But if we could communicate with the mosquito, then we would learn that he floats through the air with the same self-importance, feeling within itself the flying centre of the world.
—Friedrich Nietzsche
On Wednesday at the National Press Club (NPC), former Labor prime minister, Paul Keating, was invited to speak about the AUKUS submarine deal, and he didn’t hold back. He declared it the worst policy administered by a Labor Government since Billy Hughes tried to introduce conscription, and he held Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong responsible for, what for him, was a major failure of political courage, diplomacy and foreign policy making.
He ripped several members of the press gallery a new one, and he wasn’t administering anaesthetic. Matthew Knott (who was present) and Peter Hartcher (who wasn’t) were the main targets, and Keating—rightly, in my view—held them responsible for the shortcomings of the so-called Red Alert series run on the pages of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
A…
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Future of Everything to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.