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Keywords: Julian Butler

  • INTERNATIONAL

    Reframing juvenile justice

    • Julian Butler
    • 20 June 2023
    1 Comment

    In the midst of societal debates about crime, rehabilitation, and policing, unexpected voices often surprise us, leading to thoughtful and transformative discussions. A conversation about youth crime between an ABC presenter and the Secretary of the Police Association challenges preconceived notions about youth justice and rehabilitation, paving the way for compassionate responses and a more humane society.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Cave at the Coronation

    • Julian Butler
    • 16 May 2023
    1 Comment

    Unlikley relationships surfaced at the Coronation as Nick Cave, rock star and writer, arrived walking alongside Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury. Cave's journey, shaped by the loss of his son, has revealed the transformative power of finding solace amidst tragedy and forging unexpected connections.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Death notices

    • Julian Butler
    • 08 March 2023

    From RSL clubs to beloved aunts and uncles, the death notices page is a tapestry of stories. How can we publicly share the death and celebrate the life of those for whom we are responsible, and how do these accounts weave together to form a picture of our community?

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Navigating the tensions of our national holiday

    • Julian Butler
    • 27 January 2023
    2 Comments

    Amidst concern for the painful experience of First Nations peoples on Australia Day, and a desire for justice I find myself bouncing between question of moving the date, and all the strands of what the day means and represents.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Eureka Street person of the year

    • David Halliday, Michael McVeigh, Laura Kings, Michele Frankeni, Andrew Hamilton, Julian Butler
    • 21 December 2022
    2 Comments

    To close the year for Eureka Street, the editorial team wanted to nominate who we considered to be the Eureka Street ‘person of the year’ based on who we think somehow embody Eureka Street values.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    A vote against contempt

    • Julian Butler
    • 21 November 2022

    If democracy relies on a shared commitment to reaching consensus, to making accommodations even as, and precisely because, I hold things dearly, sacredly, then contempt necessarily corrodes democracy. Others stop being moral agents whom I must value and seek to share public space with. How do we overcome this corrosive element in our common life? 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    New gambling slogans unlikely to curb social losses

    • Julian Butler
    • 08 November 2022
    3 Comments

    In the midst of the spring racing carnival, online betting companies have been told their advertising will next year need to include warnings about the risk of gambling. The new requirements fall well short of regulation that might meaningfully curb what is become a social norm and cultural marker for many.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Can solidarity extend beyond the next natural crisis?

    • Julian Butler
    • 18 October 2022

    It might be a bit stale and trite to say so, but Australians do a good job of being at their best in a natural crisis. Solidarity is experienced in a way absent from much of our common conversation. Why is that? 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The republic and the crown

    • Julian Butler
    • 06 October 2022
    4 Comments

    There is no popular groundswell for constitutional change in the direction of a republic just at this moment. The parliamentary recess, the proclamation by the Governor General of our fealty to the new King, and the public holiday were all a bit embarrassing. The parade being over, we can go back to gawking at the Royal Family much like Americans do. The question of what monarchy means for us feels best left alone for a while.  

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Conferences, summits, talkfests

    • Julian Butler
    • 13 September 2022
    1 Comment

    Those who suggest that gatherings like the Jobs Summit are not worth the time overlook the possibility of long-term solutions being found through people coming together and talking. Much of the talking was done, of course, prior to the Jobs Summit. But the date in the diary focusses the mind; preparatory conversations start to refine a common understanding of what is being sought, and maybe even why.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The price of mistrust

    • Julian Butler
    • 29 August 2022

    The absence of trust undermines our ability to meet basic human need, to feel supported, to share resources and to effectively divide responsibilities. Mistrust imposes its own ‘price’ on every ‘transaction’, every engagement with others becomes more costly as we need to account for the perceived insincerity and unreliability of others.  

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    LaMDA and the (lack of) body

    • Julian Butler
    • 05 July 2022
    3 Comments

    Just over a fortnight ago Google suspended Blake Lemoine, an engineer for Google’s AI organisation, for publicly claiming a computer chatbot he was working on is sentient and thinks and reasons like a human. The publicity surrounding the suspension has raised questions about the development of artificial intelligence (AI), about our shared understanding of what it means to be conscious and sentient.  

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