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
Who gives a f*ck about Mark Manson and Jordan Peterson?
Who gives a fuck about the world? Lots of people, it turns out. According to a World Economic Forum survey of 32,000 18-35-year-olds across 186 countries, the top four concerns are climate change, wars, income inequality and poverty. Extensive surveying by Roy Morgan finds that people cons...CONTINUE READING
Trump lies, but his lies are the small ones
The Oxford Dictionary declared “post-truth” the word of the year in 2016, with the explanation: “it describes not just particular assertions, but a general characteristic of our age”. Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was widely thought to embody this new age. And now, it seems his pres...CONTINUE READING
The waterfront war that shook Australia
Twenty years ago, on 7 April 1998, Patrick Stevedores dismissed and locked out all 1,400 of its unionised waterside workforce, triggering mass protests and picketing around the country. In the dead of night, balaclava-wearing scabs with German shepherds and rottweilers entered the docks, c...CONTINUE READING
ANU preaches free speech, censors student
“ANU prides itself on the principle of academic freedom and I am always proud to see our students standing up for issues they feel strongly about. I am disappointed this happened, and everyone has learned from it.” Brian Schmidt, vice-chancellor of the Australian National University, let g...CONTINUE READING
A modest proposal on espionage law
ASIO director general Duncan Lewis, supporting the government’s “espionage” bill, has told a parliamentary committee that journalists should not be exempted from 20-year sentences for revealing government lies that the liars have classified as “secret”. Journalism, Lewis said, provides an...CONTINUE READING