Much has been written about the longstanding failings of the Australian media in its reportage of Indigenous affairs. The most recent example is the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum. Research shows journalists were unable to articulate to voters what they were voting for. It also shows journalists failed to counter misinformation and were ill-equipped […]
The swift and unexpected fall of the Syrian capital, Damascus, to Sunni opposition forces marks a pivotal moment in the modern history of the Middle East. Bashar al-Assad’s regime had withstood more than a decade of uprisings, civil war and international sanctions since the onset of widespread protests in 2011. Yet, […]
In the seemingly never-ending psychodrama surrounding Rupert Murdoch and his family, life has imitated art. Again. A report on December 9 in The New York Times revealed details of the recent secret hearing in a Nevada probate court that was literally prompted by the epic HBO drama Succession. In April last year, […]
The federal parliament has passed legislation to ban people under 16 from having an account with some social media platforms. In doing so, it has ignored advice from a chorus of experts – and from the Australian Human Rights Commission, which said the government rushed the legislation through parliament “without taking the time […]
Recently, a landmark coronial inquiry into the deaths of four Indigenous women from domestic and family violence in the Northern Territory released its findings after a year-long investigation. The coroner aimed to understand the systemic responses to an “epidemic of violence that is our national shame”, to then propose improvements to prevent […]
The federal government’s proposed legislation on misinformation and disinformation has passed the House of Representatives, but faces a rocky time in the Senate. Opponents have dubbed it the MAD Bill, and it has certainly made some of them mad. Ironically, there is a great deal of misinformation circulating about the bill itself. […]
Voters from Latino (immigrants from Latin America and their descendants) and Hispanic (people whose heritage is from Spanish-speaking countries) backgrounds contributed significantly to Donald Trump’s resounding victory over Kamala Harris in the US presidential election. Overall, Trump increased his share of the Latino vote to 45% nationwide, up substantially from 32% in his 2020 […]
On the Saturday before Election Day, I travelled from Washington DC to Charlotte, North Carolina, to attend one of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ last campaign rallies. It was extraordinary how many women were in the crowd – young Black women in particular. There were also older, suburban, white women […]
On election eve in the United States, the presidential race is deadlocked. The polls are exceptionally close across the country and in all the swing states – Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin in the industrial midwest; Nevada and Arizona in the west; and Georgia and North Carolina in the south. The final New […]
As Israel continues its assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran appears increasingly backed into a corner. Israel’s efforts to weaken Iran’s proxy network have focused on a number of objectives: eliminating key Hezbollah leaders, destroying their weapons and other military sites, and targeting large numbers of fighters and sympathisers. Hezbollah has […]
