His latest book, Three Shocks, maintains that Australia has undergone seismic changes in recent years which are only just being recognised.
asserted
which → maintain → years
I can’t say that I’ve read it cover-to-cover, but in the words of Gough Whitlam when I once asked him had he read John Edwards’ book on Paul Keating, “Comrade, I have glanced at it extensively”.
asserted
I → say → it
And I’ve read extracts and got the guts of it.
asserted
I → read → it
Can we go through what the three shocks are for Australia, in the title?
asserted
shocks → go → title
] Yeah, No.1 shock is Australia has become a majority migrant nation again – a majority of people who are either a migrant themselves or are the children of migrants, like myself.
asserted
who → become → myself
That line was crossed around 2018.
asserted
line → cross → 2018
The largest group of workers by occupation are professional females, tertiary-educated women.
asserted
group → educate → occupation
Their numbers have now surpassed those of blue-collar workers, the revered figure so vaunted, politicians John Howard referred to as “a battler”.
asserted
Howard → surpass → battler
Tony Abbott had him as “a tradie”.
asserted
Abbott → have → tradie
Scott Morrison subsequently had him as “the quiet Australian”.
asserted
Morrison → have → Australian
I wouldn’t say his time is ever up, but he is now substantially outnumbered by women working in professions.
asserted
he → say → professions
And that line was crossed in 2015, just as Tony Abbott was about to lose his job.
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Abbott → cross → job
Also, women working as carers now outnumber male labourers.
asserted
women → work → labourers
The story we have been telling ourselves since European settlement, that we are a white nation centred on the labour of men working with their hands, no longer adds up.
asserted
we → tell → hands
That’s just not who we are today.
asserted
we → ’ → ?
The white males no longer rule.
asserted
males → rule → ?
Well, allow me to say, on the behalf of my fellow stale, pale, males, I resemble that remark!
asserted
I → allow → remark
But that had political ramifications ...
asserted
that → have → ramifications
There are obviously political implications, which manifests itself in quite a dramatic way in the 2022 election, and again in the 2025 election.
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which → be → election
Obviously, the teal vote in ’22, but also the eviction of the Liberals from the capital cities is essentially a story of these two identity shocks coming to pass.
asserted
shocks → come → cities
And despite my Greek heritage, I identify, I might say, as one of the white males.
uncertain
I → identify → males
On stage with Magda Szubanski at the Byron Writers Festival, I noted Greeks obviously weren’t considered white Australians growing up.
asserted
Greeks → note → Festival
She said I was a white Australian.
asserted
I → say → ?
I said, “When do you think I became white, Magda?”
asserted
I → say → ?
And she said, “Well, that’s easy George.
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that → say → ?
When the Vietnamese came.”
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Vietnamese → come → ?
I’ve never heard an identity joke land better than Magda’s.
asserted
joke → hear → Magda
Our second prime minister, Alfred Deakin, once penned an infamous anonymous article for the British audience after the passage of the White Australia policy, where he noted that when it came to immigrants, Australians would have no traffic with the “unclean thing”.
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Australians → pen → thing
If your skin was tainted by any degree – yellow, copper, brown – Australia would have nothing to do with that that type of migrant.
asserted
Australia → taint → migrant
Politics was predicated on it and male dominance.
asserted
Politics → predicate → it
And now here we are – in those last elections, politics caught up with reality.
asserted
politics → catch → reality
The politics of the white male was being surpassed.
asserted
politics → surpass → male
We were still contesting elections on the assumption that blue-collar males decide who we are and who should run this place, when the electorate itself pulled rank and said they don’t run this place, we do.
asserted
we → contest → place
So while the Libs were “standing by our tradies”, the famous teal from the electorate of Wentworth, the well-educated Allegra Spender – daughter of a famous migrant in Carla Zampatti – whizzed by in an EV and drove all the way to her new parliamentary seat in Canberra?
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teal → stand → Canberra
And the third shock, which Australia didn’t see coming?
asserted
Australia → see → ?
Australia finding itself in an unstable world where its two most important external relationships – with China and the US – were no longer reliable.
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relationships → find → China
Just as Malcolm Turnbull was finishing as prime minister, China was moving into the “wolf warrior” phase of diplomacy.
asserted
China → finish → diplomacy
Emblematic of this was when one of the Chinese ambassadors was being interviewed in Sweden and memorably said, “we treat our friends with fine wine but for our enemies, we’ve got shotguns”.
asserted
we → interview → shotguns
And by the time Scott Morrison’s become prime minister and questioned the origins of COVID – suggesting arms inspectors be sent into China to get to the bottom of it, and he was out on his own – the Chinese government retaliated with $20 billion worth of sanctions on Australia, which damaged him politically!
asserted
which → become → him
Suddenly, China was throwing its weight around, all at a time when we could no longer rely on the good ol’ USA if things turned nasty.
uncertain
things → throw → USA
…and 74 more, not listed.
The Aporia
