Author: Alex Mitchell
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The hypocrisy of Penny Wong
This week: The hypocrisy of Penny Wong … Time running out for Donald Trump For the record, I regard Senator Penny Wong as the smartest and most courageous woman in Federal Parliament. She has been a huge asset to the Labor Party in countless recent elections as its combative spokesperson against the lies and deceit of…
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The question of Albo
The Question of Albo A small but loud-voiced number of subscribers wrote to me after I assessed Anthony Albanese – that’s him, the new ALP leader – a dunce as a politician, Cabinet Minister, Shadow Minister, Deputy Leader and now Top Dog. I checked with very well-informed contacts in Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane to discover…
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The Weekly Notebook returns
Scomo takes Australia to war Pastor Scott Morrison has committed Australia to war in the Middle East. He has sent Australian warships, aircraft and special forces half way round the world to the Straits of Hormuz to “protect international trade” and the “freedom of shipping”. Morrison has joined the US war party against Iran. Ignoring…
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Service interruptus
My Weekly Notebook and John Gorton series have been suspended temporarily. I regret the need for this and plan to resume them when circumstances allow. Last week I underwent eye surgery to remove a cataract from my left eye. The operation was successful, however the treatment will continue for several weeks. I am currently wearing an…
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Untold story of Canberra’s first coup: the political assassination of Prime Minister John Gorton – Part 15
Political dirty tricks at Melbourne Olympics in 1956 and Sydney 2000 SYDNEY Sun-Herald, 1986-2007 Searching through personal papers I came across volumes of material I had collected over the years on the Olympic Games and the Swiss-based International Olympic Committee (IOC), the disgraced agency that runs the worldwide sports extravaganza every four years. Buried in the…
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The Weekly Notebook
Whistleblowers jailed as US and UK attack press freedom Julian Assange is in jail in London and Ms Chelsea Manning, formerly Bradley Manning, is in jail in Alexandria, Virginia. Assange is an Australian-born journalist and founder of Wikileaks while Private first class Manning is a transgender American soldier, turned whistleblower. Together they blew the lid…
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Untold story of Canberra’s first coup: the political assassination of Prime Minister John Gorton – Part 14
John Gorton’s road to Canberra and the “Taiwan lobby” CANBERRA, 22 February 1950 to 10 January 1968 Arriving at the Canberra Press Gallery in 1963 I quickly realised that the venerable institution of Federal Parliament was under intense transition. The Old Guard of MPs in parliament and the trenchant Old Retainers in the Press Gallery…
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Untold story of Canberra’s first coup: The political assassination of Prime Minister John Gorton – Part 13
John Gorton makes a “Labor” speech then joins the ultra-conservatives MYSTIC PARK, near Kerang, Victoria, Wednesday, 3 April 1946 John Gorton was 35, a war hero, farmer and silvertail from Sydney’s Shore School, Geelong Grammar and Oxford University when he made his first political speech. Local people called the community together for a “welcome home”…
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Untold story of Canberra’s first coup: The political assassination of Prime Minister John Gorton – Part 12
John Gorton goes to Oxford OXFORD, England, February 1932 Brasenose College at Oxford University is famous for educating an elite to be the future prime ministers, judges, governors and Whitehall mandarins of Great Britain. For 500 years, the sons of the aristocracy (women were admitted for the first time only in 1974) were sent to…
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Untold story of Canberra’s first coup: The political assassination of Prime Minister John Gorton – Part 11
A “real” bastard in The Lodge John Gorton was a bastard. He was born a bastard because he was conceived out of wedlock. His father was in a de facto relationship with a woman other than his lawful wife when he was born. While many of his predecessors at The Lodge – as well as…