Martin Hirst

• Dr Martin Hirst is a journalist and author.

  Martin’s career in journalism began in 1975. He also taught journalism for over 20 years.

  Martin Hirst also blogs at Ethical Martini and is active on social media @ethicalmartini.

Articles written by Martin Hirst (180)

• 15 March 2023 | 'Red Alerts', the spectre of communism and the cold winds of war
• 11 February 2023 | Voice Referendum: Vote 'YES' with no illusions
• 23 May 2022 | Election result a victory for the popular Left, despite what you may hear
• 13 May 2022 | Victorian Socialists — the invisible campaign
• 24 November 2021 | Peaceful protesters reject Far-Right violence
• 18 November 2021 | The Far-Right in Melbourne presents a clear danger to democracy
• 15 October 2021 | Pro-vax, pro-union, anti-fascist: Three things to be proud of
• 10 October 2021 | Coalition overreach: Twitter is not the problem
• 1 October 2021 | From fascism to farce to the next election
• 17 September 2021 | Leigh Sales' bullying claims don't stack up
• 12 September 2021 | Publishers lose High Court appeal in Dylan Voller defamation case
• 24 August 2021 | Freedom protesters and Craig Kelly central to Morrison’s re-election plan
• 1 July 2021 | Scott Morrison will cling on till the bitter end
• 25 March 2021 | Parliament House has become a cesspool and Morrison is blocking the drain
• 22 January 2021 | Biden Administration will start by cleaning up Trump's legacy of hate
• 3 January 2021 | #1 TOP IA STORY OF 2020: America could be heading towards a second civil war
• 23 November 2020 | Senate media diversity inquiry may be ineffective against Murdoch empire
• 16 November 2020 | For most Americans, the Trump nightmare is nearly over
• 5 November 2020 | Biden edges closer – Trump looks weak – after closer than predicted U.S. Election
• 5 November 2020 | EDITORIAL: Biden confident, while Trump declares victory (or fraud)
• 2 November 2020 | Criminalising criticism of Israel is not anti-racism
• 16 October 2020 | A Joe Biden victory is important for progressive politics
• 5 October 2020 | Trump’s October surprise: The U.S. Election takes an unexpected turn
• 14 September 2020 | America could be heading towards a second Civil War
• 25 June 2020 | Staff and unions need to take up the fight for the ABC
• 16 June 2020 | Should we save our ABC?
• 2 June 2020 | Transparency called for in fossil fuel-stacked COVID-19 Commission
• 28 May 2020 | Neoliberalism is dashing all hopes of a post-COVID-19 utopia
• 15 May 2020 | University staff pressuring government in a fight for their jobs
• 23 April 2020 | Returning to schools is a question of safety
• 14 April 2020 | Saving the economy or lives: The new neoliberal 'debate'
• 3 April 2020 | Politics and the pandemic: COVID-19 could cause an outbreak of socialism
• 24 March 2020 | The politics of a pandemic: When Scott Morrison lost the plot
• 17 March 2020 | Coronavirus: Preparing, not panicking
• 4 March 2020 | Dutton and the conservative extremists: Civil disobedience is not terrorism
• 10 February 2020 | What next for Donald Trump?
• 30 January 2020 | Scott Morrison’s political recovery falls flat
• 24 January 2020 | How 'Dark Emu' upset the Right-wing media
• 12 December 2019 | UK Election could be closer than you think
• 9 December 2019 | Truth and lies and Angus Taylor
• 29 November 2019 | Scott Morrison's impenetrable Canberra bubble
• 20 November 2019 | What the quiet Australians will get from the Morrison Government
• 13 November 2019 | Liar, liar, the bush is on fire
• 9 November 2019 | Election review: There is no light on the hill for Labor
• 25 October 2019 | The Morrison Government is stupid and cruel, but I’m not giving in to it
• 14 September 2019 | The Morrison Government: It’s no longer funny
• 8 August 2019 | A long way to go in the struggle for Hong Kong
• 4 August 2019 | Trump, Johnson and Morrison: Clown or horror show?
