Tag A Sense of Place Magazine
By Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford Melbourne’s lockdown has been described as one of the harshest in the world. And jurisdictions outside Australia have taken other measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 once case numbers have eased. So, in… Continue Reading →
By Paul Collits Politicians are said to love “killer facts”. And to want to “follow the science”. Sadly, those running our Covid policy responses seem not to want to do either. An old boss of mine, an estimable Director General… Continue Reading →
By Sydney Criminal Lawyers Both the Victorian Police Commissioner and the Victorian Chief Health Officer have embarrassed Premier Daniel Andrews by admitting on separate occasions to national media that the nightly curfews which have Melburnians locked in their homes between… Continue Reading →
By John Stapleton With police blanketing the streets of Melbourne, citizens being assaulted by thugs in uniform, doors being broken down, a woman being dragged screaming from her car while millions in Melbourne remain shut down in the world’s most… Continue Reading →
By Dr Sarah Russell with Michael West Media Hiring properly qualified staff, staff-resident ratios and a commitment to be transparent and accountable for the $13 billion in annual taxpayer funding would help private providers of aged care “change the conversation”… Continue Reading →
By Laurie Patton A rapidly increasing number of COVID-19 cases being reported in Victoria and New South Wales. China re-instating restrictions as it sees infections return. Our chief medical officer says his greatest fear is a second wave, and there’s the likelihood the coronavirus will linger… Continue Reading →
Chari Larsson, Griffith University Our memories are malleable, they change over time. Memories can, however, crystallise through repetition. One of the most interesting things about memory is it is distinctly visual. With time, dramatic events reduce to a series of… Continue Reading →
By Sam Jacobs It’s a rather strange claim of the American far left that their interests are opposed to that of corporate America, because there’s virtually no evidence to support it. Quite the contrary: During the wave of Black Lives… Continue Reading →
By Allan Behm with Michael West Media Instead of crafting policies to tackle causes rather than symptoms, Australian leaders have used terror laws to turn social and national problems into security issues that demand a military response. Allan Behm investigates. In 1933,… Continue Reading →
By Paul Collits The fear, even hysteria, among the population over Covid is unprecedented. Yet there is a precedent for the strategies now being used by governments and others to generate the fear we are now witnessing. We merely need… Continue Reading →
By Daniel Wild This is not Australia’s first recession, nor will not be the last, but it is the first recession caused by deliberate actions taken by government. Creating a depression-era economy is the expert classes’ solution to managing COVID-19…. Continue Reading →
By Michael West, founder of Michael West Media Paul Keating seized on a huge jump in productivity in this week’s horrific GDP release but the effect of the pandemic will profoundly change the structure of Australia’s economy for good. Michael West reports…. Continue Reading →
By Frank Bongiorno, Australian National University The late historian John Hirst liked to tell students from overseas that Australians are an obedient people. To those of us raised on the idea that we were an anti-authoritarian nation of larrikins, his… Continue Reading →
By Marc Trabsky, La Trobe University and Courtney Hempton, Deakin University The COVID-19 death toll is reported every day by state and federal governments. These numbers are often used, alongside case numbers, to assess how public health policies are faring… Continue Reading →
By Paul Collits Victoria’s police are very concerned about “optics”. Like all corporate institutions these days. Well, it hasn’t been a good week for Australia’s police state. A clever marketing person – no, not that one; he isn’t that clever… Continue Reading →
By Fergus Ryan, Audrey Fritz and Daria Impiombato While most major international social media networks remain banned from the Chinese market in the People’s Republic of China, Chinese social media companies are expanding overseas and building up large global audiences…. Continue Reading →
Professor Ramesh Thakur: The Interview Australia is in chaos from one end to the other, borders closed and the economy tanking, with millions of people in Melbourne under some of the world’s most draconian lockdowns and those who dare to… Continue Reading →
By Alan Austin with Independent Australia These times are financially stressful for many Australians, but not everyone. Alan Austin examines indicators showing the sectors still dining out. AUSTRALIA’S TREASURER Josh Frydenberg conceded glumly to the Canberra press club last month that “this is a difficult… Continue Reading →
By TOTT News Elon Musk’s controversial ‘brain chip’ might be coming sooner than first thought, with the technology entrepreneur revealing new advancements in a demonstration this weekend. Just when you thought the year 2020 couldn’t get much weirder, the billionaire… Continue Reading →
By Maria O’Sullivan, Monash University The Victorian government is taking a hard line against protests as it tries to get COVID-19 under control. As Premier Daniel Andrews said on Thursday, it’s not the time to protest […] regardless of what… Continue Reading →
By John Stapleton Every lie has a trigger point when it unravels. In Australia, it is the arrest of a pregnant woman in front of her two children because she had dared to put up a Facebook post in support… Continue Reading →
By Gregory Moore from the University of Melbourne With massive fronds creating a luxuriously green canopy in the understory of Australian forests, tree ferns are a familiar sight on many long drives or bushwalks. But how much do you really… Continue Reading →
By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim In times of uncertainty, people place enormous trust in leaders. And right now, many Australians have placed unwavering faith in the state, territory and federal governments to make sensible decisions to fight the coronavirus… Continue Reading →
Dear Premier, We, the undersigned, are senior medical practitioners of various specialities who practice in Victoria and are deeply concerned with the Victorian government’s management of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) viral pandemic as a public health issue. The purpose of this… Continue Reading →
By Paul Gregoire Using COVID-19 as an excuse, we’ve witnessed repeated instances of over-policing, with heavy-handed tactics repeatedly making headlines. “What we have seen in the last six months, in particular, is a ramping up of police hostility towards peaceful… Continue Reading →
By Dr Tess Ryan At traumatic times like these, taking time to observe and connect with others can be healing, writes Dr Tess Ryan, as part of the occasional #CroakeyEXPLORE series. My mind is where I am trapped; rooms of thought,… Continue Reading →
By John Stapleton Many books by foreigners about Thailand include romantic or dissolute tales of alcoholism or substance abuse in the enervating heat; accompanied by a colourful caste of local prostitutes, gangsters and police, with virtually all the characters on… Continue Reading →
By John Stapleton The debate over Australia’s harsh lockdowns has turned. From the beginning the cognoscenti, if you wish to call them that, did not climb on board, much less rally behind the flag. But the masses thought otherwise. Anyone… Continue Reading →
By Bruce Webber, CSIRO, Barry J Conn, University of Sydney and Rodrigo Camara Leret, University of Zurich Scientists have been interested in the flora of New Guinea since the 17th century, but formal knowledge of the tropical island’s diversity has… Continue Reading →
By Michael West If it’s good enough for tennis stars and entertainers, it’s good enough for multinational tax avoiders and consultants. Michael West addresses the Senate Inquiry into Finance and Public Administration. This is an edited version of the opening statement to… Continue Reading →
Reviewed by John West The US/China relationship — arguably the most important in the world — is on a downward spiral. The authors of Superpower Showdown describe it as a “romance gone bad.” We often read reviews claiming that a new book… Continue Reading →
Roxana Diamond, Flinders University This article has links that contain graphic content Many industries and employees have been hurt by COVID-19. But sex workers, who face stigma and discrimination at the best of times, have been hit particularly hard by… Continue Reading →