who will not take NO for an answer from any state or governing body. If the technology behaves in unexpected ways that is simply because we did not do enough research to understand the consequences of the human input that set it up. But the technology has no "life". That it turn our world upside down is not evidence of "life" either. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-05/is-artificial-intelligence-a-new-lifeform/107226762