Borders

The disgusting immigration policy race to the centre of the earth (we’re well past the seabed and digging into the ooze) might well be a waste of time. Mr Howard’s 2001 declaration that we will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances under which they come is at the end of its useful life.

That statement - key for both sides of politics - is predicated on Australian national sovereignty as we understand it today. And that sovereignty is not a guaranteed thing. Not by any means. It is ours by force alone.

A little over two centuries ago, in 1787, Australia was not ours. Aboriginal tribes were here, and that was it for the population.

Continue reading "Who says foreigners won’t colonise Australia again?" »

Reading the news yesterday that the United States bookstore chain Border has gone into bankruptcy, I began to ask myself how long it could possibly be before a big Australian chain met the same fate. Unfortunately the wait wasn’t long.

A press release came out that afternoon announcing that REDGroup, who control Borders Australia, Angus and Robertson and Whitcoulls in New Zealand, were being placed into administration. This will affect 260 stores.

Really, it is a wonder this didn’t happen earlier given that Australian booksellers have been defying the laws of market theory that would have sent other businesses bust long ago. There are a few reasons why this was pretty inevitable. One involves parallel import laws and the other the internet, but the two are closely linked.

Continue reading "Publishers and book sellers have sealed their own fate" »