Keywords: Australian Constitution
There are more than 200 results, only the first 200 are displayed here.
-
RELIGION
- Garry Deverell
- 18 May 2021
19 Comments
It is no coincidence that white ‘settler’ theology in this country has barely begun to engage with Indigenous people. Arguably, it has only begun to do so because the Indigenous citizens of the churches have begun to cast off the imaginative shackles made for us by our white gubbas and find our own voice.
READ MORE 
-
INTERNATIONAL
- Binoy Kampmark
- 11 May 2021
10 Comments
While the ban is unique in its severity, it is not divorced from a broader tendencies as to how citizenship has been appraised during pandemic times. Public health and safety have been prioritised over the standard liberties associated with citizenship.
READ MORE
-
INTERNATIONAL
- Peter Coghlan
- 26 November 2020
11 Comments
The continued persecution of Tamils has led to many fleeing Sri Lanka over the past ten years, with some landing on Australia’s shores — they have literally fled for their lives. The Australian government’s response to the inhumane treatment of refugees returned to Sri Lanka has been to praise the Sri Lankan government’s efforts to thwart any asylum seeker attempt to leave Sri Lanka.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Binoy Kampmark
- 20 February 2020
3 Comments
The Australian Federal Police raid on the 5th of June last year shook the Fourth Estate and, according to managing director David Anderson, ‘was seen for exactly what it was: an attempt to intimidate journalists for doing their jobs.’ It saw an unprecedented closing of ranks between journalists across the political spectrum, pursuing a campaign that came to be known as The Right to Know. Convincing the courts about this principle would prove to be something else.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Kate Galloway
- 17 February 2020
2 Comments
Despite claims to the contrary, the decision in Love and Thoms affirms the standing of the common law, including the unassailable power of the Australian State to make and enforce law. It upholds the centuries-long common law principle of accommodation of Indigenous laws in a colonial context.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Kerry Murphy
- 17 February 2020
8 Comments
At its heart, the question was whether an Indigenous Australian who was eligible for citizenship but had never formalised it could be regarded as an alien and therefore subject to removal. In a landmark judgment, a 4:3 majority of the Court found that Indigenous Australians were not aliens, even if they were not citizens.
READ MORE
-
INTERNATIONAL
- Sundhya Pahuja
- 16 January 2020
9 Comments
It is ironic for those of us who have long wished for a closer and more respectful relationship between India and Australia to be arguing now for caution. But perhaps the time has come for a relationship of political solidarity between the people of India and the people of Australia, rather than the economic expediency that seems to be on offer.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Kate Galloway
- 02 December 2019
17 Comments
Two Aboriginal men are currently being held in immigration detention under threat of deportation because they are not Australian citizens. The case raises far-reaching implications concerning the status of the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and the state.
READ MORE
-
INTERNATIONAL
- Ramona Wadi
- 29 October 2019
5 Comments
For the first time in decades, the mass protests have proved the strength of Chile's collective memory. Pinochet's call for oblivion is defeated; this can be seen in how Chileans demonstrated with full awareness of continuity. They have also testified to their unity with the Mapuche people, all protesting as one against neoliberal violence.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- John Warhurst
- 17 September 2019
8 Comments
Serendipity is defined as the gift of finding valuable things in unexpected places by sheer luck. It is a good description of Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie in Australian politics. But there is a sting in the tail. A system which depends on serendipity potentially also has a big downside.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Binoy Kampmark
- 12 August 2019
5 Comments
Should a public service have people with political, disagreeable opinions? No, according to the guidelines of employment in the Australian Public Service. The decision of the Australian High Court in the case of Comcare v Banerji is a salient warning to employees in the APS. Obedience, it seems, must be unquestionable and total.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Kate Galloway
- 15 July 2019
7 Comments
Constitutional reform works at two levels. It would establish the institution of the Voice so that a future Parliament could not easily get rid of it. Doing so is also symbolic — but not merely symbolic. It recognises the place of Indigenous Australians within the Australian polity. This is not a divisive action. Rather it is inclusive.
READ MORE