Ghost Notes

Five quick-ish riffs on the world as we find it

Some of the Substacks I read do semi-regular posts in the form of quick takes on various topics: five-to-ten matters covered succinctly and often ranging over subjects more varied than the usual things a given newsletter writes about. I like reading them and they have made me nostalgic for blogging days when it was much easier to mix longer essays with shorter comments. So, I’ve decided to have a go at it myself. Welcome to Ghost Notes. Let’s see how we go.

Please keep quiet: You see this complaint a lot around social media, and I even hear it during in-person discussions, professional and casual. It goes something like this: Sure, Labor are doing some bad things and Anthony Albanese is proving to be a pretty ineffective leader, at least to the extent that he was ever considered a part of the progressive left, but hey, if you go around criticising Labor and the prime minister you are paving the way for a Dutton government.

I understand the concern, but this is an unhealthy way to look a…