During the Senate debate on the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Reform) Bill 2017, we hear Pauline Hanson’s latest views on the Republic, “The ABC receives over $1 billion a year from the Australian taxpayer. We are not all left-wing bleeding…
This thought-provoking exhibition closes at the National Gallery of Australia, alas (see also News Item of 26 May 2017). WfaAR was struck by the intensely political nature of a significant number of the works chosen for this third National Indigenous Art Triennial, all extensively…
Commenting on the High Court’s consideration of the national, non-compulsory survey of attitudes to same-sex marriage, David Marr reminds us – and it’s rare for us to quote male writers on this site – how difficult it is to change of the status quo in…
Clinton Pryor walked nearly 6000km from Western Australia to Canberra. Upon arrival, he requested “sovereign to sovereign” meetings with the Governor-General and Prime Minister. He eventually got to meet with the G-G, PM and Opposition leader but all were held on…
Fairfax journalist Aubrey Perry makes a pertinent point in this article (click on link): Australia cannot be a secular state – as it must be given its origins and status as a modern, progressive, multi-ethnic democracy – as long as its Head of…
Confused by non-binding, voluntary, postal surveys, for example, the one on same-sex marriage? Here’s a useful backgrounder from the RMIT/ABC Factchecker with interesting historical data especially about the voluntary postal vote to elect delegates to the Constitutional Convention on the Republic held in late 1997. Click…
The ACT will have a new public holiday in 2018 for Reconciliation Day. Greens member of the Legislative Assembly, Caroline Le Couteur, welcomed the new day-off but also called on the Assembly to change the date of Australia Day as it marked a…
One of the founding members of the Australian Republican Movement, Geraldine Doogue, was invited to attend the Democracy 100 event at the Museum of Australian Democracy in Canberra. MOAD co-hosted the event with the Institute of Governance and Policy Analysis at the University…
This day found WfaAR at Aras an Uachtarain, known locally as “the Aras” – the residence of the President of Ireland. The house and the formal gardens with trees planted by Queen Victoria and other British royal visitors, are open to the public every Saturday…
WfaAR conducts a workshop for the 2017 national conference of the Network of Women Students Australia (NOWSA) at the ANU in Canberra attended by 250 women from campuses across the country. Results from the voting exercise were that the young women attending favoured…
