Dr Liz Allen

Reminder - if you pay tax on even $1 of earnings at the top marginal rate you are in the 95th percentile of taxable income. (it's the rate you pay for any $ you earn over $190k)

By any ordinary measure, Angus Taylor is a rich man. We know this by the trappings of his privileged life: a fourth-generation farmer from south-eastern NSW, alumni of the exclusive The King's School, Sydney University graduate, and a Rhodes scholarship at Oxford University that fast-tracked him to a successful career as a consultant at McKinsey & Company. Much of his life has been divided between Sydney's eastern suburbs and his country homes.

Masquerading as a self-made man, Angus Taylor is actually a rich, privileged nepo baby who owns/has interests in so much property he could house much of the poor. www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...

When social media first arose, we all remarked on how dehumanising it was, as people began to speak not directly to each other but via the mediation of computers. Now we are moving into a new era, as many people begin to conduct both their most frequent and most intimate conversations not through the mediation of computers but directly with them. This is occurring within an economic system that many are coming to distrust, even detest, for the way it treats them as something other than people.

Declining humanity - driven by loss of real-life connection - to blame for fraying social cohesion, not immigration. www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...

How property investors are adding to interest rate pressure The nation’s banking regulator is under pressure to clamp down on loans to investors, amid claims they have contributed to higher interest rates.

And yet so many are crying foul about first homebuyer schemes. It’s the rich ruining housing. www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...

And guess who holds power in nominating the next pro-chancellor (should they choose to appoint one)? Yep. The head of nominations committee. Who is…*the chancellor*.

The next ANU council meeting isn’t until the end of April. Without a pro-chancellor the chancellor holds *ultimate power* in allowing any calls for a special meeting of the governing body. With a number of investigations due to report imminently, this is questionable timing.

Pro-Chancellor Council advises that Ms Alison Kitchen AM has stepped down from her role as Pro-Chancellor, effective 18 February 2026, due to increasing workload commitments. Importantly, Alison remains a committed member of Council. She will continue as Chair of the University's Audit, Finance and Risk Committee and as a member of the Investment Committee. We are grateful for her ongoing contribution in these critical governance roles. Alison has made a significant contribution to the University in her role as Pro-Chancellor, providing thoughtful and considered leadership. Council thanks her for her service and continued commitment to the University. Council is currently considering the process around the appointment of a new Pro-Chancellor.

ANU has confirmed pro-chancellor (2nd to the chancellor) has stepped down, nearly a fortnight after the fact. Rumours have been swirling since a uni website was quietly updated. It took Reddit for the uni to be more transparent, despite the council committing to do better. Uni governance is broken.

The government claimed it was monitoring dodgy job service providers using an app. It doesn't exist 'What this exposes is just how little the department is prepared to do, even after two bootings from the Ombudsman.'

I'm at it again: great ontological debate about welfare 'compliance' app govt told Ombudsman it built to monitor dodgy job service providers but which doesn't exist. No documents point to it. Instead they use 'existing processes'. And haven't they been so effective. www.crikey.com.au/2026/02/27/r...

How a 20yo living with his parents allegedly plotted a terror attack History was made in WA when police charged a person for the first time with preparing a terrorist attack. What do we know?

Social media helped fuel mass casualty plot against Muslim Australians www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Australian taxpayers support folks who have more than two negatively geared properties! This is nuts. If you think it’s ok for some people to hoard property during a housing crisis you’re part of the problem.

ANU lecturer says the university is refusing legal funding to which she is entitled She accused the chancellor of bullying and harassment last year.

‘Dr Allen did not have "sufficient opportunity to present her case in a way that does not leave her at a disadvantage against Chancellor Bishop".’ www.canberratimes.com.au/story/918210...

How one child had 22 foster carers by age 13 and landed in adult jail at 18 Details of a child's tumultuous journey to adulthood under the stewardship of Queensland's Department of Child Safety have been laid bare in a Toowoomba inquiry this week.

System designed to provide family for young people can cause great harm and trauma leading in too many cases to criminality: jails are full of former out-of-home care kids.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Republic now

KPMG pulls branding from Sydney Writers’ after Abdel-Fattah invite

KPMG partner fined for using artificial intelligence to cheat in AI training test Firm says person fined A$10,000 is one of over two dozen staff in Australia caught using AI in exams since July

Am thinking the Sydney Writers Festival has just become much improved

Targeted schemes to get people in to property that wouldn’t otherwise be homeowners is a good thing imo. It’s doable.

