In 1973 the Whitlam Government passed laws to ensure that race would be totally disregarded as a component for immigration to Australia. Thus it could be argued that the Minister for Home Affairs, Peter Dutton, is in contravention of that legislation. A few days ago, Mr Dutton said white South African farmers ‘deserve special attention’ and ‘need help from a…
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What chance does peace have? Why does Australia want to become a major manufacturer and exporter of weapons?
The resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 4 December 2017 re The Arms Trade Treaty includes the following: … that disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation are essential for the maintenance of international peace and security, ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………The total value of the global arms market is estimated to be around $60 billion a year, with about $8 billion…
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THE ULURU STATEMENT – In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard.
The Uluru process, held with more than a thousand Indigenous people across Australia, led to the following Referendum Council’s recommendation for an Indigenous voice to Parliament: We, gathered at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, coming from all points of the southern sky, make this statement from the heart: Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations…
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The First Stone Re-visited and A Sexy Fairy Story
It is worth reading the excellent article by Rachel Hennessy entitled Why Helen Garner was wrong. Click here for the link. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Rachel Hennessy’s novels include The Quakers and The Heaven I Swallowed. She is a tutor in Creative Writing at the University of Melbourne and has been a peer assessor on the Literature panel at the Australia Council and…
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Joined at the hip – a tragic metaphor of Australia – by Wendy Mayer
Australia is neither a nuclear armed state, nor a state using nuclear power. We have chosen to retain that status established in 1945. The ANZUS Treaty between Australia, New Zealand and The United States of America, recently referred to by the Prime Minister, was established in 1951. It requires the signatories to the treaty to come to the assistance if…
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Government ‘Ideologically Opposed to Human Rights’ Says Professor Gillian Triggs, the outgoing president of the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Professor Triggs has described the Australian government as “ideologically opposed to human rights”. In her final media interview on ABC Radio National, Professor Triggs said: “I think human rights in this country have regressed.” “To be honest I have to say… we are regressing on almost every front whether it is women, Indigenous [Australians], homeless [people] and of course asylum…