• 21 July 2019 | Trump versus the Democratic 'squad': A battle for America's soul
• 18 July 2019 | Why I’m not signing up to demand the Government legislate press freedom laws
• 11 July 2019 | I will not let Scott Morrison turn me into a junkie
• 5 May 2019 | Will there be any candidates left in this Election?
• 26 April 2019 | The Twitter wars: Mainstream media v fifth estate
• 23 April 2019 | Election 2019: The Canberra bubble show
• 13 April 2019 | What the 'Communist Manifesto' says about climate change
• 3 April 2019 | Policing 'fake' news: Who decides?
• 26 March 2019 | Morrison changes tack on 'toxic tribalism' but stays on message
• 21 March 2019 | Don’t blame social media for the rise of Nazi shooters
• 1 March 2019 | Deal or no deal: Why is Brexit so hard?
• 25 February 2019 | Is the Morrison Government corrupt?
• 15 February 2019 | Tim Wilson clings to his seat – for now
• 30 December 2018 | #4 TOP IA STORY OF 2018: A Chinese base in Vanuatu — or a Fairfax beat-up?
• 21 September 2018 | Dutton survives — thanks to his own vote
• 7 September 2018 | From Bannon to Chemnitz — it’s right to “no platform” neo-Nazis
• 3 September 2018 | Morrison's first week looks just as bad as the week before
• 26 August 2018 | Fascism: Are we there yet?
• 19 August 2018 | Fascism claims another victim: Snowflake tantrum over misjudged tweet
• 15 August 2018 | EXCLUSIVE: Sleeping Giants awake and rise up against Sky and News Corp
• 12 August 2018 | EXCLUSIVE: Tony Burke talks to IA: Labor to keep up pressure over Reefgate
• 9 August 2018 | #Reefgate: GBRF plans to hold onto its $443 million lottery win
• 5 August 2018 | Malcolm Bligh hits a Reef: Turnbull's coal half billion handout may sink PM
• 29 July 2018 | Super Saturday results: Malcolm’s bye-bye election?
• 27 July 2018 | Do you have Trump Derangement Syndrome? It really is deplorable!
• 20 July 2018 | Racist dogwhistling over African gangs proves Turnbull is a hollow man
• 15 July 2018 | On Disruption: An insider’s view of the collapse of journalism
• 5 July 2018 | ​Canberra Press Gallery black bans Nauru forum coverage (except for News Corp)
• 29 June 2018 | Politicians, privacy and the Canberra class war 'ballyhoo'
• 24 June 2018 | The democracy deficit — it’s an economic problem, too
• 16 June 2018 | Full Nuremburg: Trump versus the American news media
• 13 June 2018 | The Singapore summit: Chaos is the new normal
• 10 June 2018 | Resisting Leviathan: Why I’m a rebel
• 4 June 2018 | Joyce and Campion's cash-for-comment TV exclusive a dud
• 2 June 2018 | 'Nasty, brutish and short': Hobbes and the Coalition’s politics of exclusion
• 12 May 2018 | Australia cannot afford another Turnbull-Morrison budget
• 8 May 2018 | Budget 2018: Dodgy accounting and even dodgier politics
• 2 May 2018 | Trump and the news establishment: Michelle Wolf deserves a Pulitzer Prize
• 24 April 2018 | Malcolm Turnbull's ministerial protection racket
• 13 April 2018 | Neither Washington nor Moscow — nor more war in Syria
• 12 April 2018 | A Chinese military base in Vanuatu — or another Fairfax beat-up?
• 9 April 2018 | Malcolm Turnbull's 30 days on Newspoll death row
• 23 February 2018 | BEETROOTED! Barnaby the beetrorter says 'This is rooted!' and beats it
• 17 February 2018 | Defiant Joyce calls Turnbull’s bluff in #Bonkgate soap opera
• 11 February 2018 | Malcolm Turnbull's winningest first week back
• 28 December 2017 | #6 TOP IA STORY OF 2017: Pell charges and the law of sub judice: Beware of being in contempt!
