Edith Cowan University Media Release An increase in carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to 5 million cars a year has been caused by the loss of seagrass meadows around the Australian coastline since the 1950s. The stark finding was made possible by new modelling done by marine scientists at the Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research at…
If the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed one thing, it is the total inadequacy of the Australian Constitution. Like most people, I know a little about a lot of things and am slightly better informed than many in a few areas, while really expert in none! So I beg your tolerance for my presumption in writing…
The state of Victoria is being sealed off from the rest of Australia. On Tuesday, at 11.59pm, the border with New South Wales will be shut with publicised resoluteness. It is happening at the insistence of politicians across the country with a panicked urge. On the way are reminders about the miracle that was federation…
By William Olson As if the recent budget cuts to the ABC weren’t bad enough – and cuts which the Morrison government denies are actually cuts at all – now comes word that a permanent abolishment of requirements for local content across Australian television and streaming services is in the works. And the decision by…
I noticed a marked shift in sentiment this 4th of July. I admit to being a reader of tea leaves and a man who pays attention to stellar alignments. As a self-confessed hard-nosed rationalist I don’t know why I seek out these signs in the zeitgeist. But the resignation of Matthias Cormann and the ALP’s…
It all looked like it was going so well for Australia and Victoria, in particular. They could point to the mishandling of the Ruby Princess, a cruise ship that docked in Sydney and whose passengers disembarked chocked with coronavirus, precipitating 700 cases and some 21 deaths across the country. It had, till now, been the…
Art, under this current right-wing government has become a dirty word … probably because in these times of economic rationalism, the spending of monies on things that cannot show an immediate “bottom-line” profitability is considered money not well spent. Curious that, as in days of yore, many far-right regimes would invest big-bucks in works of…
Let me begin by saying that not only has Roger Federer never beaten me at tennis, but Tiger Woods has never won a round of golf against me. Ok, I suspect the main reason for that is because they’ve never competed against me, but if they did they’d probably win… But they’d only win by…
History gives us an imperfect picture of time past. Perspective and purpose of the author of public records can distort the view of what has gone before, but some recorded facts are incontrovertible. Evolution and increasing levels of understanding of science have enabled societies to change over time, although, as currently being illustrated in China,…
What do major issues that impact on Aboriginal people in contemporary Australian society tell us about our history? It is difficult to isolate any of these issues. Each issue weaves into another: identity; health; housing; education; self-determination; recognition of sovereignty; gender issues; custodial issues and racism can all be connected. For example, discussions on identity can be traced to…