Weekly Roundup – Top Articles & Commentary (Week 34, 2025)

 

Here are links to some selected articles of interest and our posts from this week; -

• Autopen Bombshell: Levin Warns It Could Explode Pardons
• China Buys the Farm and the Port Too
  
• How Australia's Immigration Policy is Strangling Productivity
  

We welcome all feedback, so please feel free to submit your comments or communicate with me via email at grappysb@gmail.com or @grappysb on X.

How Australia’s Immigration Policy is Strangling Productivity

Australia's immigration system is broken, and it's dragging down our productivity. The government is holding a productivity roundtable to find strategies to stop the long decline in productivity, but immigration is conspicuously absent from the agenda. This oversight is not just an omission; it's a deliberate blind spot.

The Immigration Disconnect

Leith Van Onselen, Chief Economist for MacroBusiness, has been vocal about the government's mismanagement of immigration. He points out that while immigration doesn't necessarily lower productivity, Australia is importing low-skilled migrants. This influx places immense stress on our infrastructure and increases the burden on the existing workforce. The result? Over the past three years, household wealth has been decreasing.

The government's claim that it would run a smaller and less temporary immigration program has proven false. In reality, Australia's immigration program is larger and more temporary than ever. The numbers speak for themselves.

The Productivity Roundtable: A Missed Opportunity

The current roundtable discussions are focusing on areas like tax reform, AI, and regulation. However, they are neglecting the elephant in the room: immigration. This oversight is a classic example of how politics in Australia is more about serving vested interests than addressing the national interest.

Critics argue that this approach is akin to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Without addressing the root cause—mismanaged immigration policies—the government's productivity initiatives are doomed to fail.

A Call for Real Reform

It's time for a serious rethink. Australia needs an immigration system that prioritises the skills we actually need, rather than continuing to import low-skilled labor that exacerbates our productivity problems. Until this fundamental issue is addressed, any talk of boosting productivity is just smoke and mirrors.

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Relevant Graphs:

1. Labour Productivity Comparison (Australia vs. US):

   Source: MacroBusiness

   
   
   

   Description: This graph illustrates the stagnation of Australia's labour productivity since 2015 compared to the consistent growth in the United States.

2. GDP, Productivity, and Immigration Trends:

   Source: MacroBusiness

   

   
   

   Description: This chart shows the inverse relationship between Australia's GDP per capita growth and immigration rates, highlighting the negative impact of high immigration on productivity.

3. Household Wealth Decline:

   Source: Butler CA

   
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Description: These diagrams depict the decline in Australian household net wealth over recent years,  with the strain on infrastructure due to high immigration

China Buys the Farm, and the Port Too

Source: https://www.themainewire.com/2024/05/new-map-breaks-down-chinese-ownership-of-farmland-by-state/

When a country allows foreign state-owned companies to buy up its farmland and ports, it isn’t just “foreign investment.” It’s strategy. And not ours.

The Epoch Times reports that CCP-linked Chinese companies now own hundreds of thousands of acres of US farmland, in some cases right next to military bases. Think about that for a second: Beijing won’t let a single acre of Chinese soil fall into foreign hands, but it’s perfectly happy to plant its flag on US farmland. And Washington has been letting it happen.

The concerns are obvious. Farmland isn’t just about crops. It’s about food security, control of supply chains, and potential leverage over rural economies. Add the proximity to sensitive sites—some purchases right next door to airbases and defense facilities—and you don’t need to be paranoid to see the risk. As one US legislator put it, “You don’t let your adversary buy the farm across from your missile silos.”

Now shift the spotlight to Australia. We’ve been an even easier target. For years, Chinese companies have been buying up farmland and mining assets with little resistance. Worse still was the 2015 decision to lease the Port of Darwin to a Chinese company for 99 years. Ninety-nine years! Longer than Hong Kong’s colonial lease.

During the election campaign, Anthony Albanese promised action. He talked tough about reviewing the Darwin deal. Yet since taking office? Silence. Not a word. No urgency. No plan.

So let’s ask the obvious question: Why are Western countries letting China do what China itself forbids?