• 19 November 2017 | Alliance time? Greens unseat Labor in historic Northcote by-election landslide
• 28 October 2017 | The Code is clear: Outing a corrupt source is a journalist’s duty
• 27 October 2017 | Cash does Turnbull no credit — so why is she not a spent force?
• 23 August 2017 | Public Interest Journalism Inquiry: Xenophon accuses Google of bullying
• 17 August 2017 | No certainty on marriage equality plebiscite, but a 'Yes' vote is crucial
• 16 August 2017 | Independent Australia in the Press Gallery
• 16 August 2017 | EDITORIAL: Marriage Equality — Oppose the plebiscite and vote “Yes”
• 8 August 2017 | Turnbull takes a dive for his conservative colleagues on marriage equality
• 3 August 2017 | EXCLUSIVE: Retail ISPs say NBN pricing model must change
• 14 July 2017 | Truffles, Canavan, Kelly and McSween shine in Australia's galah week of stupid
• 11 July 2017 | Let’s take Donald Trump’s tweeting seriously
• 7 July 2017 | Cardinal: The story of abuse, cover-up and arrogance in the Catholic Church
• 30 June 2017 | Pell charges and the law of sub judice: Beware of being in contempt!
• 27 June 2017 | Where is Australia's Jeremy Corbyn?
• 15 May 2017 | IA Budget Week Canberra Press Gallery reporting
• 13 May 2017 | Women lose in 2017 Budget
• 11 May 2017 | Budget 2017: A budget for 'lifters' and 'leaners'
• 10 May 2017 | The cost of Trumble's role as little brother-in-arms to Big Brother Trump
• 9 May 2017 | #Budget2017IA: The future tax con job
• 28 April 2017 | IA EXCLUSIVE: French presidential election: Fascism and how to fight it
• 27 April 2017 | Syria: The new front line in a potentially global conflict (WW3 - Part Two)
• 21 April 2017 | Are we already fighting World War 3?
• 26 March 2017 | Amending the Racial Discrimination Act: Making bigotry great again!
• 22 March 2017 | New media rules will do little to improve diversity in news and current affairs
• 19 March 2017 | Media Sauce: Turnbull Earth Hour? What killed Bill Leak? Break unjust laws?
• 10 March 2017 | ABC MD Michelle Guthrie faces difficult few weeks, says Quentin Dempster
• 3 March 2017 | Media Sauce: Malcolm Turnbull wedged by s18C, the Hard Right and NewsCorpse
• 24 February 2017 | Media Sauce: Global report shows we don’t trust elites or institutions
• 17 February 2017 | Eaten Fish is dying: What are we doing about it?
• 10 February 2017 | Media Sauce: Where’s BLeak when it comes to #FreeSpeech for cartoonists?
• 3 February 2017 | Media Sauce: How should the news media report Trump's presidency?
• 31 January 2017 | EXCLUSIVE: RAC condemns Turnbull's Trump #MuslimBan 'complicity'
• 27 January 2017 | Confessions of a gay Muslim Trump supporter
• 20 January 2017 | Media Sauce: #Trumpistan — where to find the real and unreal news on Trump
• 13 January 2017 | Media Sauce: Who to believe of Trump's #goldenshowers and honeytraps
• 6 January 2017 | Can #Fizza Turnbull make it to the end of the year?
• 22 December 2016 | Turnbull hangs on to the keys of the Lodge — but only just
• 16 December 2016 | Media Sauce: What's wrong with journalism today?
• 9 December 2016 | Media Sauce: Post-truth news from #Pizzagate to the Pontiff's poo missive
• 2 December 2016 | Media Sauce: Parallels between Orwell's 1984 and Murdoch 'hate media'
• 25 November 2016 | Media Sauce: Putting criticism of the ABC into perspective
• 23 November 2016 | Is Michelle Guthrie remaking the ABC in Murdoch’s image?
