Latest Updates
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Re-engaging
Well, I’m back! As you may recall, I stepped down as Executive Director of the Green Institute back in March in order to focus fully on my election campaign for the seat of Canberra. The board kindly kept my position vacant for the duration, while the wonderful Elissa Jenkins very ably held the fort, and…
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Got Time For A Chat About The Future?
I hope you had a good rest over the holiday period and, like me, are ready to leap into 2017 with renewed energy. One of the reasons I’m feeling excited and energetic is because, as well as just not working for a while, I had some fantastic conversations with people over the break, about all…
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Centrelink’s Automated Debacle Shows We Need To Rethink Welfare And Work
This was first published in the Canberra Times There is a dark irony in the fact that many of those who have been hit by Centrelink’s automated debt recovery debacle are on benefits in the first place because automation is dramatically changing the face of work, making it harder for many people to find secure,…
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What now?
Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat. Reams are already being written on what the election of Donald Trump means. We don’t intend to add to those reams with yet another hot take. But this extraordinary moment demands that we ask – what now? The Green Institute has set our goal as “changing what is possible”. For…
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New Analysis Shows Direct Action Abatement Short Term Or Non Existent
This was first published at Renew Economy The recent controversial split in the Climate Change Authority revealed a deep rift between those who believe that the adage “politics is the art of the possible” means we have to always seek compromise and those who believe it sets us the challenge of influencing and reshaping what…
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To Fight Racism, We Need To Craft A Better ‘We’ And Ditch The ‘Us’ And ‘Them’
This was first published at The Guardian Pauline Hanson didn’t appear out of a vacuum. Like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage, she is a reaction to trends in our society, economy and politics. Their type of nasty firebrand always exists, but they receive greater support at times when people who feel disconnected, disenchanted and disenfranchised…
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From Brexit to ‘tram v hospital’: post-truth politics in the ACT
This was first published by the Canberra Times From Brexit to ‘tram v hospital’: post-truth politics in the ACT It’s been practised around the world for some time now, in forms both subtle and obvious. But in recent months, following startling political events from Trump to Brexit, post-truth politics has finally been widely identified as…
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Coal is dying – it’s time to put us out of its misery
This was first published at Renew Economy Coal is dying – it’s time to put us out of its misery How did we find ourselves here? While Australian politics has been looking elsewhere, assuming that old certainties will continue unimpeded, the coal industry has entered a phase of terminal and rapid decline. Whoever wins the…
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Here’s how “coal communities” can lead the next big step
This was first published in the Newcastle Herald Here’s how “coal communities” can lead the next big step In the 20th century, communities in the Hunter and Latrobe Valleys led Australia in a social revolution. By providing universal electrification to our cities and towns, you made a confident, prosperous, fair Australia possible. Electric power allowed…
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We Don’t Have A Refugee Problem. We Have A Cultural Problem
This was first published by Huffington Post Australia We Don’t Have A Refugee Problem. We Have A Cultural Problem Is Peter Dutton’s repugnant “they took our jobs” rhetoric an example of racism dressed up in economic insecurity? Or is it a factor of economic insecurity tending towards a racist conclusion? A clear lesson from history…
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The ‘Jobs And Growth’ Mantra Needs To Be Fired
This was first published by Huffington Post Australia The ‘Jobs And Growth’ Mantra Needs To Be Fired Are you sick of the words “jobs and growth” yet? You sure will be by July 2. And that’s not just because we will hear it thousands of times. It’s because, deep down, many of us realise that…
