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Section: Australia

  • AUSTRALIA

    The refugee children of colonisation

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 20 June 2023
    5 Comments

    Observing World Refugee Week and the Referendum on the Voice to Parliament together is appropriate because the First Peoples and later refugees have suffered in similar ways. Jordana Silverstein's latest book draws striking parallels between Australia's colonial past and the modern treatment of refugee children.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Judgment and the burden of ignorance

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 15 June 2023
    2 Comments

    Kathleen Folbigg's release, prompted by the discovery of a genetic mutation that created reasonable doubt in her conviction, marks a significant intersection of science and law. However, the case highlights the need to critically assess the weight and limitations of scientific authority in our justice system, acknowledging the inherent uncertainty embedded within human affairs.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Kathleen Folbigg, monster mythology and science

    • Binoy Kampmark
    • 14 June 2023
    3 Comments

    At the intersection of myth, science, and law is the contentious case of Kathleen Folbigg, accused of being a modern-day Medea. Convicted of killing her children and later exonerated, Folbigg’s story serves as a cautionary tale about the complexities of science in legal judgments and societal myths of motherhood cloud our interpretation of facts.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Why the threat of AI is invisible

    • David Halliday
    • 13 June 2023
    1 Comment

    As artificial intelligence evolves, warnings of an AI surpassing us in cognitive abilities grow louder. Yet, these threats, which echo sci-fi nightmares, are met with skepticism and complacency, rather than fear. Are our human minds, fine-tuned by evolution to grapple with tangible, immediate threats, ill-equipped to comprehend the abstract risk of a runaway AI?

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The RBA's man with the hammer

    • James Massola
    • 13 June 2023
    2 Comments

    In a year defined by surging living expenses, RBA Governor Philip Lowe finds himself the object of public ire, his failed rate predictions and aggressive anti-inflation measures becoming a litmus test for the enduring effects of a global crisis. Will the Labor party dare sever ties with Lowe, or will they allow him to continue wielding the hammer, regardless of the mounting human cost?

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Water, cool clear water

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 08 June 2023
    1 Comment

    Once viewed as the purest and most dependable, public tap water has faced a crisis of confidence due to the proliferation of bottled water and privatisation of water resources. Yet some maintain trust in public water, finding joy in drinking from public taps. Is this faith naive or a testament to the enduring belief in accessible water for all?

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Recognition of Aboriginal rights: A contemporary Australian perspective

    • Frank Brennan
    • 05 June 2023
    19 Comments

    The wording of the proposed change to the Australian Constitution to enshrine a First Nations Voice might not be perfect. But whatever the imperfections and the risk of future complications, it is high time that Australia’s First Peoples were recognised in the Constitution in a manner sought and approved by a broad cross-section of Indigenous leaders.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Existential church-state hospital crisis

    • John Warhurst
    • 01 June 2023
    25 Comments

    Amidst escalating tensions, the ACT government's move to acquire Calvary Public Hospital is facing strong backlash from the church. With claims of hasty decision-making and allegations of anti-religion bias dominating the discourse, this crisis highlights the societal shift towards secularism and questions the role of religious entities in managing public services.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    How to revive a language

    • Natasha Moore
    • 31 May 2023
    1 Comment

    250 years ago, hundreds of Indigenous languages were spoken in Australia. Today, only 3 percent survive. This echoes a painful narrative of dispossession of land, lives, and culture. But can a long-dormant language be brought back to life? A key figure in the resurgence of the Noongar language offers hope against the backdrop of cultural loss.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    What is the right way of hearing hurt and of having hard conversations?

    • Michael McVeigh
    • 29 May 2023
    1 Comment

    Amid the tumult at North Melbourne Football Club, President Dr. Sonja Hood poses a potent question on reconciliation and institutional hurt. As the Indigenous Voice referendum looms, her query underscores a national quest for trust-building and healing, challenging us to consider the hard conversations that could change the narrative.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Older women caught in homelessness crisis

    • Jennifer McVeigh
    • 25 May 2023
    4 Comments

    A rapidly growing cohort of homeless women over 55 has become the new casualties of Australia's housing market. With skyrocketing rents, an entrenched gender pay gap and inadequate pension funds, older women are slipping through the cracks owing to a tangle of systemic failures.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    On budgets, popes and thinking local

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 24 May 2023
    1 Comment

    When exploring the ties between Federal Budget week and Laudato Si’ Week, it becomes clear there's an urgency to address economic inequality and climate change as a single, intricately linked problem. While the latest budget promises minor benefits, it lacks robust measures to tackle these major issues. 

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