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Keywords: Public Space

  • AUSTRALIA

    SIEV-X questions sink leadership credentials

    • Michael Mullins
    • 15 September 2008
    10 Comments

    Discussion prompted by the publication of Peter Costello's memoirs defines leadership narrowly as the ability to win elections. If the criteria were expanded to include moral fortitude, judgments about leadership would be very different.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Congo thrives under Chinese 'invasion'

    • Fernando Franco
    • 07 August 2008
    6 Comments

    European and US corporations are on the retreat in Africa, while the progress of Chinese and Indian companies is bearing positive results. They stand to fulfill the promise of 'development' that has remained a dream since independence.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Funeral for a marriage

    • Brian Doyle
    • 06 August 2008
    20 Comments

    Divorce is an incredibly powerful and painful chapter in millions of lives every year. Maybe we should create a public ritual for the end of a marriage by which we honour their brave attempt and mourn the death of love and hope.

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  • RELIGION

    Rudd and the sin of overwork

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 12 June 2008
    15 Comments

    Since public service is often seen as a sheltered workshop for bludgers, Kevin Rudd won sympathy for demanding heroic work practices. Overwork is morally unjustifiable because it makes instrumental goals central, and fails to respect deeper human values.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    G-G's blind faith in Australia's constitution

    • John Warhurst
    • 06 June 2008
    12 Comments

    The Governor-General, Major-General Michael Jeffery, is mounting a defence of the place of the British monarchy in the Australian Constitution. On several occasions recently Jeffery has proclaimed a very conservative view of Australian constitutional arrangements.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Why public servants leak

    • Tony Kevin
    • 05 June 2008
    3 Comments

    All is not well between the Prime Minister and the Public Service, as evidenced by the leak of Cabinet documents related to Fuelwatch. Such a leak may have been avoided had Rudd removed notoriously Howard-compliant departmental heads upon taking office.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Women and madness

    • Alexandra Coghlan
    • 30 May 2008
    1 Comment

    A change of British statutes in 1815 gave mental illness a new public face that was unequivocally female. Mad, Bad and Sad is a new study that charts the role of madness as a barometer of the values, concerns and morals of its day.

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  • RELIGION

    Fence-sitter seeks balance on same-sex marriage

    • Frank Brennan
    • 26 May 2008
    15 Comments

    Cardinal George Pell opposes a bill of rights in any form, but there are pros and cons. Some judges are tempted to extend their reach, running ahead of the public in forcing a social agenda.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Anzac a 'politically pliable' legend

    • Tom Cranitch
    • 28 April 2008
    16 Comments

    With Anzac Day over, and the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign just under a decade away, it's time to re-examine, re-frame, and hopefully tame the Anzac legend. You don't need to be an expert to understand that 'Anzac' has a stranglehold over Australian public life.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Eureka Street loses two friends

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 10 April 2008
    1 Comment

    The Australian Catholic Church and public life are the poorer for the passing of John Button and Archbishop Frank Little earlier this week. They both knew much about winning, but more about losing, and treated all they met with great respect.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Reinterpreting Islam

    • Shahram Akbarzadeh
    • 01 April 2008
    10 Comments

    Recently it was widely reported that the Vatican is updating its 'list' of sins. Less publicity has been given to the re-interpretation projects of Islamic religious authorities — activities that challenge stereotypes of Islamic law as fixed and static.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Progressive evangelicals succeeding US religious right

    • Binoy Kampmark
    • 31 March 2008
    3 Comments

    Rev. Jim Wallis, a prominent religious minister and political consultant, argues that America has entered the era of a 'post-religious right'. While a Republican candidate like John McCain can't ignore the evangelical vote, their uniformity is no longer apparent.

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