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Terra nullius was long ago exposed as a myth – and this was enshrined in law with the Mabo case in 1992.If we acknowledge that Australia was colonised on a lie, then what should we do about it? How d…
The digital revolution is counter-intuitive to copyright. Technological change is moving too fast for adequate laws to be implemented – and for affected industries to keep pace.The bottom is…
These days, classrooms seem packed with children who report to the office to take medication at lunchtimes – or whose behaviour problems come with labels that didn’t exist when their parents were…
The plucky bravery of the Anzacs is one of our great national stories – it plays into our idea of who we are. But why is one of the touchstones of our identity based on a historic defeat?Some are…
The plucky bravery of the Anzacs is one of our great national stories – it plays into our idea of who we are. But why is one of the touchstones of our identity based on a historic defeat?Some are…
By Billie TumarkinWe asked Year Eleven student Billie Tumarkin to explore what Anzac Day means to her generation. She dabbled in some amateur psychology with friends and reflected on Anzac Days…
By John Martinkus John Martinkus has been a war reporter for a decade, covering East Timor, Iraq (where he was abducted, and released) and Afghanistan. He defends the continued celebration of Anzac…
We live in the foodie age – where celebrity chefs are the new rock stars. But while organic food is a must-have fashion accessory, obesity and food intolerances are on the rise.But there are good…
We live in the foodie age – where celebrity chefs are the new rock stars. But while organic food is a must-have fashion accessory, obesity and food intolerances are on the rise.But there are good…
Late last year, the Wheeler Centre hosted a Fifth Estate discussion of food culture. ‘It seems to me it’s become out of control,’ said host Sally Warhaft, of our current obsession with food.‘I’m…
Death is the most personal of matters, but it’s also a political hot potato.Most of us don’t choose (or even expect) the way in which we die, but for the terminally ill, death is a looming certainty …
Death is the most personal of matters, but it’s also a political hot potato.Most of us don’t choose (or even expect) the way in which we die, but for the terminally ill, death is a looming certainty …
Reverend George Exoo has helped over 102 people to die. He’s the euthanasia activist people are referred to when the mainstream organisations won’t take their cases – many of his clients were not…
Shakira Hussein is no stranger to pain that, on a scale of 1 to 10, goes all the way to 11. She writes that one day her multiple scelorosis may usher in ‘the body-snatchers’ for good. This would…
China is fast becoming the next world superpower, while India – with its vast young population, booming jobs market and burgeoning economy – is on the march. Meanwhile, Wall Street has plunged the…
China is fast becoming the next world superpower, while India – with its vast young population, booming jobs market and burgeoning economy – is on the march. Meanwhile, Wall Street has plunged the…
The Wheeler Centre and St James Ethics Centre combine once again in 2012 to bring you another series of Intelligence Squared debates.Established in 2002, IQ2 has spread from across the globe…
From child soldiers in Sudan to gang violence in Papua New Guinea; tsunamis in the Pacific to earthquakes in New Zealand, we’re confronted with communities in need every day. Who should we help? How …
Too often, the big issues feel ill-served by parliamentary question time or the 24-hour news cycle. Big issues and bigger ideas deserve informed and passionate consideration. Beyond the soundbites…
Too often, the big issues feel ill-served by parliamentary question time or the 24-hour news cycle. Big issues and bigger ideas deserve informed and passionate consideration. Beyond the soundbites…
As an opinionated lady who shares those opinions for a living, writer and broadcaster Clementine Ford is no stranger to debates about freedom of speech. She explains why freedom of speech is often…
On Tuesday 20 March, the Intelligence Squared series of debates kicks off with a look at the ethics of eating meat. Six speakers will divide into two teams to speak for and against the proposition…
Intelligence Squared’s 2012 series of debates kicks off with a look at the ethics of eating meat. Six speakers are divided into two teams for lively and insightful arguments for and against the…
For almost two millennia, the Catholic Church has been the author and repository of some of the highest ideals of humanity. Yet, as humanity is flawed, so is the Church. Few would deny that the…
In the week the Senate finally passed the carbon tax legislation, new research indicates that the amount of carbon emissions being released into the atmosphere grew by a record amount in 2010. The…
A push by parishioners of Father Bob Maguire to have his retirement delayed a second time has failed. The Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart has written to the popular priest that his…
“If you allow this toxic combination of religion and politics to become too closely entwined, then you’re in trouble.” In her recent Lunchbox/Soapbox, Dr Susan Mitchell spoke on the topic of her…
It’s a debate with a decidedly apocalyptic ring: stand by while the dynamics of life on earth change irrevocably, or try to take action that may slow or halt the process – and in so doing possibly…
