‘Crazy brave’: How a group of inexperienced idealists changed Victoria’s stagnant child welfare sector

‘Crazy brave’: How a group of inexperienced idealists changed Victoria’s stagnant child welfare sector

By Dr Sharron Lane This article examines the work of several Superintendents who together had some success in changing Victoria’s stagnant child welfare system in the early 1960s. It features the work of Alfred Spencer Colliver and the Kildonan Children’s Home which he transformed in the space of just five years. More than just changing […]
Soldier Recognition, Trauma, and the Australian War Memorial

Soldier Recognition, Trauma, and the Australian War Memorial

By Dr Mia Martin Hobbs The expansion of the Australian War Memorial comes at a public cost of half a billion dollars. Anzac Hall will be demolished and completely rebuilt to create space for displays of military hardware: a Bushmaster, light-armoured vehicles, and a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. The purpose of this expansion and hardware display, […]
What do Australians know about international education in Australia?

What do Australians know about international education in Australia?

By Anna Kent International students, and the international education sector are hitting the headlines on a regular basis at the moment. These stories are rarely positive – stories of students being accepted without sufficient English language skills, students as spies and more. There are more nuanced discussions on the role of international education in contemporary […]
‘Canvas Town’ – Managing Melbourne’s First Housing Crisis

‘Canvas Town’ – Managing Melbourne’s First Housing Crisis

By Alex Little and Benjamin Mountford Melbourne is no stranger to housing shortages. Although Melburnians sometimes pride themselves on inhabiting the ‘world’s most liveable city’, the ability of Melbourne’s residents to access quality, affordable housing continues to be at the forefront of public consciousness. Likewise, while the need for more public housing is well recognised, […]
The sulphurous intrigue of the past

The sulphurous intrigue of the past

This review first appeared in Inside Story on 12 July 2019. It is republished here with the approval of the author. Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland By Patrick Radden Keefe | HarperCollins | $44.99 | 528 pages What happened when the genteel world of the university library met the grubby […]
Cotton Dreaming

Cotton Dreaming

By Margaret Cook Why do we grow cotton in Australia? The country’s vast cotton holdings are the subject of public ire for their profligate water usage, embroiled in national arguments over the devastation of the Murray Darling Basin, water theft and public service/government corruption. But when cotton was first mooted as suitable for Australia’s climate, […]
Equal pay test case under the microscope

Equal pay test case under the microscope

By Iola Mathews OAM, author of Winning for Women: A Personal Story In June this year, an equal pay case for preschool teachers entered its final stages in the Fair Work Commission. A lot hangs on the outcome, given that only one equal pay case has been successful in Australia in the past 30 years, […]
An atomic historian’s visceral response to Hugh White

An atomic historian’s visceral response to Hugh White

I had a gut reaction to the news that Hugh White, Professor in Strategic Studies at the ANU, had published a book in which he suggests Australia must think about whether or not to develop its own nuclear weapons (Hugh White, How to Defend Australia). My very emotional response is no doubt a result of […]
Australia’s asylum seeker policy history: a story of blunders and shame

Australia’s asylum seeker policy history: a story of blunders and shame

by Carolyn Holbrook, Deakin University Carolyn presented on this research at the History and the Hill Australian Policy History Conference, 12-14 June at Deakin University. This article was developed from a series of interviews with politicians, officials and other key players, including former Immigration minister Chris Evans and former Victorian premier Steve Bracks. Others preferred […]
A few historical reflections on the 2019 elections

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

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

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 […]