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Keywords: Ipa

  • AUSTRALIA

    How to disagree without hurting

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 22 August 2013
    16 Comments

    Reflecting on his participation in an SBS TV marriage equality discussion, Ben felt judged and humiliated by many who responded to him. Must determining what is right and wrong for a society be bound up with judging people? Or can we listen to our conversation partners, reach for a language that is shared and leave room for our opinions to be changed? Pope Francis showed the way when he said: ‘If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, well who am I to judge them?’

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Australian democracy needs an intrusion of the excluded

    • John Falzon
    • 19 August 2013
    24 Comments

    Kevin Rudd says we need a 'new politics' or a 'new way'. Tony Abbott says we'll only get a new way by electing a new government. What is missing in both statements is the recognition that what we actually need is a new kind of economic democracy: a reconfiguration of our economic prioritising away from individualism towards the common good, and towards the participation of all rather than the exclusion of many.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Making time and lasagne

    • Selected Poems
    • 13 August 2013

    I have lost my recipe for making time, but it must be similar to making lasagne. The meat sauce of opportunity, the pasta strips of memory and the cheese roux of anticipation. In fact I'm making some moments right now, and I'm hoping they don't over-cook.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Democracy reigns in Rudd's participation nation

    • Ray Cassin
    • 10 July 2013
    9 Comments

    Most voters think that when they fill in a ballot paper they are choosing between the prime minister and the opposition leader. And the fact that they think this makes it so, regardless of the niceties of constitutional theory. The system Rudd is proposing would narrow the gap between voter perceptions and the power of parliamentary blocs to ignore them.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Black hole budget will penalise the poor

    • Brian Toohey
    • 07 May 2013
    9 Comments

    Labor is struggling with a $12 billion write down in anticipated revenue for 2012-13 after Treasury bungled the forecasts. It could cut back on government assistance to those who can fend for themselves. But it has chosen to penalise the poor, with those on the parenting payment being switched to the lower Newstart. 

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  • ECONOMICS

    Migrants and big bank theory

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 07 February 2013
    8 Comments

    There is often a natural antipathy between the financial sector and the community sector. If you give the dog a bone, say the money men, he will only rub it in dirt and bury it. If you give the bank a bone, say the community workers, it will charge you interest on the transaction. But sometimes we are nudged to reconsider our reflexive prejudices.

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  • MEDIA

    Pope sweet on tweets

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 31 January 2013
    10 Comments

    When the Pope speaks on social media the casual reader might expect to hear the musings of an old man out of touch and out of sympathy with modern technology. If so, Pope Benedict's recent statement for World Media Day may come as a surprise. He pays little attention to risks, focusing on possibilities.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Bedtime flatulence and marital bliss

    • Tim Kroenert
    • 24 January 2013
    1 Comment

    Despite moments of crass humour, This Is 40 is centrally moral, even conservative in its elevation of 'heteronormative' family unity. It stands as a nuanced riposte to the simplistic assessment made by one character that Debbie and Pete 'aren't right for each other'. Marriages are complex, and even troubled ones may not be easily dismissed.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Tintin's rocket and Mauritian moon memories

    • Bernard Appassamy
    • 12 December 2012
    11 Comments

    I saw the toy shop out of the corner of my eye and glazed over rows of plastic toys behind the window display. They looked cheap, mass-produced and sad, seemingly anticipating a more vibrant future than gathering dust. One item practically screamed at me and stopped me in my tracks.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    East Timor's lessons for our abuse Royal Commission

    • Pat Walsh
    • 29 November 2012
    7 Comments

    Two principal conclusions can be drawn from the East Timor experience. First, a victim-friendly process is desirable, achievable and productive. If East Timor after decades of war and devastation could do it, Australia certainly can. But victims should not take for granted that the high level of public and political support the Royal Commission currently enjoys will translate into action.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Taking revenge on idiot America

    • Tim Kroenert
    • 22 November 2012
    2 Comments

    A teen attempts suicide after being ridiculed by the judges of an American Idol style talent show. A news anchor spouts propaganda so extreme it might make a Fox News presenter blush. A reality TV participant extracts an in-use tampon and hurls it at a rival. Appalled by this endless stream of TV trash, one man snaps. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Worshipping Princes Romney and Obama

    • Zac Alstin
    • 17 October 2012
    30 Comments

    Whatever happened to American Christians concerns over Mitt Romney's Mormon faith? Like unease about Romney's conservatism and pro-life record, theological issues have been brushed aside in anticipation of November's US presidential election. Can a religious believer rightfully put their trust in either Romney or Obama?

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