Keywords: Financial Hardship
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INTERNATIONAL
- Andrew Hamilton
- 19 December 2023
4 Comments
While a time of joy and celebration for many, Christmas amplifies hardships like loneliness and poverty for others. This year, the festive season is overshadowed by global issues such as war, climate change, and ongoing conflicts, reminding us of its origins in a period of oppression and uncertainty.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Gillian Bouras
- 19 September 2023
6 Comments
How does the act of ageing influence the way memories resurface, especially when unexpected? How does the process of reminiscing help, and how should younger generations approach tales from the past? A tribute to the legacies that mold generations and the timeless ties that bind.
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INTERNATIONAL
- Jim McDermott
- 03 August 2023
In a world captivated by streaming services, binge-watching hides a hidden crisis: writers and actors, cornered by the very industry they've enriched, face financial hardship and clashing with corporate greed, resonating with global struggles around labor and human value.
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AUSTRALIA
The upcoming federal budget in May presents a crucial moment for the Albanese Government to address pressing challenges while restoring trust in political institutions. Transparency, integrity, and meaningful relief for households will be key to defining the government's path forward.
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AUSTRALIA
- John Falzon
- 23 March 2023
11 Comments
As jobseeker payments are indexed for inflation, increased payments are still well below the minimum wage and age pension. With successive neoliberal governments dismantling social infrastructure, people living in poverty have little means of escape. Poverty is not a personal choice but a political one.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Andrew Hamilton
- 10 November 2022
1 Comment
Reflecting on the value of newspaper commentary on public life prompts self-reflection concerning the quality of what we columnists write and what we hope to achieve through our work. The ephemeral quality of a column suggests how important it is for us not simply to react to the news but to ask what lies beneath it.
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INTERNATIONAL
- Binoy Kampmark
- 07 September 2021
23 Comments
It took 438 desperate human beings upon the overladen wooden fishing boat, the KM Palapa, to present Australia’s Howard government in August 2001 with an electoral opportunity. At first, there was feigned ignorance from Canberra about any signs of desperation. The vessel, lacking power, lay some 100km off Christmas Island. Despite a coast guard plane noting men jumping up and down on the roof in a frenzy, nothing was initially done.
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AUSTRALIA
- Joel Hodge
- 10 August 2021
13 Comments
Whatever one thinks of the Census21 campaign, I agree with the implicit aim: all people should be honest in answering the Census questions. It doesn’t matter whether one is affiliated to a major religion, no religion, or has another spirituality not listed, it is crucial that we give compete answers that reflect our real lives.
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FAITH DOING JUSTICE
- Vincent Long Van Nguyen
- 24 June 2021
15 Comments
With the average length of detention in Australia now at an historic high, it is timely to review how immigration detention is used. It should be a last resort that is used for the shortest practicable time so that people who pose little risk to the community are not unnecessarily deprived of their liberty, and that they are able to contribute to the community.
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AUSTRALIA
- Andrew Hamilton
- 29 October 2020
8 Comments
If society were a mine, refugees would be the canaries in it. Their condition reveals whether the currents of public air are pure or toxic. By that standard the present currents in Australia are noxious. They mark a change from the first generous response to the coronavirus to the meaner reconstruction of the economy.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Leya Reid
- 13 October 2020
49 Comments
A common argument is that publicly-funded artists take unnecessarily from the ‘average Australian’. In the current international crisis, this argument fails to recognise that artists and arts workers are just as deeply impacted financially by COVID-19 as the ‘average Australian’ in other industries.
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AUSTRALIA
- Kate Galloway
- 13 May 2020
2 Comments
Over the weekend in most Australian states, rules requiring people to stay home were relaxed somewhat. The country has commenced its easing of the significant restrictions on venturing out in public. As we begin to reacquaint ourselves with life outside, it is useful to reflect on the new resonance of ‘home’ — but also on its inherent limits.
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