Good news! 82% of university students think they should be exposed to challenging or offensive views, while only a measly 2% disagree. Watch Renee Gorman in the IPA’s latest video:
That’s from an upcoming survey the IPA commissioned of 500 university students. 59% of university students believe they have been prevented from voicing their opinions on controversial issues by other students, while 31% of university students have been made to feel uncomfortable by a university teacher for expressing their opinion.
After a week of accusing Boris Johnson of suspending democracy, Remainers are now “running scared” from a general election wrote Brendan O’Neill in Spiked overnight. In a dark day for British democracy, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour denied Boris Johnson’s wish of a general election last night despite long campaigning for a ‘people’s vote’.
You’ve got to hand it to ABC Media Watch host Paul Barry – he delivered this piece complaining about a lack of opposing viewpoints in News Corp’s reporting on Dr Peter Ridd’s case with a straight face on Monday night. In The Australian today, Gideon Rozner wrote “Media Watch is everything that is wrong with the ABC, squeezed into 15 insufferable minutes“.
Here are a couple of stories that will make you weep for the state of your nation. Firstly, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority may investigate a Sunbury man for fishing while being suspended from a drone. In this hilarious interview on Today the drone pilot was forced to conceal his identity from the regulators.
And a Perth vegan has taken her neighbours to the Supreme Court because she can smell their BBQ from her yard! Fortunately, she lost, but she has vowed to continue her legal battle. Sadly, her neighbours have removed the BBQ and banned their children from playing basketball in their own backyard.
Article of the week:
Will & Grace star Eric McCormack demanded a list of attendees to a Beverly Hills fundraiser for Donald Trump last week so “the rest of us can be clear about who we don’t wanna work with“. The great Mark Steyn pointed out on Tuesday that Hollywood stars have morals – “it’s one thing to work with known sex predators, but quite another to work with a fellow who votes for the other party”.
IPA Staff Pick:
Each week an IPA staff member shares what they have enjoyed recently. Today: Andrew Bushnell
With the House of Commons voting to stop an early election, and a bill preventing the no-deal Brexit scheduled for 31 October passing both houses of Parliament, the sabotage of the largest popular vote in British history is almost complete. This 7400-word essay by Christopher Caldwell in The Claremont Review of Books last month outlines the sorry history of this elitist usurpation and concludes that Brexit is really about the fundamental incompatibility of the British constitution and the EU itself.
Here’s what else the IPA said this week:
- John Roskam, The moral case for an IR overhaul – The Australian Financial Review
- Dr Janet Albrechtsen, Unis have lost their way as homes for free speech – The Australian
- Dr Jennifer Marohasy, 10 days at the magnificent Great Barrier Reef (Part 1, Whitsundays) – Jennifer Marohasy Blog
- Dr Jennifer Marohasy, Found: 25 hectares of acropora at Stone Island – IPA Today
- Kurt Wallace, Ban on cash is an attack on our freedoms – Sky News Viewpoint
- Daniel Wild, Lift your game – IPA Review
- John Roskam, Consistency on freedom of speech – ABC The Friday Fix
