Can we trust the USA? | Between the Lines
The Wrap with Dr Emma Shortis
The President of Peace has started another war.
It began with the bombing of a school in southern Iran. According to Iranian authorities, the death toll from that strike now sits at 168. Many of the victims were children.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump have normalised the sight of little coffins.
Emerging evidence now suggests the school was struck more than once – perhaps three times. A “double-tap” strike is when a first strike is followed up by a second in order to target those still sheltering, those running away, and first responders. Double-tap strikes are prohibited by the laws of war.
Neither the United States nor Israel has taken responsibility for those first strikes, which US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says are being investigated. That’s the same Secretary of Defence who has overseen, and glorified, the use of similar strikes on Venezuelan boats. And who said the United States would fight this war with “no mercy”, and is proud of “punching them when they’re down”.
Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch
— Dr Emma Shortis is the Director of The Australia Institute’s International & Security Affairs Program.
The Big Stories
David Pocock calls for inquiry into why Government collects more revenue from beer excise than PRRT
Independent Senator for the ACT David Pocock has called for an inquiry into why gas companies pay less for gas exports than Australians pay in the beer excise.
It comes a week after he added his voice to calls for a 25 per cent tax on gas exports, an idea raised by the Australian Council of Trade Unions last year.
The simple question at the heart of the capital gains tax debate: who should pay more tax, minimum-wage workers or wealthy investors?
“The debate over the capital gains tax discount comes down to a very simple question: who do you think should pay more income tax? Should a high-income executive who makes a $400,000 capital gain (that is, a profit) from selling an investment property pay a higher tax rate than a full-time retail worker on minimum wage who decides to pick up a few extra shifts?” writes Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist at The Australia Institute, in The Point.
“If you think the executive should pay a higher rate of tax, well I’m afraid our current tax system disagrees with you.”
Gender pay gap edges down, but men still dominate Australia’s highest salaries
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has released their gender pay gap data today and while we took a tiny step closer to pay equity, men are still almost twice as likely to be in the highest earning quartile – earning more than $220,000.
Can we trust the USA?
“Prime Minister Curtin’s Christmas 1941 newspaper column advised the Australian people that henceforth we would look to America as our protector rather than Britain. To have questioned our trust in the USA at that time would have been unthinkable,” writes Allan Behm, adviser to The Australia Institute’s International and Security Affairs Program, in The Point.
“So, what about now? Can we trust the US to stand by us as we have stood by the US through thick and thin – Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and, through the Five Eyes arrangements, every other adventure on which the US has embarked?”
More from Bob Brown and Yanis Varoufakis
Following sold-out events in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, you can read more from Yanis Varoufakis and Bob Brown in their chapters in What’s the Big Idea and A Time for Bravery.
In What’s the Big Idea: 32 Bold Ideas for a Better Australia, Bob Brown asks what price we are prepared to put on extinction.
In A Time for Bravery, Yanis Varoufakis asks what Australia misses with punitive immigration policies.
The Win
David Pocock calls for inquiry into why Government collects more revenue from beer excise than PRRT
This week Independent Senator for the ACT David Pocock called for an inquiry into why gas companies pay less for gas exports than Australians pay in the beer excise.
Australia Institute research shows the Australian Government allows the export of more than 80 per cent of Australia’s gas, and it gives largely foreign-owned gas companies most of the gas they export for free.
Dr Richard Denniss, co-CEO of the Australia Institute, said polling results show that a 25 per cent tax on gas exports would be a popular decision among voters from across party lines.
“It is clear the Federal Government is increasingly out of step with voters when it comes to taking on the gas industry,” Dr Denniss said.
The Bin
FOI reveals government rejected advice to pause salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour
FOI documents this week revealed that the Albanese Government rejected environment department advice to revoke salmon farming approvals in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour – before passing legislation to protect the salmon farming industry.
The advice provided in January 2025 was made in response to a formal request made by the Australia Institute, Bob Brown Foundation and Environmental Defenders Office. It recommended salmon farming be paused in Macquarie Harbour because of its significant impacts on the endangered Maugean Skate and Tasmanian wilderness world heritage area.
The Quote
“If the Government don’t do it, you’ve got to make them do it. Hold their feet to the fire and demand, we want you to do something about inequality.”
– ‘The People’s Economist’ Gary Stevenson urges Australians to keep the pressure on politicians on the Follow the Money podcast.
Podcasts
The US and Israel attack Iran, foment chaos | After America
The ‘president of peace’ has started another war with Iran, with no apparent regard for the consequences. Allan Behm and Dr Emma Shortis discuss the US-Israeli attacks on Iran and the assassination of its leader, Trump and Netanyahu’s cynical messages for the Iranian people, what this war means for nuclear proliferation, and the Australian government’s “deeply disappointing” response.
Listen now:
Gary Stevenson on wealth inequality and the rise of the far-right | Follow the Money
The far-right is benefitting from a failing status quo – but it doesn’t have to be this way. Author and economist Gary Stevenson joins Ebony Bennett to discuss wealth inequality, the global issue of housing unaffordability, why Australia should tax gas properly, and how many far-right parties have become the Steven Bradburys of global politics.
Listen now:
Future uncertain as US says war on Iran has ‘only just begun’ | Dollars & Sense
The joint US-Israel war on Iran could have serious, lasting impacts on the global economy. Greg Jericho and Skye Predavec discuss the economic impact of the illegal US-Israel war on Iran, the latest Australian GDP data, and why the Reserve Bank seems to want more Australians to be unemployed.
Listen now:
What’s On
Politics in the Pub: Ending Australia’s “Jobs for Mates” culture
Wednesday 11 March | Canberra and online
Join Independent MP Dr Sophie Scamps, Bill Browne, Democracy and Accountability Program Director at The Australia Institute, hosted by Ebony Bennett, the Institute’s Deputy Director, to discuss Dr Scamps’s proposed “Ending Jobs for Mates” bill, which is designed to ensure a more transparent and impartial process for government-appointed jobs in Australia.
What We Owe the Water with Kumi Naidoo
Wednesday 11 March | Online
Join Kumi Naidoo in conversation with Dr Richard Denniss as they discuss Kumi’s new essay, What We Owe the Water: It’s Time for a Fossil Fuel Treaty.
This essay imagines a future where Australia stands as a courageous ally using its resources and power to build a better future rather than staying as a climate pariah, and where the Pacific becomes the lighthouse guiding the way.
Between the Lines Newsletter
The biggest stories and the best analysis from the team at the Australia Institute, delivered to your inbox every fortnight.