ARM announces a Republican Advisory Panel, a first for the organisation. Half the sixteen members are women. Among the well-known republican identities from academia, sport and business are Louise Adler; Larissa Behrendt; Marina Go; Catherine Harris; Helen Irving; Jane Needham; Kim Rubenstein and Clare Wright. For more…
Building on the success of the same sex marriage voluntary vote with its nearly 80 percent participation rate, Katharine Murphy says that the people saved the day. Two paragraphs of her Guardian analysis stand out: “I was struck by the fact that…
WfaAR couldn’t help hearing that the conclusion to the lengthy vote to introduce the same sex marriage legislation in the House of Representatives was a rousing rendition of “I am, you are, we are Aus-tra-lian” ringing from the both the public gallery and…
We were invited to talk to the ALP’s new Shadow Minister for an Australian Head of State to add the women’s perspective to Labor’s first concrete steps towards voting for a Republic (see also News Item for 24 October 2017 about Matt’s appointment). The discussion…
Today came news of Prince Harry’s engagement. By midnight, it made up the top three stories on ABC online. The next day, regular prime-time programming on the ABC was disrupted to show the live BBC interview. Hearing Harry describe Meghan Markle, three years…
At the end of the successful defence of the women’s Ashes cricket against England – and on the eve of the start to the men’s Ashes series – WfaAR sees very good use for this season’s slogan #BEATENGLAND in the Republic campaign. Cricket isn’t the…
Designer, Mary Featherston speaking at the National Portrait Gallery during the Canberra Design Festival, shows how the great Australian architects and designers of the 20th century created house designs and furniture that were innovative and uniquely adapted to our climate,…
The results of the same sex marriage survey announced today show a remarkable pattern of women’s voting throughout the country. In every electorate, even the 17 majority NO electorates, women voluntarily voted at a significantly higher percentage than men, generally four to six…
Dr Benjamin T Jones of the ANU talks about citizens at the heart of the polis, empowered to participate and seeking the honour of the nation (rather than self-honour) in describing a model drawn from the “Hellenic Hills” as the desired template for…
At least the failed Catalan vote for independence showed some resolve as citizens were able to rally around a clear, planned and targetted cause with strong parliamentary support. As one woman commented, “at least they had the energy to try” which says something about Australia’s…
