Stuart Ballantyne

Dear God! It’s 2028

5 July 2025 2:07 am

Stuart Ballantyne imagines a conversation with a higher power

Unshackling the Greens’ legacy

27 May 2025 2:33 pm

There was a boatyard near the Southport Yacht club. Like hundreds of boatyards around the nation, it served as a…

A tale of two island nations

28 April 2025 3:10 pm

An old Pastor told me decades ago, ‘People should focus on what they do have, not what they don’t have.’…

Albo back? Time to leave!

7 April 2025 1:59 am

A Scottish migrant ponders where we should go if Albo is re-elected

Eight sources of exasperation

18 March 2025 12:24 pm

Who could believe that 160 years ago, on the mighty Murray River, 2,000 bales of wool were carried on wooden…

Essential steps to making Australia great again

19 February 2025 1:56 pm

Early and evasive action: The ABC As Ross Cameron was a bike-riding friend of Tony Abbott, I rang him just…

Boosting defence quickly and cheaply

9 February 2025 11:19 am

Indulge yourself with a fascinating read of Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson’s 1911 recommendation for the protection of Australia’s coast. The…

A ferry tale

24 January 2025 11:58 am

Attempting to sell one of my ‘world’s best ferry designs’ in the 1990s to a local but prominent ferry company,…

Renewable energy finally sails off into the past

10 January 2025 3:04 pm

Being a Scottish sailor in the 1960s and 70s, I had more than a passing interest in fine looking ships,…

Ocean of peace in a world of war

8 December 2024 7:04 am

As a consequence of my Scottish Jewish heritage, I only read a newspaper if it is free. Since Covid, newspapers…

Therapy Tips for film stars and singers

26 November 2024 6:08 am

What is it about movie celebrities (those who are highly skilled in pretending to be other people in pretend situations),…

Chalk and cheese

31 October 2024 12:43 am

Treading the thin line between Harris and Trump supporters on the US West Coast

Navigating disastrous DEI

14 October 2024 11:40 am

So impressed with the Samoans’ numerous canoes and their great skills in handling them, French Admiral Louis de Bougainville named…

Contagiously enthusiastic! Come to Queensland

5 October 2024 1:31 am

Stuart Ballantyne is seeking the few remaining positive people for a coffee

Welcome to Country!

20 August 2024 8:00 pm

Stuart Ballantyne explains why the Human Rights Commission should be chasing him

Marine industry leading the nuclear transition

3 July 2024 12:05 am

‘Hagar, I can’t get to sleep for thinking about her…!’ declared Lucky Eddie to his Commander. ‘I can even concentrate,…

The West is waste-deep in self-made treacle

24 June 2024 2:30 am

Unkind critics used to say I had to visit Scotland for re-training after reportedly buying two beers in the same…

Open all hours! Australia’s north is in big trouble

9 May 2024 12:01 am

Stuart Ballantyne views Australia’s dismal military protection

Record business collapses… I am not surprised

30 April 2024 3:00 am

This is not the first time Australians have abandoned their dreams

Thank the Greens for a national crime surge

9 April 2024 2:15 am

‘You must realise,’ my mother said sternly, so close to my face that I thought she was examining my teeth,…

Floating nuclear power plants make a compelling argument

2 April 2024 3:00 am

About 20 years ago, a seat-warming Senator came out of hiding and declared his thought bubble that Australia’s coast was…

Puppet masters of the ALP: UN communist thugs and the militant Unions

9 March 2024 11:58 am

Ocean Island, Central Pacific, 1964. Standing on a plank stage hanging off the side of a ship with another cadet,…

‘Weather’ you like it or not

16 January 2024 3:00 am

The standard preamble to all marine weather bulletins is: ‘Welcome to the marine weather report. Please be aware that wind…

Thank you, Sir Paul McCartney

20 November 2023 4:00 am

We were all delighted to see our old friend Bill. After 27 years of globetrotting, this happy soul joined a…

‘Our ABC’ was, and still is, a disgrace

25 September 2023 4:30 am

Almost all my friends with daughters, have convinced me that girls need never go to drama college, as acting is…