100 percent racist
Only Australia could rival the entrenched racism and barbarity of countries such as the US, Israel and apartheid-era South Africa, notorious for locking up Blacks, immigrants and children. But the Northern Territory has set a new benchmark. All – 100 percent of – children imprisoned there...CONTINUE READING
The misogyny at the heart of the new far right
On a recent Sunday afternoon, self-proclaimed fascist Blair Cottrell filmed himself chasing down and abusing a street performer wearing a pink leotard. For daring to don the costume, the performer, known as Dandyman, was called a “paedophile”, threatened with violence and forced to end his...CONTINUE READING
Sadly, the neoliberal zombie hasn’t eaten itself yet
I recently attended a lecture by Richard Denniss, author of the Quarterly Essay “Dead right: how neoliberalism ate itself and what comes next”. I was curious to see how Denniss justified his claim, as it seems to me that neoliberalism has not eaten itself. Its corpse continues, zombie-like...CONTINUE READING
Safe zones outside abortion clinics are welcome
The New South Wales state government recently passed laws imposing bans on protests outside abortion clinics. If you live in Victoria or one of the four other states with such bans, then you won’t have seen one of these protests for a few years. This is because, in 2016, the state governme...CONTINUE READING
The state, the far right, and repressive laws
The debate on the left sparked by Emma Norton’s recent comment piece in Red Flag about establishing safe access zones around abortion clinics exposed a worrying trend among some of Norton’s critics. Norton argued that the left must oppose moves by governments to criminalise anti-choice big...CONTINUE READING
Don’t ban protests, even those of bigots
Abortion laws in Australia are worse than you think. The procedure is still in the criminal code in NSW and Queensland. A woman seeking an abortion in NSW needs a doctor to say that the pregnancy threatens her health or wellbeing. In South Australia, she needs two doctors to believe that i...CONTINUE READING
How much can you learn in a neoliberal education system?
The notion of lifelong learning is now ubiquitous. In the Golden Age of capitalism – the decades following the Second World War – middle class dreams were couched in terms of material gain, mid-life affluence and early retirement. Today, middle class illusions rest on the promises of educa...CONTINUE READING
I watched the royal wedding. And I loved it.
I’m supposed to write about the wedding of prince Harry and Meghan Markle being a disgusting display of opulence by a bludging waste-of-space family whose titles are both affronting and anachronistic. It was. They are. Yet I am caught up in it. For a brief escape from the small agonies of...CONTINUE READING
Israel’s Eurovision win pinkwashes genocide
Israel’s winning entry in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, “Toy” by Netta Barzilai, has been hailed by the media for having a powerful anti-bullying message, celebrating diversity and women’s empowerment and capturing the #MeToo movement. The ABC’s live blog of the competition raved ab...CONTINUE READING