Democracy Dies in the Dark: Why Transparency Matters More Than Political Convenience

When NSW Police launched Strike Force Tuohy against protesters in 2021, the publicly stated justification was ‘public safety’.[1] In contrast, a Freedom of Information request revealed a different priority: a senior Deputy Commissioner explicitly noting ‘continuing engagement’ with the very coal corporations the protesters were targeting.[2] Yet, the actual content of those discussions, which might […]

Making the Invisible Visible: Why We Must Protect the Right to Protest

Seeing images of protest is how many of us learn about Australia’s iconic moments of progress. The 1972 Aboriginal Tent Embassy. The 1971 Springboks rugby anti-apartheid protests. The 2019 School Strike for Climate rallies. We laud them as signals of our egalitarian and democratic traditions; proof that our society not only listens to diverse voices, […]

Why are Australia’s intelligence agencies talking about diversity?

When we think of a typical intelligence officer, one person often comes to mind: James Bond. Bond, alongside his counterparts Jason Bourne and Jack Ryan, reflects the common stereotype of the 21st century spy: white, male, athletic, and good with both weapons and women. The mythology surrounding Bond has leant intelligence work a sexy, thrilling […]

History shows evicting people from tents won’t solve Queensland’s housing crisis

This year local governments in South East Queensland have made it a crime to camp in public parks. Council officers (or subcontractors) have dismantled makeshift shelters, confiscated belongings, and issued fines to people already living on the edge. It’s a familiar scene playing out across Queensland, as local governments struggle to manage the visible fallout […]

Melbourne’s Public Housing Towers

Last week, a Parliamentary Inquiry halted Homes Victoria’s plans to ‘retire and replace’ Melbourne’s 44 ageing public housing towers.[1] This controversial part of the Big Housing Build was announced in September 2023 after the hard lockdown of nine public housing towers in July 2020. The sudden lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic attracted immediate national attention. […]

Beyond Bonegilla: A Call to Remember Australia’s Former Migrant Camps

Australia is well practiced in commemorating military history. Anzac Day and Remembrance Day both act as rituals of national memorialisation for the many Australians who have served in wars and peacekeeping missions, and the Australian War Memorial’s “places of pride” online national register provides a map of all the war memorials across Australia. Thousands of […]

Reusing, reworking and rewearing: Fashion circularity

This is one of a series of articles on Circular Economy by Lorinda Cramer and Deborah Lee-Talbot, published for #WorldEnvironmentDay 2025 As community repair groups and repair cafés spring up around Australia, a grassroots movement to decelerate our throwaway culture and divert goods from landfill grows.[1] From furniture to televisions to toys, repairers give our […]

‘Bean Thinking Green – How Australians are Slow-Sipping Their Way Into a Circular Economy’

This is one of a series of articles on Circular Economy by Lorinda Cramer and Deborah Lee-Talbot, published for #WorldEnvironmentDay 2025 Tumble out of bed and stumble to the cafe, order myself a cup of…circular economy ambition? This version of Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” may not be as toe-tappin’ as the original, yet […]

No Worries, No Waste: Australia’s contribution to the global circular economy

This is one of a series of articles on Circular Economy by Lorinda Cramer and Deborah Lee-Talbot, published for #WorldEnvironmentDay 2025 First used in 1953 by the American economist Howard Bowen, the term “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR) acknowledges the growing social power of organisations.[1] Typically, CSR manifests as corporations “giving back”, a process that has […]

Book review: On Xi Jinping

Kevin Rudd, On Xi Jinping. How Xi’s Marxist Nationalism is Shaping China and the World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024) In On Xi Jinping, a work based upon his PhD research, Kevin Rudd has provided perhaps the most thorough account yet available of the rise to dominance in China of Xi Jinping’s ideological thinking. […]

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