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Section: Australia

  • AUSTRALIA

    Resist shock jock 'judge bashing'

    • Fran Hogan
    • 21 February 2011
    3 Comments

    I had anguished over a particular sentence which was the subject of days of media comment. One of my fellow judges stuck his head around the door and said, 'Neil Mitchell says you are right.' This I found unsettling. Then he added, 'But don't worry, Derryn Hinch says you are a disgrace.' Phew!

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The Church and the workplace

    • Brian Lawrence
    • 17 February 2011
    10 Comments

    Despite extensive welfare activities, Catholics have made only a modest contribution to public debate about the economic foundations of family life. Yet the Australian institution that is most associated in the public mind with 'pro-family' policies is the Catholic Church.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Thousands of men and no groping

    • Trish Madigan
    • 15 February 2011
    21 Comments

    One website proudly proclaimed that Egypt's protests were a safe space for women. In fact women were on the frontline. They were part of a long history of women who have struggled for recognition of their human rights in Egypt. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Cancelling Valentine's Day

    • Michael Mullins
    • 13 February 2011
    14 Comments

    St Valentine's Day is always painful for frustrated lovers. It reminds them of what they want but have not got, and may never get. We need to cancel St Valentine's Day and find a 'real' saint, one whom we know dealt effectively with the demons that were getting in the way of his or her object of desire.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Ending the Intervention

    • Sarah Burnside
    • 09 February 2011
    7 Comments

    There is evidence that, far from its stated aim of 'normalising' remote communities, the Intervention is in fact counter-productive. A few days out from the anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations, the question hovers: when will the Intervention end?

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Keeping an eye on the newest nation

    • 09 February 2011

    There is ample reason to be concerned about what could follow the referendum result that led to the formation of New Sudan. To prevent the potentially devastating repercussions, the international community must prepare to intervene.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The future shock of aged care

    • Martin Laverty
    • 07 February 2011
    8 Comments

    One of our most daunting challenges is how to look after the baby boomers, who are fast approaching old age. The cost of aged care, and the number needing it, is skyrocketing. Funding has not been committed, and there's a train wreck in sight. Doing nothing is not an option. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Preparing to kill the internet

    • Michael Mullins
    • 07 February 2011
    6 Comments

    Barack Obama's calls for the protection of freedoms in Egypt failed to mention one of the Egyptian authorities' most striking violations — their switching off internet access for five days. It's likely he was treading warily due to the US Government's own plans for an internet 'kill switch'.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Schooling in the classroom without walls

    • Catherine Marshall
    • 31 January 2011
    13 Comments

    The furore that erupted when Chinese-American mother Amy Chua accused Westerners of being too soft on their children masks a subtle sharpening of middle class parental expectations in Australia.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Natural disaster fund could be Gillard's easy path to glory

    • Michael Mullins
    • 31 January 2011
    5 Comments

    It is difficult for Prime Ministers to impose short term pain for long term gain if they want to be re-elected. But Gillard faces a different situation because the Independents are her masters, not the 2013 voters.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Making flood reconstruction fair and sustainable

    • Lin Hatfield Dodds
    • 28 January 2011
    18 Comments

    The levy announced yesterday is progressive, precisely the type of approach that social justice principles and practicality dictate. But it is a one off response and another example of why we need to fix Australia’s taxation system for the long term.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Lessons about Australian identity from 'The King's Speech'

    • John Warhurst
    • 25 January 2011
    18 Comments

    Some advocates of monarchy have jumped on the film The King's Speech as evidence that Australia needs a monarch. Monarchists often argue like this when they want to personalise the constitutional debate by concentrating on a member of the Royal family with attractive features.

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