The decision by the Adelaide Festival Board to exclude Palestinian Australian author and academic Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah from Adelaide Writers’ Week on the grounds of “cultural sensitivity” is based on a dangerously broad and vague criterion for suppressing free speech. The board appears to have overruled Writer’s Week director Louise […]
Human Rights
Australia cannot end workplace sexual harassment unless governments and employers confront how racism, class, disability and insecure work compound discrimination, Sex Discrimination Commissioner Dr Anna Cody has warned in a powerful National Press Club address. “We still have a fairly limited, narrow understanding of sexual harassment… power gets used by […]
Australia has joined 28 international partners in calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and a lifting of all restrictions on food and medical supplies. Foreign Minister Penny Wong, along with counterparts from countries including the United Kingdom, France and Canada, has signed a joint statement demanding Israel complies […]
Earlier this month, the Federal Court found controversial Muslim cleric Wissam Haddad breached the Racial Discrimination Act. Justice Angus Stewart ruled a series of speeches Haddad posted online were “fundamentally racist and antisemitic [and] profoundly offensive” towards Jewish people in Australia. However, the court also ruled criticism of Israel, Zionism and the Israel Defense […]
The way racism manifests itself may have changed over time, but it remains a persistent problem in Australia. The 2024 Reconciliation Barometer found a significant increase in racism against First Nations people. Antisemitism and Islamophobia have also been on the rise. Many other migrant communities and their Australian-born descendants continue to face racial discrimination, abuse and […]
Australians are reeling from the news that Victorian childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown has been charged with more than 70 offences against children, including rape. As 1,200 children await results for sexually transmitted infections, a horror no parent should ever face, media commentary has begun to focus on how this case might […]
Bullying is arguably one of the most serious issues facing Australia’s schools. About one in four students between Year 4 and Year 9 report being bullied regularly. This can have serious and lasting consequences. Research suggests students who are bullied are at an increased risk of mental health problems and self-harm. On Friday, […]
In 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump implemented a policy to fast-track asylum for white South African farmers, citing alleged “land seizures” and persecution — despite no credible evidence that these farmers met the internationally recognised definition of a refugee. Critics pointed out the hypocrisy: while the U.S. sought to bar […]
What began as a peaceful protest in the heart of Footscray on Tuesday erupted into chaos, as tensions flared following the police shooting of Abdifatah Ahmed, a 35-year-old rough sleeper with mental health issues. More than 250 demonstrators gathered at Nicholson Street in Melbourne’s inner west to demand justice for […]
Sydney Opera House was the stage for an explosive launch on Wednesday as Diversity Arts Australia (DARTS) kicked off its hard-hitting Anti-Racism & The Arts campaign. The creative sector has long been criticised for its lack of racial diversity, but now, a powerful movement is demanding change. And it’s not […]