This isn’t about racism, markets, or free trade. It’s about sovereignty. Food and infrastructure aren’t just assets on a balance sheet—they are national lifelines. To allow a geopolitical rival to control them is either naivety, complacency, or wilful blindness.

China plays the long game. Every acre, every port lease, every mine is a piece on the board. And while Beijing locks up its own soil from outside ownership, we’re selling ours with a smile.

Unless our leaders wake up, we may find ourselves discovering—too late—that the farm, the mines, and even the ports have already been sold.

Autopen Bombshell: Levins Warns it Could Explode Pardons

In his latest Life, Liberty & Levin segment, Mark Levin pulls no punches: the Biden autopen controversy isn’t just political theatre—it’s a looming constitutional crisis with real, explosive consequences. (see Video below)

Levin’s Core Warning: This Isn’t Over

Levin argues the autopen scandal threatens the legitimacy of a multitude of executive actions—especially pardons. If the system that affixes the president’s name is misused, every document it touches may be subject to legal and public scrutiny. It’s a ticking time bomb for anyone who thought their clemency was untouchable.

The autopen scandal isn’t contained—it’s a dormant fuse. Once investigations reveal how broadly it was used—and by whom—every pardon becomes a potential legal liability.

Why This Matters—And Why It’s Dangerous

Why It Matters: Why	y It’s Dangerous
Pardons Could Be Undermined–If issued via autopen without explicit presidential approval, they may face challenges.	Legal Uncertainty–Once the feds or Congress start probing claims of invalid execution, expect chaos.
Presidential Authority in Question–Levin highlights how power isn’t just about name—it’s about intent and oversight.	Long-Term Fallout–This isn’t disappearing fast. Legal battles could stretch for years.

Pulse Check on the Fallout

Legal analysts and Wall Street Journal-style experts note that once pardons are granted—even via autopen—they typically can’t be reversed. (Wall Street Journal) Yet Levin underscores the political and constitutional Pandora’s box this has opened. Whether or not the clemency stands, the court of public opinion and ongoing probes are heating up fast.

Final Word: A Quiet Crisis Turning Loud

Mark Levin isn’t predicting a scandal—he’s declaring one. This isn’t just ink on paper; it’s power, process, and precedent all at risk. For anyone relying on autopen-issued pardons—especially those believing they’re bulletproof—Levin’s warning should hit like a drill: you’ve been standing in the blast zone.

https://youtu.be/EiJSY-Mb7Tk?si=acSMmUysNuV17oK9 

Ivermectin, Cancer & Censorship: When "Horse Dewormer" becomes a "Cancer Cure"

Remember when ivermectin was all anyone could talk about during the pandemic? One moment, it was dismissed as a “horse dewormer” and relentlessly demonized. The next, it’s quietly being investigated for cancer. The hypocrisy is shameless!

I caught the video “Ivermectin and Cancers” by Dr. John Campbell, and it lays out the facts clearly: ivermectin isn’t some new miracle drug—it's a decades-old antiparasitic that suddenly got trashed when COVID hit. Yet dozens of studies now suggest it might induce cancer cell death via mechanisms like apoptosis, autophagy, and disrupting tumor pathways. Lab and animal research show real promise—in prostate, glioblastoma, breast, and pancreatic cancers.

Here are the cold, hard truths:

1. Millions have taken ivermectin safely for parasites—most notably in developing countries—yet suddenly it became toxic when COVID struck.

2. Claims of it being "horse paste" were never about public health—they were about controlling the narrative, probably to protect Big Pharma's vaccine and drug market.

3. Now that doctors are exploring its anticancer potential, it's safe and hopeful again. Convenient.

This isn’t just inconsistent—it’s corrupt.

It’s undeniable there's scientific merit in further exploring ivermectin’s potential. But that exploration—like any other medical advance—should be driven by evidence, not ideology. Yet, during the pandemic, virtually any off-brand solution was attacked faster than you could say “side effect.” Those same gatekeepers are now silent, letting expensive, experimental treatments dominate while cheap, accessible options get buried.

At the end of the day, we should be rooting for any drug that offers genuine hope for cancer patients. But we need transparency, open inquiry, and honesty. Not censorship masquerading as safety.