From donations and lobbyist reform and the institution of a national corruption commission to the introduction of Multi Member Proportional Representation in the House of Representatives; from becoming a Republic to potentially abolishing the States, empowering local government and entirely reconfiguring our federation; from building local mechanisms for participatory democracy to building the case for global representative democracy, and of course ensuring sovereignty for first nations people, there are huge ideas to be discussed!
Dr Mary Graham is Associate Adjunct Professor of the School of Political Science and International Studies. She is a Kombumerri person (Gold Coast) through her father’s heritage and affiliated with Wakka Wakka (South Burnett) through her mother’s people. Mary has lectured nationally on Aboriginal history, politics and comparative philosophy. Dr…
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Tim Hollo had a yarn with Behind the Lines 98.3 about the Green Institute and its upcoming “Everything is Connected” conference. Listen now.
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With our conference now a little over two weeks away (get your tickets now, people, before they sell out!), I thought it would be a good time to quickly talk a little more about what we mean by its title: Everything is Connected. The idea of the whole conference is…
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This is the text of a speech by Executive Director Tim Hollo to the New Economics Network Australia conference, Brisbane, September 3, 2017. What role for politics in building a new economy? I want to start with a slightly provocative question: why are we framing this as an economic exercise…
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The below is a speech by Executive Director Tim Hollo to the Ngara Institute, on August 23, 2017. Common Good: Democratic Futures for People and Planet So, common good. I want to talk you this evening about a version of that, a concept which has been much maligned but is a…
Read MoreWhen it comes down it, the barest minimum we should all be able to expect in a decent society is to be treated with basic decency, right? A roof over our heads, food in our bellies, and a little cushion to buffer against hard times. It seems extraordinary that…
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Today is Bastille Day, the anniversary of a pivotal moment in world history: the storming of the Bastille, marking the beginning of the victory of the French Revolution, and a key point in global democratisation. I wonder, is the democratisation of Facebook one of the crucial next steps towards global…
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You know what Canberra, our beautiful bush capital, needs? More billboard advertising! Said nobody, ever… … Except Andrew Barr, in a brief thought bubble early this year. Unfortunately, our Chief Minister sent the idea off to a Legislative Committee inquiry and, unless a large number of Canberrans write in urgently…
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It’s remarkable how often corruption in Australian politics is linked to coal. The jailing of former NSW Resources Minister, Ian Macdonald, last week is the tip of the iceberg. It’s just the most recent in a line of explicit and proven corruption directly linked to the coal industry. But the…
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This was first published at Independent Australia. They say, with Budgets, the devil is in the detail, and it takes weeks to find. But there’s one huge tax break which we won’t find as we’re poring over the papers – because it isn’t mentioned. The long-standing…
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