There’s a website called Tobacco in Australia: Facts and Issues which is written by a few anti-smoking activist-academics. It provides lots of tobacco-related statistics and a bit of editorialising. The website has a whole section devoted to criticising “industry estimates of the extent of illicit trade in tobacco”. It is an article of faith in tobakko…
Waking up to the reality of tobacco’s black market
Waking up to the reality of tobacco’s black market
25 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, health economics, politics - Australia Tags: economics of smoking
Western Leftists and Islamic States
14 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of media and culture, economics of religion, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: regressive left
Western leftists do criticise Islamic states at times—but they rarely prioritise opposing them, and often treat them with conspicuous restraint. That asymmetry is not accidental. It follows from the same ideological lenses that drive anti-Zionism. Here are the main reasons. 1. Anti-imperialism outweighs liberal values For much of the Western Left, opposition to Western power is the overriding moral […]
Western Leftists and Islamic States
Kiwiblog’s 2026 predictions
29 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: British politics
Here’s my 20 predictions for next year, which I’ll score at the end of the year. I got 13.5/20 right for 2025.
Kiwiblog’s 2026 predictions
New South Wales bans anti-Jewish rhetoric in wake of Bondi Beach attack
24 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, discrimination, economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, war and peace Tags: free speech, Gaza Strip, Middle-East politics, political correctness, regressive left, war against terror, West Bank
The attack on Jews celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach near Sydney (the capital of New South Wales), was horrific: fifteen people were killed (not including the perps) and 40 injured. It was clearly a terrorist attack designed to kill Jews, putting the lie that this kind of violence is “anti-Zionist” rather than antisemitic. Australian Jews…
New South Wales bans anti-Jewish rhetoric in wake of Bondi Beach attack
BBC Framing Asks Jews to Answer For Violence Against Jews
23 Dec 2025 1 Comment
in defence economics, discrimination, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, war and peace Tags: free speech, Gaza Strip, Middle-East politics, political correctness, regressive left, war against terror
Since the antisemitic terror attack on Bondi Beach last week, there has been a large amount of discussion on BBC radio and broadcast channels… The post BBC Framing Asks Jews to Answer For Violence Against Jews appeared first on CAMERA UK.
BBC Framing Asks Jews to Answer For Violence Against Jews
Time to Stop Pretending Renewables Are Cheap
14 Dec 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: celebrity technologies, solar power, wind power
Policymakers would do well to heed energy experts like Schernikau and Stein. Chasing luxury beliefs do not cost well-heeled climate bureaucrats and renewables ideologues much, but the burdens of irrational energy policies will be borne by the world’s poorest. The real path forward lies in pragmatic, technology-neutral approaches that prioritise energy abundance over austerity.
Time to Stop Pretending Renewables Are Cheap
Guest Post: The Peasants are Revolting
23 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA
A guest post by Peter Lynn: Over the last 30 years, state sectors of Western democracies have expanded and senior level state employment, with its high pay, security and access to the levers of power became a magnet for the academically gifted, especially independence minded younger women. University educated they initially moved into ministries before…
Guest Post: The Peasants are Revolting
Aussie Mainstream Opposition Formally Abandons Net Zero
15 Nov 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of natural disasters, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - Australia
But still wants to stay in the Paris Agreement?
Aussie Mainstream Opposition Formally Abandons Net Zero
The sad fate of human evolutionary biology in Australia
24 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, politics - Australia Tags: evolutionary biology, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Although the times when Homo sapiens reached Australia are under revision, the latest data suggests that they arrived between 45,000 and 60,000 years ago—about the time that our species left Africa for parts east. And although changes in water levels made it easier to get to Australia by water then now humans still had to […]
The sad fate of human evolutionary biology in Australia
Claim: Renewable Australia will Have No Problem with Zero Generation Days
08 Oct 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - Australia Tags: solar power, wind power
A new study suggests blackouts will only happen sometimes, if we build enough batteries and overcapacity, and a hydrogen export industry.
Claim: Renewable Australia will Have No Problem with Zero Generation Days
Australia Recognises Palestine – But With Strings Attached the Media Won’t Tell You About
26 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, International law, politics - Australia, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror, West Bank
Steven Gaskell writes – Australia’s Labor government has made a historic move: it has formally recognised the State of Palestine. Foreign Minister Penny Wong framed the decision as a step towards peace and a two-state solution. The headlines blared “Australia recognises Palestine” but almost none of the mainstream outlets bothered to mention the fine print. […]
Australia Recognises Palestine – But With Strings Attached the Media Won’t Tell You About
Tasmania’s unstable electoral system
25 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, politics - Australia, Public Choice Tags: Tasmania
Tasmania’s electoral system, particularly its implementation of the Hare-Clark proportional representation method, has frequently faced criticism for its tendency to produce unstable governments. This instability largely arises from the system’s inherent design, which promotes a fragmented parliament and necessitates coalition-building and negotiations that may ultimately compromise governmental efficacy and stability. The Hare-Clark system, in theory, […]
Tasmania’s unstable electoral system
Emotions and Policy Views
07 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, behavioural economics, economics of information, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA
I would call this a story of negative emotional contagion: This paper investigates the growing role of emotions in shaping policy views. Analyzing social citizens’ media postings and political party messaging over a large variety of policy issues from 2013 to 2024, we document a sharp rise in negative emotions, particularly anger. Content generating anger […]
Emotions and Policy Views
How did the Australian pollsters go?
02 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
Now we have a final result for the Australian election, we can look at how the Australian pollsters did. This shows the primary and then TPP vote for each pollsters’s final pre-election poll. The final TPP result of 55.2% to 44.8% was greater than all the polls. Four had it 53 to 47, so were […]
How did the Australian pollsters go?
He should have apologised
19 May 2025 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - Australia, property rights Tags: defamation, free speech
The ABC reports: There are concerns that former Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto will be bankrupted after being ordered to pay costs of $2.3 million after losing his defamation battle with Moira Deeming. … The Federal Court order handed down on Friday morning, raises the prospect Mr Pesutto will be bankrupted and forced out of…
He should have apologised
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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