By focusing on punitive programs instead of community-driven support over a ‘youth crime crisis’ that did not exist, the incoming Queensland LNP government appears to be blind to the systemic issues that drive children toward vulnerability. Their policies will reinforce a cycle of criminalisation that will haunt our communities for generations. It’s several days after Continue reading »
Indigenous affairs
A lot has been written in the past few days about Senator Lidia Thorpe and her courageous act of speaking truth to power when she confronted coloniser, King Charles, in the colonial halls of Parliament. Yet amidst the commentary, one voice remains absent: the voice of the criminalised community. As a formerly incarcerated woman, I Continue reading »
The failure of last year’s referendum still troubles the country. The focus on the Voice to Parliament took attention away from the far more consequential question of truth telling, while paradoxically displaying how much it is still needed. The intense and prolonged debate displayed how historical interpretation still divides the country rather than providing the Continue reading »
“It was we who did the dispossessing. We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life. We brought the diseases and the alcohol.” – Paul Keating, Redfern speech. Reaching out to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can be daunting for non-indigenous people, until respect is safely established, and an equal listening Continue reading »
One year on from the defeat of the ‘Indigenous Voice’ referendum of 14 October 2023, some myths have arisen about the process and the outcome. These deserve further discussion. I supported the referendum unequivocally and would still do so today. Like many supporters of a ‘Yes’ vote, I had criticisms and doubts about the outcome, Continue reading »
It is not surprising that so many of us believed that after the Voice Referendum 2023 Indigenous people would be recognised in the Australian Constitution and their voices valued. The Uluru Statement from the Heart was so much more than a request to be heard. It was a generous gift from First Nations offering all Continue reading »
Australia, land of Altjira, of oceans wild and skies untamed, Where stories of the Jukurrpa are told in songlines proclaimed. Australia, land of Altjira, of oceans wild and skies untamed, Where stories of the Jukurrpa are told in songlines proclaimed. Yet underneath this broad expanse, this dust that shrouds our past in gold, Lies history’s Continue reading »
The headline in the Weekend Australian said it all: NT Bases Key to American War Plans. Republican Congressman Michael McCaul, the Chair of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Australian, after a ten day visit to Australia that our geography offered key advantages to the US “as it sought to deter Chinese Continue reading »
We live in an era of communicative abundance and post-truth politics, where networked digital platforms shape nearly every aspect of our daily lives, from information and communication to economic and social transactions. Digital platforms have transformed truth-claiming and fact-checking into an emotionally driven process, blurring the boundaries between information and misinformation, as well as opinion Continue reading »
Has the ALP read the Voice referendum loss as indicating limited voter support for First Nations rights, with an election soon? The Voice Referendum failed, and with that failure First Nations Australians lost the hopes embodied in their proposed plans to add them to the constitution with power to develop policies that dealt with issues Continue reading »