John Ogilvie: Protecting Children or Controlling the Narrative?

It’s been six months since the Albanese Government introduced the social media ban for people under the age of 16. This law was sold to the public as a necessary measure to keep children safe from the dangers of social media. They told us that it would usher in a golden age where kids would go no longer be stuck on their devices and would go outside and socialise just like they did in the pre-Internet days. And of course, we were assured that this had nothing to do with protecting the legacy media or controlling the narrative online.

Bob Edlin: Count the number of Finnish public servants.....

Count the number of Finnish public servants to see what happens when you trim govt department numbers

Paul Goldsmith, Minister for the Public Service and Digitising Government, was raring to go when asked what action the Government was taking to improve services and deliver better value for money in the public service.

The patsy question was lobbed by National MP David MacLeod.

Oceania Unfiltered with Aldebaran - BREAKING: Aussie Scientist ACCUSES Labor Government of Sabotaging Energy Security With Net Zero Lies

A climate scientist has just made a grave public accusation against Australia's Net Zero policies — and she's directly naming Albo's Labor government as responsible for the country's devastating fuel crisis. Anika Sweetland, a qualified climate scientist and former energy policy adviser to the Australian government, has come forward with a serious denouncement: the diesel and petrol shortages crippling Australia right now are not accidents. They're not due to the Iran conflict. They're the direct, deliberate result of Labor's Net Zero agenda.

Matua Kahurangi: Hey Australia, you can have Jacinda, we don’t want her

So it is official. Jacinda Ardern is now based in Australia, at least for the moment. We are told it is about work, family logistics and convenience. We are told she will still spend time back home. Cut the bullsh*t.

The reality is that she walked away from the job before voters could pass their own verdict, and now she has walked away from the country she once claimed to love so fiercely. For a leader who preached kindness and solidarity, the exit was cowardly.

Dr James Allan: Israel’s Judiciary is Out of Control

I confess to being one of Australia’s most pro-Israel law professors. Actually, change that to I proudly confess to being one of Australia’s most pro-Israel law professors. I admire how this tiny country is the only democracy in the entire Middle East. Surrounded by countries that want to wipe it from the face of the earth this minute Jewish homeland has defended itself from invasions and attacks that comfortably coddled Western countries haven’t experienced in 80 years. And be clear that Israel has restrained itself in doing this by orders of magnitude more than the Allies did when fighting Germany and Japan in WWII.

Dr James Allan: The Marvellous Miseries of Multiculturalism

I start this first column of the new year with the heavy heart that I am sure all our readers have for the families of the victims of the horrific mass-murders on Bondi Beach just before Christmas. And let us not deal in the usual Labour Party euphemisms, misdirecting abstractions and Kumbaya platitudes. This was the deliberate attempt to murder Jews, by Islamic extremists, done solely because they wanted to kill Jews. And they did, with the odd non-Jewish bystander thrown in. That makes Australia, outside of Israel itself, the country where the most Jews have been murdered in a single incident since the Second World War.

Perspective with Ryan Bridge: Here's the worst part of the Bondi Beach terror attack

This terror attack in Sydney is what everyone else has been saying it is: absolutely horrific. Antisemitic terrorism.

Sadly, this type of attack is happening and will keep happening more frequently, according to intelligence agencies. And the worst part is that it's almost impossible to stop.

Dr James Allan: Vance is Right - The West is Stagnating Due to Mass Immigration

Last week US Vice President J.D. Vance pointed out a home truth about the politicians who have run Canada and Britain this last decade or so. They’ve made some terrible calls, especially as regards mass inwards immigration. To start, Vance pointed to my native Canada and noted that it now has the highest foreign-born share of the population of the entire G7. And its living standards have flatlined.

Dr James Allan: Trump’s First Year Has Been Outstanding

It’s been just over a year since President Trump capped off the most remarkable comeback in US political history (okay, we can argue about Andrew Jackson) to win a non-consecutive second term as President. He was only the second man ever to do that. Now the US Constitution requires the election winner to wait over two months before taking power in the new year. That meant lots of time for the Biden autopen to issue pardons, spray money everywhere and allow myriad Third World people to keep pouring into the US. So any assessment around now is not of Trump’s first year of his second term, but rather more like a 10-month gauging or evaluation. But hey, for all those lovers of the metric system, let’s go ahead now and see how The Donald is doing.

