By Lydia Jebakumar. This piece is part of our September focus on Women’s Rights. See all of this month’s articles here. “Oh my darling, you have to be stronger than razor wire. I try, Mum. I try.” “Detention is the deliberate policy of the Australian Parliament, repeatedly affirmed. In default of a constitutional basis for invalidation, it […]
By Dr Leslie Cannold. This piece is part of our September focus on Women’s Rights. See all of this month’s articles here. A number of years ago I joined with thousands of activists and concerned citizens to change abortion law in Victoria. After more than 143 years, and after a long political fight, the crime of […]
By Claire Varley. This piece is part of our September focus on Women’s Rights. See all of this month’s articles here. For almost two years I lived in a small village on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific. Here I worked with some of the most inspiring women in the world. Women like […]
By Ellyse Borghi on behalf of the Monash Law Student Society Just Leadership Sex Trafficking Project. This piece is part of our September focus on Women’s Rights. See all of this month’s articles here. People-trafficking and people-smuggling are often assumed to be inter-related crimes. Although there are some similarities, there are also some stark differences. What […]
By Hsin-Yi Lo. This article is part of our August theme, which focuses on the environment and human rights. Read more articles on this theme. “All individuals are entitled to live in an environment adequate for their health and well-being“. Australia’s mining boom has attracted many local and international mining companies. International companies such as BHP Billiton, […]
By Shae Courtney. In 2008 the State Coroner for Western Australia, Alastair Hope, released his report into the deaths of 22 Aboriginal Australians in the Kimberley region of Western Australia since 2000. The Hope Report outlined some 27 recommendations to the state government and highlighted the urgent need for accountability in the state’s provisions to […]
By Ryan Paine. Please use your liberty to promote ours. – Aung San Suu Kyi In the year or so I’ve been living and working in Southeast Asia, there have been two moments when I genuinely yearned to be home: when I smelt a glass of shiraz from South Australia; and when I was stuck […]
By Liz Macpherson. This article is part of our August theme, which focuses on the environment and human rights. Read more articles on this theme. In August 2012 the Murray Darling Basin Authority released a third altered draft of its Proposed Basin Plan (Basin Plan). The Basin Plan was prepared by the Authority under the Water Act […]
By Katherine Grant. This article is part of our August theme, which focuses on the environment and human rights. Read more articles on this theme. Australia has long prided itself on its oceans; images of pristine beaches with white sand, clear water and tropical reefs have become iconic representations of life down-under around the globe. Despite the […]
By Karen Pickering. This piece is part of our September focus on Women’s Rights. Read more about this theme here. SlutWalk is an annual feminist event that addresses the public shaming of victims of sexual assault. For more information, you can visit the SlutWalk website. When I was fifteen years old I was on school […]
By Emma Kerins. This article is part of our August theme, which focuses on the environment and human rights. Read more articles on this theme. In February of last year, environmental activist and icon Erin Brockovich arrived in Australia to further the cause of what she refers to as “environmental justice”. At the launch of her initiative, […]
By Jenna Gibbons. This article is part of our August theme, which focuses on the environment and human rights. Read more articles on this theme. Australia has the world’s largest resources of uranium, which we sell to 39 countries to power civilian nuclear energy reactors. As nuclear power becomes a more widely used clean energy alternative, a […]