Democracy
Culture, Democracy, Green Agenda 2023:2 - On Living Democracy, Social Justice, Theory
The multitudes at the margins
When I read Living Democracy and the uplifting and hopeful possibilities contained in Barcelona en Comú and the general assemblies in Rojava, I’m reminded that we are currently so far away from this it’s hard to see the path there. [...]
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... Read MoreCulture, Democracy, Economy, Featured, Green Agenda 2023:2 - On Living Democracy, Social Justice
Living democracy: not a blueprint, but a pathway
I am 72 years old, so I have seen the highs and lows of many progressive mass movements. Tim Hollo's optimistic but realistic outlook in Living Democracy fits closely with my own beliefs. We are clearly living through a period of massive industry and workplace transition in response to the climate catastrophe. This is the reality that campaigners and activists... Read More
Democracy, Green Agenda Journal 2023: Volume One, Social Justice
From arts to politics
Before I got into politics, I worked as an artist, making large scale public artworks for museums and galleries around the world, drawing people into the conversation about how to create the world that we want to live in. In 2014 I was invited to exhibit in the Sydney Biennale. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. The grand final... Read More
Culture, Democracy, Featured, Green Agenda Journal 2023: Volume One, Social Justice, Theory
Transforming towards living
Are we changing politics more than politics is changing us? It’s a question we rarely ask ourselves in any kind of formal way. But it’s one that more and more members and supporters are asking, when confronted by the vast gulf between politics-as-usual and the ecological, economic, social and political crises we face. [...]
Culture, Democracy, Economy, Featured, Green Agenda Journal 2023: Volume One
Quietly quitting capitalism
For many of us coming of age around the last global financial crisis, doing political work was not part of the formula to success handed down by our parents and teachers. [...]
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... Read MoreCulture, Democracy, Featured, Green Agenda Journal 2023: Volume One
The very democratic and grassroots process of getting bums on seats
My growth both within and without the confines of the Greens has taken me on a somewhat meandering journey. I remember previous iterations of myself believing things that now seem anathema to who I have become, and other things which have vindicated some of my long-held beliefs. Some experiences influenced my opinions at the time, and proved to me the... Read More
Culture, Democracy, Economy, Environment, Featured, Green Agenda Journal 2023: Volume One
On mutual bicycle aid
Community bike workshops in Australia While the original formulation of ‘mutual aid’ by Kropotkin was radical and linked to changing political conditions, mutual aid in the voluntary sector of contemporary Australian society cuts across political positions, gender, race, and wealth. In this short article we will recount engagement with a growing movement of bike activists and volunteers who challenge consumerism... Read More
Culture, Democracy, Featured, Social Justice
The radical potential of Brisbane City Council
It’s no accident that so many Brisbanites think local government is mostly just about fixing potholes and building playgrounds. Power-holders find it convenient to perpetuate the narrative that councils are merely local service providers with limited political relevance, because it helps justify anti-democratic moves to take more power away from local communities, while reducing public scrutiny of the many big,... Read More
Democracy, Economy, Environment, Featured, Green Agenda Journal 2022: Volume Three
Who decides? The case for a Climate Jobs Guarantee
In a world of climate collapse, what and who is work for? We can’t solve the climate crisis if big business continues to decide what work we do. Instead we need to take public control of what work gets done and the conditions that we work under. A Climate Jobs Guarantee could deliver meaningful and dignified work decided by communities,... Read More
Democracy, Economy, Featured, Green Agenda Journal 2022: Volume Three, Social Justice, Theory
The work of grassroots organising
The browner your skin, the dirtier the work. Chicken factories across Australia are all virtually the same. Lit by fluorescent white lights, smelling of cleaning detergent and death, and socially stratified. Afghan or African workers in the kill rooms, South Asians defeathering. Vietnamese workers in the boning room slicing cuts off carcasses. White folks in the packing room. [...]
