Tag: Labor Right

Richard Marles, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, at a press conference projecting institutional confidence while Australia’s defence procurement record, AUKUS submarine delays, the Washington happenstance encounter, and the Geelong refinery fire suggest a more complicated story

DeadWood Marles: Australia’s Liberal in Drag

He is, in the most precise political sense available, a Liberal in drag. Same tough talk on alliances and deterrence. Same fondness for American hardware and AUKUS largesse. Wrapped in just enough factional red to keep the true believers satisfied. All suit, no spark. And a remarkable talent for making national security sound like a mildly confusing numbers meeting that ran somewhat overtime. Urban Wronski profiles Richard “DeadWood” Marles, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence.

The Great Gas Con

While the rest of the world races toward genuine emissions reduction, Australia’s gas giants are running a protection racket dressed up as climate policy. Santos, Woodside, Origin—the whole rotten crew have looked at net zero by 2050, nodded thoughtfully, then quietly opened the chequebook to expand the very projects that make the target impossible. This isn’t incompetence. It’s strategy.