Spectator Articles

The Spectator Australia

Contributions to the Flat White section

What the K’gari dingoes need

Nick Hossack | Spectator | 26 June 2025

I’m a bit jaded because a ranger on Fraser Island (renamed K’gari by the Qld Labor government in 2023) has fined me $483 because a local island dingo clawed the lock off my portable fridge and made off with four frozen steaks. Click here to read.

What did the election result say about Australia?

Nick Hossack | Spectator | 7 May 2025

There was one small incident during the Voice Referendum that I never understood, and it has stayed with me. Standing in the cardboard partition to cast my vote, I inadvertently saw the choices of the women on either side of me. Click here to read.

Be suspicious when you hear the words 'no evidence'

Nick Hossack | Spectator | 26 march 2025

In every organisation there is usually an Achilles' Heel, some fact which if widely known or understood, can cause damage...Click here to read.

Nick Hossack | Spectator | 22 March 2025

A lefty friend who just loves political arguments, currently living in Buenos Aires, made a rare concession. He’s usually so…Click here to read.

Is the US steel tariff ‘entirely’ unjustified?

Nick Hossack 14 March 2025 10:23 am

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese characterised the US steel tariff to be imposed on Australia as ‘entirely unjustified’. That might be…

Dutton and Abbott have got Ukraine wrong, not Trump

Nick Hossack 21 February 2025 3:00 am

Peter Dutton has said that Trump is wrong on Ukraine, while Tony Abbott has claimed that the US President is…

Dutton should sound out Miranda Devine to be Washington Ambassador

Nick Hossack 11 February 2025 10:37 pm

The news that Australia does not get an exemption from Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs is a failure of the…

Support for Trump’s Gaza plan will soon emerge

Nick Hossack 10 February 2025 11:57 am

Donald Trump’s proposal to own and rebuild Gaza has been criticised by every expert and the Arab nations in the…

Muddying the waters on interest rates

Nick Hossack 30 January 2025 3:20 pm

‘Muddying the waters’ is a common strategy in politics. It entails finding a key fact or piece of information that…

Deep inside the Sydney protest

Nick Hossack 9 October 2024 11:12 pm

I’m not sure why I felt an obligation – perhaps because I’m now residing within easy walking distance of Hyde…

No stairs. Is this another example of the government trying to kill us?

Nick Hossack 3 October 2024 1:29 am

At a function a few weeks ago, a NSW bureaucrat told me that he had woken up early to catch…

Not just the RBA, Chalmers at odds with the ABS

Nick Hossack 10 August 2024 1:22 am

My guess is that Treasurer Jim Chalmers is wondering if he’s kicked an own goal by pushing through structural changes…

Why was the crowd booing?

Nick Hossack 6 August 2024 2:53 am

The Police and Citizens Youth Club in Woolloomooloo opened in 1937 and was the original club in the network of…

Would tinkering with the banking system help first home buyers?

Nick Hossack 30 July 2024 1:00 am

There is a simple and free way to observe a fascinating yet little-known aspect of Australia’s banking system. By browsing…

Results are in: don’t date Woke

Nick Hossack 14 June 2024 7:59 am

It was an odd choice of venue, but I accepted it, perhaps the invitation was meant ironically, a joke, something…

Julian Assange: when two contradictory things are both true

Nick Hossack 10 June 2024 2:30 am

This is my contribution to Alexandra Marshall’s challenge on Julian Assange… In the last year or so I’ve had a…

Are the new weight loss drugs headed for listing on the PBS?

Nick Hossack 5 June 2024 2:45 am

Ever since Covid, I’ve avoided making reference to the World Health Organisation (WHO) given how wrong it seemed to be…

How long before laughter is grounds for cancellation?

Nick Hossack 24 May 2024 9:33 am

Jerry Seinfeld is not just a practitioner of comedy, he’s become a philosopher of the profession and he’s arguing that…

Rigid principles can lead to manic delusion

Nick Hossack 15 May 2024 3:00 am

For years I’ve played this game with a good mate, that is, to see who can simplify their life the…

Forced divestiture is better than expanding regulation

Nick Hossack 19 April 2024 1:00 am

‘Muddying the waters’ is one of the cleverer and more effective tools deployed by public relations advisers. The method involves…

Health insurers experiment with nine-day fortnights

Nick Hossack 26 March 2024 10:21 am

It is reported that health insurer BUPA is ‘trialling’ a nine-day fortnight for its staff, meaning it is looking to…

Australian banks need to be making much bigger losses on their lending

Nick Hossack 18 March 2024 2:30 am

At a recent event I met and had a long chat with a retired economist who, in his professional career,…

The 30th anniversary of ABS gender pay gap data

Nick Hossack 7 March 2024 1:57 am

Gender pay gap activists have had an exciting few weeks, especially with the new statistics showing these gaps at the…

Should ANZ be allowed to buy Suncorp Bank?

Nick Hossack 1 March 2024 7:34 pm

As I’m writing this article, I have one eye on the ANZ share price. I’ve watched it drop more than…

Medicinal cannabis and government licensing

Nick Hossack 28 February 2024 3:00 am

One of the more insidious aspects of government involvement in commercial markets is the practice of supplier licensing. As entrepreneurs…

Take the lollies away: defund UNRWA

Nick Hossack 19 February 2024 3:00 am

A few weeks back, I observed a pretty sad scene down at the local shops. A mother was holding out…

Applying Javier Milei’s ideas to banking regulation in Australia

Nick Hossack 31 January 2024 2:30 am

There is a series of sentences in Javier Milei’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which are…

The café owner and the public servant

Nick Hossack 25 January 2024 2:00 am

What I thought was going to be an irritation turned out to be a source of admiration. Even inspiration. At…

What happened to Labor’s two big election promises?

Nick Hossack 21 January 2024 2:00 am

The two most notable Labor promises before the May 2022 election involved ‘getting wages moving again’ and the promise to…

How to protect yourself against risk

Nick Hossack 15 January 2024 3:00 am

A formative incident for me happened when I was 25 while travelling through Turkey with a backpack. The British owner…

A splinter in life

Nick Hossack 9 January 2024 4:00 am

My feet had become so white and feminine that I committed myself to walk around barefoot as much as I…

King Charles vs Ayn Rand

Nick Hossack 3 January 2024 1:50 am

Is it only the political movement of Climate Change in which we need to be wary of King Charles III,…

A teetotal Parliament House?

Nick Hossack 30 December 2023 2:01 am

Christmas seems a good time to bring up alcohol. Having recently moved to Manly, I am now living near the…

Albanese government: highest taxing since 1959!

Nick Hossack 19 December 2023 12:15 am

What I’m about to say is probably not fair, but I’ll say it anyway. When working in party politics, you…

Is the RBA’s 2-3 per cent inflation target still being taken seriously?

Nick Hossack 12 December 2023 1:24 am

Promises need timeframes, otherwise they are just empty words. If your friend tells you they are doing a diet, you…

Does the ABS partner violence survey fall short?

Nick Hossack 28 November 2023 4:00 am

Since the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its publication on partner violence, the widely reported statistic is that one…

Wokeism complicates the raising of kids

Nick Hossack 20 September 2023 4:30 am

One of the dilemmas raising children in an era when Wokeism dominates every institution is whether to bluntly express your…

Nick Hossack 21 August 2023 5:30 am

Warren Buffett once got into trouble with a joke that touched on the matter of sexual consent. He was lucky…

The Spectator Australia

What the K’gari dingoes need

What did the election result say about Australia?

Be suspicious when you hear the words 'no evidence'

I recommend not walking the Camino de Santiago