Keywords: Parliamentary Debate
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AUSTRALIA
- Frank Brennan
- 07 February 2024
12 Comments
The referendum result was a disaster for the country and a tragedy for First Australians and there has been little appetite for public discussion about lessons to be learnt from this abject failure. If we are to move forward, it’s time to begin the conversation about past mistakes.
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AUSTRALIA
- Frank Brennan
- 11 January 2024
As the government drafts legislation to stem the rising tide of misinformation circulating online, the nation debates: will these measures sufficiently regulate online content and curb potential harms or threaten freedom of expression? This moment is a critical test for the integrity of Australia's public discourse.
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AUSTRALIA
- Frank Brennan
- 09 November 2023
4 Comments
As the government drafts legislation to stem the rising tide of misinformation circulating online, the nation debates: will these measures sufficiently regulate online content and curb potential harms or threaten freedom of expression? This moment is a critical test for the integrity of Australia's public discourse.
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AUSTRALIA
- Andrew Hamilton
- 07 September 2023
4 Comments
On the face of it, the decision of the Queensland Government to pass an amendment to permit holding children in police cells was a desperate and discrediting action. Underneath it, however, was a complex coming together of events, prejudices and attitudes.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Andrew Hamilton
- 06 July 2023
3 Comments
Can Artificial Intelligence write good poetry? While AI has vast linguistic resources to mimic human poets and creating compelling verse, there remains a distinction between competence and true poetic brilliance, mirroring the broader debate around our relationship with AI, and the very essence of human creativity.
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AUSTRALIA
- Andrew Hamilton
- 29 June 2023
2 Comments
In the face of waning support for the Referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Pope Francis' mission of reconciliation within the Catholic Church, particularly through the Synodal process, inspires a more united and locally-engaged approach.
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AUSTRALIA
- Michele Madigan
- 29 June 2023
2 Comments
Following a rally by climate action group Extinction Rebellion, anti-protest laws were rushed through the SA lower house, increasing the maximum fines for disruptive protests along with potential jail time. Sadly, SA is not an outlier here, but is rather in step with the rest of the country with similar ‘draconian’ laws regulating protests.
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AUSTRALIA
- Frank Brennan
- 05 June 2023
19 Comments
The wording of the proposed change to the Australian Constitution to enshrine a First Nations Voice might not be perfect. But whatever the imperfections and the risk of future complications, it is high time that Australia’s First Peoples were recognised in the Constitution in a manner sought and approved by a broad cross-section of Indigenous leaders.
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AUSTRALIA
- John Warhurst
- 01 June 2023
25 Comments
Amidst escalating tensions, the ACT government's move to acquire Calvary Public Hospital is facing strong backlash from the church. With claims of hasty decision-making and allegations of anti-religion bias dominating the discourse, this crisis highlights the societal shift towards secularism and questions the role of religious entities in managing public services.
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AUSTRALIA
- John Warhurst
- 04 May 2023
20 Comments
Frank Brennan's book An Indigenous Voice to Parliament: Considering a constitutional bridge is an urgent contribution to this important national debate around the shaping of the Voice and the referendum question. It is a book concerned with what’s likely to be successful rather than a manual on how to vote.
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AUSTRALIA
- Frank Brennan
- 12 January 2023
In recent days, if you were to listen to the media reports, you could be forgiven for thinking that religious educators want to retain a right to exclude children or teachers from their schools on the basis of their gender or sexual orientation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Or nothing should be further from the truth.
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AUSTRALIA
- Frank Brennan
- 05 January 2023
We have a lot of work to do if there is to be any prospect of a successful referendum on the Voice to Parliament, which Indigenous people have put to us as the mode by which they want to be recognised in the Constitution. They have said they want a Voice. Now, we can debate whether it be a Voice to Parliament or a Voice to Parliament and government, or a Voice just about particular laws.
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