Biggest issue I have is he’s advocating *against* things like government support for first homebuyers. Reality is that in the absence of redoing society these things are the only option for people that aren’t lucky like him.

(g) (1) Any driver's license issued prior to July 1, 2026, that identifies the gender of the individual named on such license in a manner that is contrary to the definition of such term as defined in K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 77-207, and amendments thereto, shall be invalid. (2) The director shall correct any driver's license records that identify the gender of the individual named in such record in a manner that is contrary to the definition of such term as defined in K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 77-207, and amendments thereto. The director shall send written notice to each such individual notifying such individual that such license is invalid and to surrender such license to the division of vehicles. Upon the surrender of any such license, the director shall issue a new driver's license to such individual with the correct gender identification for such individual.

KANSAS JUST ENACTED A BILL THAT INVALIDATES AND REVOKES THE DRIVER'S LICENSES OF TRANS PEOPLE.

www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/...

Residents creating water out of thin air as they wait for 'basic right' Just three hours from Brisbane, the residents of Cherbourg need to boil the town water to make it safe to drink. Delays to a new water treatment plant have driven them to use emerging technology that ...

These Qld residents don’t have safe drinking water. Absolute disgrace. Step up, Qld government.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Millionaire economist's dire warning for Australian property market British economist Gary Stevenson is on a speaking tour, warning Australia will follow the path of the UK with "poverty exploding" unless politicians deal with inequality.

Millionaire preaching about inequality on a press tour?! Dude must spend so much time counting his $$ he doesn’t have time for pragmatism. I get the desire to dream the possible, but those experiencing inequality can’t afford to wait. Doable solutions only. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

As a political expert in a right wing party getting its lunch evermore eaten by a somehow even more racist party I will simply continue making clear the issue the other party is best noted for delivering upon (doing racism) is the most important and only real issue to think about (i am very smart)

Populist politics, aimed to tap into the deep fears of Australians feeling left behind. Really disappointing.

Migrants from Gaza and Somalia among those to be banned from Australia under unreleased Liberal plan The hardline immigration policy was designed before Sussan Ley was ousted as party leader on Friday

Lebanon, Palestine & Philippines among prohibited countries under draft coalition plan. Lebanese Australians have played a significant role in post WW2 rebuild. Philippines is 5th on migration ladder currently and is a crucial feature of health workforce. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Yes

Barely legal.

ANU staff under severe psychological pressure, new research shows ANU near the bottom of league for stress and mental health.

‘Despite some leadership change, harms and hazards at the ANU are ongoing and the damage is lasting. Staff and students at the nation's university are paying a heavy price for poor governance and toxic work environments!’ www.canberratimes.com.au/story/917363...

Scene is Julia Gillard and Chris Bowen (then Min for Immigration) in a lighthouse with "Light on the Hill: written under the bulb. Gillard is turning the light off, saying 'It was attracting the boats"

I have many, many favourite Kudelka cartoons but this, from 2011, is possibly one of the best Aus pol cartoons ever drawn.

Anne Frank died from a typhus epidemic that spread through the concentration camp where she was imprisoned.

This week west Belconnen had major transport cuts, to accommodate works around Parliament House. ACT govt has been condescending and heartless over the loss for westies. Today govt is crying about the closure of a shop in the same area. Can’t have it both ways, ACT Labor. FFS.

“AUSTRALIANS ditch religion at rapid rate” declared the 2017 CNN headline of an article reporting that Australia’s 2016 census was the first in which the share of people identifying with “no religion” exceeded the Catholic share of the population (Berlinger 2017). However, the CNN story didn’t report on another first—in 2016, Australia made “no religion” the first response category presented to people answering the census religious identity question. Previously, “no religion” was the last option offered in the list of choices. How many people chose “no religion” because it was the first option rather than the last? Would the number of Australians identifying as Catholic in the 2016 census have remained higher than the “no religion” count if this measurement change hadn’t made it easier for those with weak Catholic identity to choose “no religion”? Unfortunately, no one knows for sure. The Australian Bureau of Statistics didn’t publish a study on the effect of this change in wording.

NEW: How Measurement Changes Can Exaggerate the Growth of Religious “Nones”
from Matthew Conrad & me https://sociologicalscience.com/articles-v13-5-89/

‘I don’t think this was a good decision’: Labor’s Ed Husic holds ‘deep concerns’ over Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s visit MP also tells Guardian Australia’s Full Story podcast he backs peaceful protests against country’s actions in Gaza

Great to see politicians show conviction www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...