Adjunct Professor, School of Communications, La Trobe University
The Australian Financial Review: International Editor (2010-2016), Washington correspondent (2004-2010), Political Editor (2000-2004), Financial Times: Middle East correspondent (1984-1993), Beijing bureau chief (1993-1998), North American correspondent 1998-2000. Publications include Arafat: The Biography (Virgin Books 2004) and The Thomson Five: A golfing legend's greatest triumphs (Melbourne University Press 2016). Graduate Australian National University BA.(1968) Dual Walkley award winner for commentary (2003 and 2007). Paul Lyneham Award Excellence Press Gallery journalism (2003).
Nineteen dead, 59 injured so far: Carnage at a British pop concert a suspected terrorist attack
May 23, 2017 04:46 am UTC| Insights & Views Life
The pattern has become all too familiar. Young people gathered for a musical event find themselves subjected to what British Prime Minister Theresa May has described as an appalling terrorist attack. While there is no...
Syria is a mess, but the solution is complicated too
Apr 17, 2017 01:58 am UTC| Insights & Views
A week has passed since US President Donald Trump rained 59 Cruiser missiles down on Al Shayrat airfield north of Damascus, in retaliation for the Syrian regimes use of chemical weapons against its own citizens. But we are...
Terror in London: Western cities will always be vulnerable to these attacks
Mar 23, 2017 06:16 am UTC| Insights & Views Life
Just when the Western world had absorbed the shock of a truck bombing in Berlin in December that claimed 12 lives, it is reminded again of the dangers of lone-wolf attacks inspired by Islamic State (IS) that are almost...
Foreign policy white paper should reflect the uncertainty of our times
Mar 03, 2017 06:37 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
Like a kids party where everyone gets a prize, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has summoned 113 of Australias heads of mission home for consultations as part of efforts to develop a foreign policy that matches the...
A new world order takes shape in the wake of a resurgent Russia
Dec 21, 2016 10:21 am UTC| Insights & Views
A top Israeli intelligence official put it this way when describing a highly complex set of security threats and challenges confronting a Middle East in turmoil. Rather than dealing with upheaval in black and white, he...
The age of uncertainty is upon us, and we'd better get used to it
Dec 04, 2016 22:58 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy
Peter Varghese, former head of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, now chancellor of the University of Queensland had a simple message for policymakers anxious about the arrival in the White House of a man whose...
If Trump pulls America out of the TPP, the question is: what next?
Nov 26, 2016 16:00 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy
Donald Trump this week repeated his pledge to abandon Americas commitment to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement on day one of his presidency. That means on January 20, Inauguration Day, a regional...
A sustainable future begins at ground level
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