John Quiggin - Australia's lone social democratic blogger?

Marxist historian Humphrey McQueen argues that the Australian Labor Party was never 'social democratic' in any meaningful sense and perhaps this is why if you are searching for an explicitly social democratic perspective from an Australian blogger, you won't end up in a blogsite of some ALP leader but rather at that of John Quiggin, the outspoken economist. Another Australian economist of social-democratic leaning is Kenneth Davidson. I don't think he blogs - yet - but his regular columns for the Age are worth reading.

Quiggin's blog - which is five years old (making him an Australian blog veteran) - takes up the discussion on the Mulrunji death in custody case and Howard's intervention into Aboriginal remote communities in the Northern Territory and his post reflects the desperation of many Australian intellectuals when it comes to the gross shame that is the plight of Indigenous Australians today.

At least in one respect, John Howard’s announcement of a federal takeover of indigenous settlements is good news. Having taken such a drastic step, Howard can’t escape the obligation to deliver substantial improvements in outcomes, regardless of the cost. And, having endorsed the broad thrust of the measures, Kevin Rudd, should he be the next PM, is under the same obligation.

But Quiggin is challenged in the comments on his post. Worth a read.