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Politics + Society – Articles, Analysis, Comment

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Still from a video showing Syrian anti-government protestors in Hama on June 3 2011. AFP/YouTube

Hama time for Syrian rebels?

As we watch the spot fires of democratic uprisings flicker across Syria it is worth remembering that the government’s response so far has been mild. The religious tensions of the country and disaffection…
ALP stalwart Senator John Faulkner’s recommendations do not go far enough. AAP

Tear down that wall, Senator Faulkner

Let’s get serious, Senator Faulkner, the problem is the process of candidate selection. John Faulkner’s excellent speech last night describes a process of ALP decline that has been underway for most of…
Livestock may also face mistreatment without leaving Australian shores. AAP

Live animal export problems begin in our own paddock

Throughout the heated debate around live animal exports over the past week, there has been an implicit assumption that the mistreatment of Australian cattle only ever begins after the animals have left…
Men are the economic winners from the current resources boom. flickr/robstephaustralia

The Boom: blokes are benefiting. What about women?

In a decision hailed as ground breaking Fair Work Australia has recently determined that gender is a key factor in women’s low pay. Essentially the argument is that workers in the female dominated community…
Before blaming Indonesia, we must reform the way we fund livestock industry research. AFP Photo/SUTANTA

Animal exports: how the industry controls research to shut down debate

Now that the Federal Government has finally succumbed to public pressure and suspended live cattle exports to Indonesia, it is worth considering why we were so caught off guard by the shocking revelations…
Australian cities have a long history of living up close. nicksarebi/Flickr

Planning to fail: the worst of urban worlds

This will be the century of urbanisation, when seven billion of almost 10 billion people will live in urban settlements. In Australia our urban sprawl is consuming land at a per capita rate that few countries…
Majak Daw has been praised for his measured reaction to racist abuse. www.kangaroos.com.au

Racism in footy is not as bad as you may think

This week the media in AFL states have been discussing racist comments made by members of crowds at Australian Rules games. Sudanese-born North Melbourne rookie Majak Daw was racially abused while playing…
Living large down under - Australians love big houses. travelskerrick/flickr

Do you want size with that? The McMansion malaise

Australia has long prided itself on being an equal society, and for most of the 20th century our housing was a mirror of that value or belief. Almost all houses were single-storey detached and, with the…
The University of New South Wales Chancellor, David Gonksi, is chairing a review into school funding. AAP

The Gonski review: finding a path through the school funding maze

As a five member panel headed by noted business figure and University of NSW chancellor David Gonski reaches the final stages of its review into the structure of school funding in Australia, lobbying by…
It’s time to give people a hand up through welfare. Flickr/sidkid

How to get welfare to actually work

As a senior public servant I became increasingly frustrated that too many government initiatives, always well meant and often well implemented, simply ended up compounding the problem of passivity and…
The protest which started here in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid in mid-May has now swept throughout Spain. AAP/Pedro Armestre

How Spanish outrage could transform Europe

On 15 May 2011, one week before Spanish regional and municipal elections, young people gathered on Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square to start a protest known as 15-M movement. It has since acquired a universal…
Weak labour data sent a signal to investors that US share markets might be overvalued. AAP

Accounting for Wall Street’s week of carnage

Share markets in the US and around the world are expected to fall again this week following sharp declines on Wall Street last week. The Dow Jones industrial average closed on Friday down 2.3% for the…
Israelis have a right to live in peace. But Israel has no ‘right to exist.’ AAP/Gali Tibbon

Israel has no ‘right to exist'—and neither does any other state

Since the 1970s, Israel’s leaders have insisted that their Palestinian interlocutors acknowledge Israel’s “right to exist” as a pre-condition for negotiations on a settlement of the conflict. Amongst other…
Greece would be better off defaulting on its debt than languishing under tough austerity measures. AAP

A Greek debt default wouldn’t be a tragedy

A poll of international investors last month found that 85% expect Greece to default on its debt this year. As market expectations go, that is very high. Moody’s has since downgraded Greece’s already abysmal…
NBN Co chief Mike Quigley and Stephen Conroy still face many tough tasks. AAP

It’s no secret, the NBN’s been left to tender mercies

The news that NBN Co has found a way to move forward from the crucial cost-of-construction issue must have surely lifted the Gillard Government’s spirits. NBN Co, the government-owned corporation in charge…
It’s time to look seriously at changing our constitution. An apology is not enough. AAP/Dave Hunt

Indigenous Australians the key to a strong Constitution

There is unfinished business in Australia, and it’s time to start a serious conversation about resolving it. We need to talk about the planned referendum on Indigenous recognition in the Australian Constitution…
The Pakistani military will be decisive in the nations’ direction. AAP

The five questions that will determine Pakistan’s future

The American Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton’s angst-ridden visit to Islamabad exemplifies the global concern about Pakistan, and its future. Indeed, the country has witnessed a new escalation in terrorist…
Information technology can help developing countries tackle corruption. mordicaicaeli/flickr

Corruption, computers and the developing world.

Corruption in the developing world is a major cause of poverty. Corruption is certainly not limited to poor nations, and since the 1980s, western countries have been able to use Information and Communications…