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Section: Australia

  • AUSTRALIA

    Gillard's guts and glory

    • Moira Rayner
    • 28 February 2012
    49 Comments

    This rough, tough former workplace lawyer came, as we knew she does, into her own when she was on her feet, fighting for her political life. Now for the first time since she put on the prime ministerial stilettos in 2010 we can sense the steel core within those blue suede size 36 heels.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Dysfunction in the Church and the ALP

    • Michael Mullins
    • 27 February 2012
    13 Comments

    As an institution stricken with dysfunction, the ALP shares a bleak outlook with unions, churches and other organisations that are similarly sustained by shared ideals and belief systems, but are struggling. They've lost their nerve and no longer know how to be authentic.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    All democracies great and small

    • John Warhurst
    • 27 February 2012
    5 Comments

    From strata communities to federal politics, citizens of democracies exhibit similar characteristics. These include limited knowledge and interest, suspicion of office-holders, and assertions of self-interest. Those who stand for election deserve more credit than they often get because they are a small minority.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Why Gillard should lead

    • Tony Kevin
    • 24 February 2012
    36 Comments

    Minority government has presented unique challenges to Gillard and her team, to which they have responded with dignity, clarity and efficiency. Politics in the Australian party system is a  team sport, and it's clear Kevin Rudd has a thing or two to learn about loyalty and solidarity.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Feminism in Bougainville

    • Ellena Savage
    • 22 February 2012
    3 Comments

    'Women in Bougainville have no choice but to be political,' I was told by a community leader. From housekeepers to businesswomen, they all seem to be pretty fierce feminists. Even random women I meet at cafes and pubs tell me about the work women do in their communities.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    In defence of 'adults only' video games

    • Michael Mullins
    • 20 February 2012
    3 Comments

    Opponents of the government's proposed R18+ video game classification argue that playing violent video games leads to violent behaviour. But researchers have found mental health to be a more reliable predictor of negative outcomes.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Gillard the Brave

    • Moira Rayner
    • 17 February 2012
    24 Comments

    Just about every reporter and would-be opinionator wants Rudd to mount an open challenge to Gillard. Her spack-attack on the Chief Justice of the High Court after he scuttled the Malaysia solution was bitterly disappointing. But I have had to reconsider my feelings about her leadership. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Baby steps in 'reformed' Burma

    • Duncan Maclaren
    • 15 February 2012
    5 Comments

    Burma has embarked on a series of reforms that have altered its pariah status. But Burma's icon of democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, does not fully represent all Burmese, and there are vast problems that must be addressed before sanctions are fully lifted.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Malaysia's migration paradox

    • Joachim Francis Xavier
    • 15 February 2012
    3 Comments

    A large segment of Malaysian society and the government in particular is clearly xenophobic. Yet Malaysia has thrown its arms wide open to asylum seekers heading to Australia. What is the motivation underlying Malaysia's sudden love affair with refugee swap deals?

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Russia's concern for besieged Syrian Christians

    • Benedict Coleridge
    • 14 February 2012
    12 Comments

    Russia's opposition to military intervention or orchestrated regime change in Syria runs deeper than mere contemporary strategic interest. Its interest in Syria and the broader Middle East stems also from its historical conception of itself as the protector of eastern Christians.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Australia's story in Indigenous languages

    • Brian McCoy
    • 13 February 2012
    17 Comments

    I will never forget the look on her face. I had asked her a simple question. But I had used her language. She seemed shocked that a white person would even try. Indigenous languages offer rich ways to describe and name our world, and valuable insights and knowledge for all Australians.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Means test won't fix health funding

    • Michael Mullins
    • 13 February 2012
    12 Comments

    The current private health insurance subsidy has the poor paying for the wealthy. The proposed means test will make health funding a little fairer, but it won't do much to change inequities in the health system as a whole. 

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