Richard Eckard, University of Melbourne The National Farmer’s Federation says Australia needs a tougher policy on climate than exists today, calling on the Morrison government to commit to an economy-wide target of net-zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050. It’s quite reasonable for the farming sector to call for stronger action on climate change. Agriculture is […]
Coronavirus will have a temporary effect on much of humanity, but global warming will have a permanent impact on the whole of humanity. Our current federal government relies heavily on science to deal with the former, but largely rejects it for the latter. It could be said that we have had longer than 40 years […]
Review : To Live Life to the Full: Mental Health in Australia Today. The Australian Catholic Bishops Social Justice Statement 2020 The ideology of neoliberalism which has enthralled Western governments in particular for some three decades or so, has managed to redefine the meaning and purpose of society. Mutual attachments and obligations, the interdependence which […]
“We see the world in a different light. Politicians need to start listening to us and taking action”, a youth leader says. Nearly 90 per cent of young people say they feel unprepared for future climate disasters, and want politicians to give them a bigger voice on climate change, a new report finds. Conducted in […]
Australia’s youth has been hit hardest by the unemployment crisis, and is bankrolling the financial advantages enjoyed by older generations. Yet, they are told the pandemic is a good opportunity to grow and develop coping mechanisms. Michael Tanner reports on a new form of victim blaming. The mental health of young people – already teetering […]
Reaganomics and Thatcherism were characterised by huge transfers of income and wealth from the poor to the rich, writes Roger Beale. Even such august institutions as the Productivity Commission argue that there’s little to be gained by going down the road of labour market flexibility. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has suggested we look to the Reagan […]
An alliance of Australia’s leading industry groups has called on governments to commit to reaching zero net emissions by 2050, warning that without a “coherent national response to climate change the future prosperity of the nation will be at risk”. The Australian Climate Roundtable, whose members represent the main business lobby groups including the BCA […]
Pope Francis has repeatedly challenged us to ‘make some noise’ about the serious issues of climate change, as well as about poverty and extreme inequality. He summarised his concerns in his social encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home’, which he signed on Pentecost Sunday 24 March 2015. This is not just any […]
Recently we learned that woody vegetation in New South Wales is being cleared at more than double the rate of the previous decade – and agriculture was responsible for more than half the destruction. Farming now covers 58% of Australia, or 385 million hectares, and accounts for 59% of water extracted. It’s painfully clear nature […]
The Covid-19 crisis has deepened sharply in Australia, with Victoria going into Stage 4 lockdown, and other states on edge. The situation in many other countries is far worse than this, and the prospects immediately ahead fill one with dread. Last month, our editorial noted that various of our articles were ‘urging policy makers to […]
Covid-19 presents us with an opportunity: increased equality in society, resilient to the challenges ahead, or a society ruled by power imbalances, struggling to cope with natural and man-made disasters. Pre-Covid Thirty years ago, it was demonstrated that, in an environment in which access to health care was equitable, health outcomes were determined by position […]
