Peace
Featured, Peace
Criminalisation And Covid-19
On Saturday July 4th Daniel Andrews’ government announced on national television that there would be a hard lockdown of Melbourne’s nine public housing towers, effective immediately. As his announcement (presumably for the benefit of Melbournians not living in the public housing estates) streamed into living rooms around the country, armed police streamed into the homes of residents in the Kensington,... Read More
Featured, Peace, Social Justice
Lethal Weapons: The Violent Politics Of Australian Defence Policy
It was hard to miss, and that was kind of the point. As if to really ram home the “potency” argument made in the PM’s press release, the front page of Wednesday’s Daily Telegraph featured a turgid surface-to-air missile, flanked by two smaller silver missiles, ejaculated from somewhere in the far north of South Australia. It didn’t really matter that... Read More
Peace, Social Justice
COVID-19: Militarise Or Organise?
This is a re-post of a blog originally published by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Please see here for more salient commentary in their series on COVID-19. In the last week as cities around the world have entered into lockdown, and as fear of the many uncertainties associated with our latest global crisis mount, some people have... Read More
Environment, Peace, Social Justice
Post-COVID: Will Our Better Angels Prevail?
I know I shouldn’t sit up late at night scrolling through the 24-hour coronavirus news coverage. I know reading countless horror stories about those impacted by the pandemic only makes me unnecessarily anxious, yet I do it anyway. While my biggest concern is for those losing their lives and loved ones to the virus, what also strikes me is that... Read More
Democracy, Environment, Peace, Social Justice
Protecting Our Right To Peaceful Dissent In The Face Of Climate Breakdown
It is difficult to overstate the importance and influence of disruptive, peaceful protest and non-violent direct action in social change. On countless issues like women’s rights, LGBTIQ+ rights, justice for First Nations people, rights for workers, or campaigns against racism and xenophobia, large-scale protest, including disruption and direct action have been an essential ingredient of success. Globally, recent months have... Read More
Democracy, Environment, Peace
Time To Rebel: Civil Disobedience For The Planet
The Extinction Rebellion (XR) movement has grabbed headlines since late 2018 with its repertoire of non-violent but disruptive tactics to raise climate awareness and protest government inaction on impending ecological collapse. The UK-born phenomenon has transformed into an international movement which continues to gather momentum. XR activist Jayne Forbes speaks here about her experiences in the London blockades and citizen’s... Read More
Democracy, Peace, Social Justice
Politics Of Peace And Patience
Dr Frank Habineza is the President of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, who in September 2018 was elected as one of two Greens MPs in the Rwandan national Parliament. In October 2018, former Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam caught up with him in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, to hear his extraordinary story of persecution, exile and electoral success. [...]
Peace, Social Justice
Suppression Of The Right To Protest
This paper formed part of the Green Institute Report ‘Rebalancing Rights: Communities, Corporatations and Nature’. 25 years jail for peaceful protest. That is the potential outcome from the Espionage and Foreign Interference Bill (EFI) that was introduced by the Liberals and rubber stamped by Labor in 2018. It was slammed through with such speed that the cross-benches had one hour... Read More
Peace, Social Justice
Liberation For Whom? Queer Anti-War Activism And Military Inclusion
This article was originally published on Waging Nonviolence Is all inclusion good inclusion? Mainstream LGBTQ groups like the Human Rights Campaign promote any increase in gay representation as good — even representation in some of the world’s most deadly organizations, like the U.S. military and the Central Intelligence Agency. “It’s either you’re with Trump and against trans military service, or you... Read More
Peace, Social Justice
Understanding Gaza: What, Why And How To Respond
From Friday, 30th of March this year, Palestinians in Gaza began holding weekly demonstrations. Though the protests have received some coverage in Australia, and some response from the Left, many have not understood the significant of the events, or how we can productively relate to them. [...]
... Read More