There are 628 children in immigration detention. The Government claims that kids are not held behind razor wire. But does that mean it is humane? Kate Gauthier, who is part of a reforming of ChilOut, unpacks the language vs the reality of asylum seeking kids in detention. more
Monthly Archives:: September 2010
Miriam Lyons: On The Drum, Day one of the new parliament
CPD’s Miriam Lyons joins Kerry Chikarovski, Dr Nick Economou, with guest Greg Combet and ABC’s The Drum regulars to look back at all that happened on the first parliamentary sitting day of the new minority government. Watch it online here.
Eva Cox gives her tips for this week’s Parliamentary running.
Eva Cox presents a form guide for 42 of legislation set to be tabled in the new Parliament’s first week. Of these 42, special consideration is given to 11 key bills: “Out of 11 interesting items, at least one will go through and many more are likely to; there may be as few as five or six that engage our … more
Ben Eltham: Where everyone’s a [arts] critic
Ben Eltham reflects on the current state of arts criticism in Australia. He finds that it is headed in the same direction as many other elements of print media – towards the online, the decentralised and the democratic. “In the new world, armies of bloggers and online critics have diluted that power — but also democratised and decentralised critical culture globally. On … more
Marcus Westbury: What’s so special about opera?
What has opera done for you lately? CPD Fellow Marcus Westbury considers the funding allocation to Opera Australia by the Australia Council, and finds it indicative of the broader funding imbalance and outdated structures of cultural funding in Australia. “While in the wider world there has been a proliferation of decentralised cultural production within our funding structures, we still assume … more
Wild Rivers and Indigenous economic policy
In the recent power broking over Canberra’s hung parliament Indigenous property rights gained an unusual prominence. In this guest post, lawyer Sarah Burnside explores where to from here. more
Ben Eltham: Ferociousness can be a good thing
CPD Fellow Ben Eltham writing in the ABC’s The Drum Unleashed argues that a ferocious opposition is good for Australian democracy. First published 23 September 2010. “Now that the dust is settling and the new MPs and being inducted into the ways of Parliament (key text: Chumbawamba), we can start to see something of the shape of federal politics for … more
Ben Eltham: culture is bigger than the arts
CPD Fellow Ben Eltham, writing in issue 200 of Overland, argues that the Australia Council should be abolished. First published 4 September 2010. “Last year I had a meeting with two officers of the Australia Council. The Australia Council – or OzCo, as nearly everyone in the cultural industries calls it – is the federal government’s arts funding and advisory … more
The Australian respond to John Menadue’s criticisms
The Australian respond to John’s criticisms After listening to John’s comments about the media and their recent coverage of the election, you might like to see how The Australian have responded in an editorial on 18 September and in Janet Albrechtsen’s column on 22 September. Both take aim at John Menadue for his criticisms of the their election coverage, describing … more