Opinion Pieces | Page 4 | Australian Policy and History Network

A few historical reflections on the 2019 elections

By Dr Christopher Waters, Deakin University Since 1914 only one Labour government has won power in an election from Opposition promising a broad-ranging reform program: the Whitlam government in 1972. The Curtin government came to power in 1941 when the cross benches changed their votes in the very special circumstances of the war. Two other […]

Yes, progress has been made: two cheers for science

Opinion – By Dr Richard Trembath Each piece, or part, of the whole of nature is always merely an approximation to the complete truth, or the complete truth so far as we know it . . .The principle of science, the definition, almost, is the following: The test of all knowledge is experiment. Experiment is […]

Soil Salinity in Australia: A Slow Motion Crisis

By Andrea Gaynor and Keith Bradby Sweeping the salt under the carpet Dryland salinity in Western Australia’s agricultural areas is now estimated to directly affect up to 2 million hectares and cost over half a billion dollars a year in lost agricultural production. With few exceptions, the south-west’s rivers also suffer from […]

Commemorators-in-Chief: How Politicians Appropriated Anzac Commemoration

Last week the Commonwealth announced that it would be spending $498 million over nine years to redevelop the Australian War Memorial. The renovation will increase the exhibition space by more than 80 per cent and provide room for military hardware like Chinook helicopters and jet fighters from recent conflicts. Announcing the project, Prime Minister Scott […]

Homelessness, Policy and the Media: How a Long Lens Helps

By Anne O’Brien* One of the most difficult tasks facing advocates and policy advisors in late industrial welfare states must surely be navigating the media – new as well as old. At worst the tabloids manufacture crises, fuel moral panic and demonise people in need while online platforms enable trolls to reinforce old prejudices. But […]

Heritage Diplomacy

By Amy Clarke* Culture has played a prominent role in the realm of public diplomacy, to the extent that some argue it deserves to be recognised as a distinct form of diplomatic strategy. This debate is further complicated when we consider how heritage—in both tangible (e.g. artefacts, buildings, landscapes) and intangible (e.g. cultural traditions, cuisine, […]

‘How is this not murder?’ Infanticide and the Law in Australian History

By Caroline Ingram* Overview Until abortions and contraception became readily accessible to women, infanticide was a relatively common solution to the birth of unwanted illegitimate children. The formulating of laws relating to infanticide began in 1624 in an attempt to counter the killing of illegitimate children by their mothers. Today infanticide, which carries a less […]

Looking Back, Looking Forward: The Importance of the History of the Left in the Present Day

By Jon Piccini, Evan Smith and Matthew Worley* One of the outcomes of the populist shift to the right in many areas of the West has been a corresponding shift to the left. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, many traditional social democratic and labour parties have suffered from what has been described as ‘Pasokification’: […]

Political Campaigning: Less Has Changed Than You Might Think

By Chris Monnox* Australian election campaigns are highly disciplined affairs. They mobilise large numbers of people, but there is little that is unruly about them. Gaffes and slip-ups prove newsworthy precisely because they are unusual. It is true that campaign organisers increasingly speak the language of grassroots empowerment, but as election scholar Stephen Mills observes, […]

Senator Fulbright, We Need You Now

By Professor Joan Dassin* International students offer a glimmer of hope in the current Trumpian, post-Brexit era. Despite the rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric and newly restrictive visa policies in some Western countries, the demand for international higher education remains strong. In 2015 4.6 million globally mobile students were studying abroad, a nearly five-fold increase from the […]

Australia’s Long-Held Stake in Timor-Leste’s Oil

Few political matters could claim to be more incendiary than Australia’s actions in the Timor Sea over recent decades. The media emphasis on the maritime boundary dispute over access to oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea has led to a commonly held view that Australian oil interests began there during the first sea […]

Humanitarian Emergency Aid: Lessons from the Indian Ocean Tsunami

*By Professor Matthew Clarke Over the last decade, 400 natural and human-caused disasters have killed more than 100,000 people and affected a further 120 million annually. Many of these events are natural disasters ranging from volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and cyclones to flooding and droughts. The international community provides significant resources to assist local communities impacted […]