• 18 November 2016 | ABC staff union and friends say honeymoon over for Michelle Guthrie
• 17 November 2016 | Media Sauce: Fake news, electing Trump and more ABC-bashing
• 13 November 2016 | Trump is no joke but his mighty white friends will have you rolling in the aisles
• 11 November 2016 | Media Sauce: Double standards to doubling down at The Oz on 18C
• 8 November 2016 | Trigger warning: Truth goes down the News Corp memory hole
• 3 November 2016 | Media Sauce: Why is The Australian fixated on 18C?
• 31 October 2016 | Dear Ms Grace Collier
• 27 October 2016 | Media Sauce: Murdoch's sleazy Fake Sheikh gets his own taste of 'porridge'
• 24 October 2016 | Memo to the Fizza: Always bring a gun to a fist-fight
• 19 October 2016 | Media Sauce: When too much media reform is barely enough
• 12 October 2016 | Media Sauce: Was Chris Mitchell running the country?
• 8 October 2016 | Watch This Space: Jacqui Lambie says an Abbott return would be ‘stupid’
• 5 October 2016 | Media Sauce: Is public broadcasting about to die?
• 1 October 2016 | Watch This Space: Doc Martin on fascists, patriots, reclaimers and thugs
• 28 September 2016 | Hillary beats Trump in round one of never-ending presidential prize fight
• 24 September 2016 | Watch this Space: Doc Martin on the Tele's gaffe, Pauline Pantsdown, RAAF
• 21 September 2016 | What’s happening in Syria?
• 17 September 2016 | Watch this Space: Doc Martin on sale of ASIC, ABC bias and celebs Deb 'n Tarsh!
• 14 September 2016 | Welcome home Fizza: Turnbull returns to troubled days in Parliament
• 10 September 2016 | Watch This Space: Doc Martin on media reform bill — business as usual?
• 3 September 2016 | Watch This Space: Doc Martin picks over this week's 18C and Safe Schools bunkum
• 30 August 2016 | Turbulence ahead for Fizza Turnbull in 45th Parliament
• 28 August 2016 | Fairfax, News Corp and bleeding the ink out of newspapers
• 14 August 2016 | Turnbull v Whitlam: Who is/was Australia's worst PM?
• 31 May 2016 | Is Turnbull edging closer to catastrophe with latest polls and demise of his loyalists?
• 30 May 2016 | Can Labor win? It ain’t gonna be easy but it ain’t impossible either
• 25 June 2015 | Hands off the ABC: Turnbull should resign his commission
• 24 June 2015 | Zaky Mallah and the bluster and BS from Abbott and his Newscorp drones
• 15 June 2015 | Paying people smugglers: News Corp covers up for Abbott on story of the year
• 13 June 2015 | Is The Sun king on his way out?
• 10 June 2015 | Politicising human rights — what a terrible thing to do
• 1 June 2015 | Tony Abbott: The 'selfie' PM
• 27 April 2015 | SBS Scott McIntyre sacking: How News Corpse killed free speech to protect war
• 2 March 2015 | Plugging Abbott's leaks: Bedwetters in the NewsCorpse bunker
• 9 February 2015 | Abbocolypse Now: Zombie PM's days are numbered
• 9 February 2015 | The media and the #Libspill: Covering themselves in glory?
• 2 February 2015 | Press Gallery stars in Abbott’s National Press Club match
• 12 January 2015 | Wake up Charlies: Why these world leaders are a threat to you
• 13 November 2014 | The Russians are coming!
• 16 October 2014 | Getting the notes for Sharri Markson
• 13 October 2014 | Secret agent Sharri uncovers seditious academics not praising the Sun King
• 26 September 2014 | #HeyASIO: Is it me you're looking for?
• 24 September 2014 | Australia's meek media: Why giving more powers to spies and cops is dumb
• 2 April 2017 | Rejoining the Canberra Press Gallery: How it happened and what it means