Dr James Allan: The Trudeau Disaster

In 1931 the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster. For all practical purposes this statute granted legislative independence to the self-governing Dominions of the British Empire, which at the time basically meant Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Irish Free State and Newfoundland. The gist of this very famous statute was that the UK Parliament could no longer legislate for a Dominion without its consent. They were of equal status to the UK.

Steven Gaskell: Australia Recognises Palestine – But With Strings Attached the Media Won’t Tell You About

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. And the fine print matters.

Ryan Bridge: New Zealand needs a growth spurt

I’ve had it with people whinging about state of this county and people fleeing to Australia who then refuse to stop and ask why we got here and how we get out of it.

Chucking up a post up on TikTok or waving a banner at a protest won't cut it.

Productivity (that’s how much we get out for what we put in) is crap. It's been getting worse or flat-lining for decades.

Michael Rainsborough: Britain’s Descent Towards Civil War is No Accident

Having lived in Australia for the past three years, I sense that this country is the least advanced down the road towards the multicultural dystopia confronting much of Europe. That is not to say there is room for complacency: Australia has its own canaries in the coal mine, echoing trends observable across the Western world. Yet relative prosperity, firm immigration policies, a distinct welfare regime (mandatory health insurance, means tested pensions), a robust federal system, and above all a unique electoral framework of three-year cycles and compulsory voting all help, willy-nilly, to keep politicians on a short leash and broadly tethered to the popular will.

Ryan Bridge: The real reason Kiwis are crossing the Tasman

What's the point in us having more affordable property prices for first home buyers if young workers are jetting off to Australia in search of a better tomorrow?

There's a perverse logic to this, but across the Tasman right now, where our flying Kiwis are headed, they're experiencing something of a property boom.

It's the opposite of the stagnant or falling prices we're seeing here, where homes in most regions are now considered, technically at least, affordable.

Matua Kahurangi: New Zealand: The backdoor to Australia that no one wants to talk about

Nearly half of the people applying for Australian citizenship as “New Zealanders” were not born in this country. That is according to newly released data from Australia’s Department of Home Affairs, and it is raising serious questions about whether New Zealand is being used as a backdoor into Australia’s booming economy.

DTNZ: Australia to require age verification for Google searches

Australians will soon be required to verify their age when logged into Google or other search engines, under new regulations aimed at “protecting children from harmful content”.

The changes are part of a wider framework of codes and standards developed by the eSafety Commissioner, with enforcement starting before the end of 2025.

Matua Kahurangi: Sick of the haka, over the welcome to country?

The other night, I was sitting down watching some Australian live TV through Kodi when I was hit with one of those painfully predictable rituals - a "Welcome to Country." Just when I thought the haka had reached peak cringe in New Zealand, Australia said, "Hold my XXXX Gold."

Ele Ludemann: Hard now or harder in future

Richard Prebble writes:

. . .America is heading for an economic crisis.

This crisis hasn’t been caused by one party or President. It’s been building for decades, driven by demographic change, too many promises and not enough taxpayers. . . .

Gina Rinehart AO: Regarding the election results.

Comment from Mrs. Gina Rinehart AO regarding the election results.

“The left media did a very successful effort, frightening many in the Liberal Party from anything Trump and away from any Trump like policies.

This has been especially obvious this year, with the Liberals instead becoming known as the “me too” party. Trump style “make Australia great” policies via cutting government tape, government bureaucracy and wastage, and hence being able to cut taxes, too scarce in Australia this year to rate a mention.

Richard Meade: NZ and Australia face a complicated puzzle when it comes to supermarket prices...

This may be as good as it gets: NZ and Australia face a complicated puzzle when it comes to supermarket prices

With ongoing cost of living pressures, the Australian and New Zealand supermarket sectors are attracting renewed political attention on both sides of the Tasman.

Allegations of price gouging have become a political issue in the Australian federal election. At the same time, the New Zealand government has announced that “all options” are on the table to address a lack of competition in the sector – including possible breakup of the existing players.