The Great Australian Silence Continues Continue reading »
Indigenous affairs
This morning, I call to mind the Aboriginal woman who spoke at the end of a forum we held in Darwin on the Voice. She told us: ‘A lot of my people don’t understand all the law and politics about this Voice. All I know is that when they wake up on Sunday 15 October Continue reading »
Certainly, Dutton has demonstrated that disinformation, division and some outright lies can confuse and motivate large sections of the community. There is the whiff of a Pyrrhic victory in the Dutton and No wins on Saturday. Certainly, Dutton has demonstrated that disinformation, division and some outright lies can confuse and motivate large sections of the Continue reading »
October 14, 2023 will be remembered by many as the day reconciliation died. The defeat of the referendum may not have surprised many of us, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. After all, we have become accustomed to disappointment. Nonetheless, it is a devastating and demoralising blow. We must take stock of this political disaster Continue reading »
What the whole debate about an Indigenous Voice to Parliament demonstrated, with brutal clarity, is that Australia is a morally backward society. In a history that has long been suppressed and denied, Australia’s First Peoples endured massacres, the raping of their women, the stealing of their children, the exploitation of their labour, and the dispossession Continue reading »
On 14 October, my attention will wander between three unconnected stories as they unfold in real time. I will be in New Zealand on that general election date. Polls indicate the Labour government will be replaced by a centre-right coalition. But the peculiarities of the electoral system make election results and the outcome of post-election Continue reading »
The Voice campaign has revealed how much Dark Money is distorting our political debates. But will proposed reforms of money in politics crush the independents? One of the most crucial decisions about the shape of our democracy is about to be resolved. The Coalition and the ALP appear to have reached a decision to block Continue reading »
‘Prophets nurture and evoke a new way of thinking. They give us images and words which subvert our system and tell us that we haven’t seen the whole picture yet. Prophets are not just concerned about social change for the sake of social change. They are concerned above all with transformation and freedom of the Continue reading »
The referendum campaign could use more Why, and less Yes. I am a Yes campaigner and have enjoyed some good discussions with No voters on the campaign – many of whom support reconciliation but can’t see why a change to the Constitution is necessary or helpful. Fair enough concern. Labelling No voters racist or stupid, Continue reading »
“For over half a century the Central Land Council has fought for the voices of Aboriginal people from the heart of our nation to be heard. Our 90-member Council overwhelmingly asks you to vote YES, because we know that when decision-makers listen to our voices we end up with policies that help us, not harm Continue reading »