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!
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
The 2017 Global Greens Congress in Liverpool was inspiring and energising from start to finish, with discussions of big ideas, opportunities to link up with people from all over the world, and sharing of skills and experiences in every direction. What I brought home from the Congress, above all, was…
Read More
Last night's Budget has been received by many as a typically Labor Budget. And, to be frank, that's about right. Publicly framed as fair while hiding tax cuts for big corporations and nasty punitive measures for vulnerable people, it's a Budget that suits a party still emerging from the 19th century, paying no heed to the huge challenges of the 21st century.
Read More
