Social Justice
Economy, Environment, Social Justice
Lessons From The Election Part 2: Unions And The Environment Movement
There has been significant debate over both the role of unions and the environment movement in the 2019 Australian Federal Election. Godfrey Moase argues the two need to work more closely if we want to see action on climate change. This is the second part of a two part series on lessons for social movements following the 2019 Australian Federal... 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. [...]
Democracy, Social Justice
Lessons For Social Movements From The Federal Election
This is the first in a two part essay on lessons for social movements arising from the 2019 federal Australian election. Read part two here. I felt empty on the night of May 18th when Labor lost the election. I had driven into Trades Hall for the Victorian union movement’s election night celebration. It was with bracing sobriety that I... Read More
Economy, Social Justice
The Divine Right Of Capital In Australia Today: Corporations, Community Interests, The Body Politic And The Natural Environment
There is a long and distinguished list of academic contributors to a large body of literature which addresses the question—what makes capitalist democracies work better/best/optimally? Some of the preconditions established in that literature are: that taxes/subsidies address externalities (1); that property rights are respected, contracts are well understood and cheaply, honestly and easily enforced; and that ‘stewards’ (for example, elected... Read More
Culture, Environment, Social Justice
Balginjirr “A Special Place On Our Home River Country”!
We are pleased to share with you this incredible poem by Dr. Anne Poelina, part of the Green Institute Report ‘Rebalancing Rights: Communities, Corporatations and Nature’. I came home to our river country, our place… our space… today. I stood at your grave site and recall the first night when I came back to my mother’s land, and now I... Read More
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
Economy, Social Justice
Property Rights, Corporate Personhood And Nature
This paper formed part of the Green Institute Report ‘Rebalancing Rights: Communities, Corporatations and Nature’. Property rights are a social construction, embodied in law and enforced by the coercive power of the state, represented by police, courts and prisons. This fact is so obvious that it ought to go without saying, but it is routinely denied by many on the... Read More
Democracy, Social Justice
The Right To Advocate And Protest Is At The Core Of Our Democracy
This paper formed part of the Green Institute Report ‘Rebalancing Rights: Communities, Corporations and Nature’. As an Australian, I am proud that my country was central to both the writing and the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The head of the Australian delegation and later President of the UN General Assembly was Australia’s Dr H.... Read More
Social Justice
What If We Stopped Punishing Drug Users?
Let me repeat a phrase that has been used so often it is almost a cliché: the war on drugs has failed. Existing drug policies have increased drug-related harm, punished the vulnerable and the addicted and bolstered organised criminal networks. Health professionals, lawyers and policy experts have all made the case against current drug policies. Such is the overwhelming expert opinion against our current approach... Read More
Economy, Environment, Social Justice
Our Power: The Latrobe Valley, Hazelwood, And Our Energy Future
The Latrobe Valley is home to three brown coal mines and four power stations which have provided Victoria with over 80 per cent of its power, every day, for over 90 years. The documentary Our Power traces the footsteps of the Latrobe Valley’s history, starting from the coal community’s birth in the 1920s to the establishment of the State Electricity... Read More
