Democracy
Culture, Democracy, Environment, Featured, Green Agenda Quarterly Journal Winter 2021, Social Justice
Policing dissent, enforcing consent
You can’t do it that way! When Extinction Rebellion protesters spray-painted “duty of care” across the front of Parliament House the morning after the latest IPCC Report was released, drawing national and international attention to the fact that the Minister for the Environment is appealing a court decision finding she actually has a legal duty of care to future generations... Read More
Democracy, Featured, Green Agenda Quarterly Journal Summer 2021, Social Justice
The fire front: Transformative politics in Queensland
Queensland bears a burden of being perceived as a deeply conservative state. One Nation emerged from the ashes in a small Queensland city called Ipswich, a coal town left in ruin once the mining moved further West. We carry the history of the Joh Bjelke-Petersen era, and a violent history of colonisation and policing. We’re also home to some of... Read More
Culture, Democracy, Featured, Green Agenda Quarterly Journal Summer 2021
Sparked by love and rage: An interview with Holly Hammond
Holly Hammond (she/her) is a social movement educator and librarian. She is the Director of the Commons Social Change Library which includes a vast array of resources including a wellbeing collection. She has worked to strengthen social movements and promote activist wellbeing for many years through training, facilitation, coaching, and writing via the Plan to Win and Plan to Thrive... Read More
Democracy, Featured, Green Agenda Quarterly Journal Summer 2021, Social Justice
Burning debate: Building consensus from the ashes
During the summer that preceded COVID, my family left me home alone and set off on the five-hour annual road trip to Nowa Nowa, not far from Lakes Entrance in East Gippsland. As flames spread across Victoria and New South Wales, my partner, daughter and son were evacuated the next day. When the area was declared safe, they returned home.... Read More
Democracy, Featured, Green Agenda Quarterly Journal Spring 2020, Social Justice
‘Now is the time for bold decision making’: Senator Siewert on the lessons of 2020
What a strange year 2020 has been. We entered it under a fog of smoke with parts of the country barely able to breathe, and growing community anger as fires burned. The links were being made stronger than ever, the fires were due to climate change – surely there would finally be decisive action taken, surely there was no choice... Read More
Democracy, Economy
Cultivating Democracy In A Fractured World
Tim Dunlop provided a keynote address at the Green Institute conference, Reclaiming Democracy, in 2019. In this talk he discusses how citizen assemblies and sortition can help cultivate democracy in a fractured world. I’ve been asked to talk about the idea of citizen’s juries, or citizen assemblies, a form of democratic participation that I strongly support. In particular, I’ve been... Read More
Democracy, Environment
How The Greens Won Budapest
Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party seemed unbeatable until a progressive breakthrough at the Budapest mayoral elections. As he made me coffee in his kitchen on the train to Budapest, the chatty chef said something surprising: “there is a fashion now to hate the president”. Orbán would, he guessed, lose the next election. On my previous trip to Hungary, just 15 months... Read More
Democracy, Economy, Social Justice
Going Beyond Waged Labour
Elise Klein provided a keynote address at the Green Institute conference, Reclaiming Democracy, in 2019. In this talk she discusses the need to think beyond waged labour, seeing it as an institution that is not democratic and never will be. Introduction I want to begin by acknowledging that we meet on the unceded lands of the Ngunnawal, and pay my... Read More
Democracy, Economy, Social Justice
Jobs, Justice And A Liveable World: The Green New Deal And Electoral Politics
On August 29, 2019 the UQ Greens, alongside QLD Greens MP Michael Berkman hosted the forum ‘Jobs, Justice & a Liveable World: A Green New Deal for Australia’. Looking at the leadership being provided around the world on the issue, this panel asked the question what might a Green New Deal look like in Australia? With permission from the organisers Green... Read More
Culture, Democracy, Environment, Social Justice
Hope, Fear, Needing And Grieving: New Year’s Eve 2020 At Malua Bay
“Who will mend us? How will we mend?” In this piece, originally published on Valerie Braithwaite’s blog, Professor Valerie Braithwaite reflects on her experience of the 2020 bushfires on the south coast of NSW. [On Friday 3 January, 2020] I was one of the thousands who left the NSW south coast via Bega and Cooma, heading home to Canberra. Like... Read More