It’s a debate with a decidedly apocalyptic ring: stand by while the dynamics of life on earth change irrevocably, or try to take action that may slow or halt the process – and in so doing possibly…
Just as we’ve uploaded the video/podcast of our recent Intelligence Squared debate on Australia’s war in Afghanistan (see below), the broader public debate on the topic has reignited. A…
It’s one of those coincidences for which we can claim no credit. Months ago, when we pencilled in next Thursday, 15 September for an Intelligence Squared debate on the carbon tax, we didn’t know…
In recent weeks, in the light of the stock market’s schizoid behaviour, a new argument has been added to the arsenal of opponents of the carbon tax. With stock markets around the world in chaos…
Natalie Sambhi, co-editor of the blog Security Scholar, attended last week’s Intelligence Squared debate on the merits of Australian involvement in Afghanistan. She’s reviewed the event on Security…
As each name is added to the growing list of Australians killed serving in Afghanistan, the government assures the nation that the sacrifice in lives has been for a good cause and in the national…
As each name is added to the growing list of Australians killed serving in Afghanistan, the government assures the nation that the sacrifice in lives has been for a good cause and in the national…
“At the moment the Australian effort at nation building in Oruzgan province is grossly underdone,” writes ex-army chief Peter Leahy, now director of Canberra University’s National Security…
Of all the photographs on the ABC’s online list of casualties in Operation Slipper, the name given to Australia’s Afghanistan mission, perhaps none is as affecting as that of Private Grant Kirby…
Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced yesterday that Australia’s military mission in Afghanistan will not be scaled back despite measures announced by President Barack Obama for a scaledown of US…
(Click to watch video.) The public funding of private education is currently being played out in the public sphere, with a major report due to be delivered …
A little over a week ago we asked the question, why are we at war? Since then, more volleys have been launched in the debate about the future of Australia’s military involvement in Afghanistan. In…
Two articles published today present starkly different views of the justification for Australians paying the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan.The debate follows a spike in the number of Australian a…
The parents of students attending private schools pay taxes. So, why should their children be denied a share of the education dollar? Yet every dollar provided to a private school is a dollar not…
The parents of students attending private schools pay taxes. So why should their children be denied a share of the education dollar? Yet every dollar provided to a private school is a dollar not…
(Click to watch video.) In the first Intelligence Squared debate of 2011, six heavyweights of Australia’s political firmament gathered at the Melbourne…
Image of crucifix via WikiCommons Update, Friday April 8:All week we’ve been talking about the division of religion and state, particularly in relation to education. We…
As the old truism would have it, ‘Whoever you vote for the Government always gets in’. By the end of last year, the Australian electorate’s sense of fatigue and disillusionment was palpable…
As the old truism would have it, ‘Whoever you vote for, the Government always gets in’. By the close of 2010, the Australian electorate’s sense of fatigue and disillusionment was palpable…
Often criticised for her speaking style, Julia Gillard delivered an historic speech before the US Congress overnight. In her address, she pulled no stops in underlining the strength of the alliance b…
Stephen Mayne asserts that women are still not getting a fair go in the workplace and women represent less than 10% of board members in Australian business. He recounts how he first saw sexism at…
Jennifer Byrne joins in the Feminism Has Failed debate arguing that it has “succeeded so powerfully… that we are in a position of scarcely even noticing it”. She believe feminism has brought women…
“Traditional, cultural practices that assert male authority will always disadvantage women. So why do we kow-tow to them?” Virginia Haussegger states in the Intelligence Squared: Feminism Has…
“Real feminism is constantly evolving and splintering. It’s broad. It’s dynamic. Feminism attempts to articulate and redress injustices against women in a dazzling variety of contexts,” Monica Dux…
Gay Alcorn talks about how media is still distinctly masculine and that feminism is about more than just individual success stories, but about “real change in the institutions that actually make a…
Wendy McCarthy wraps up our Feminism has Failed debate by concluding it has been “one of the most powerful social movements of the last 40 years”. She argues that some of the changes have happened…
As part of the IQ2 Debate series, Hanifa Deen argues that Australia has not escaped its racist past. She talks about how we borrowed our White Australia test from South Africa, vilified Chinese and A…
As part of the IQ2 Debate series, Tanveer Ahmed argues that Australia has moved on from its history of racism.He makes the point that “the race riots… had more to do with class than an underlying…
