Protecting babies: whooping cough vaccination boosters for adults
Kate Carruthers Many people who were vaccinated as children do not realise that by the time we’re all grown up some of our protection no longer works. In the case of whooping…
society
Findings of the UWS Challenging Racism research
Starting in 1998, a UWS research project has been in progress on the geography of racism in NSW. Key findings of the Racism project include: While racism is quite prevalent…
Democracy in action, civil society and political change
Yesterday in New South Wales there was a major shift in the state’s political landscape. We saw a significant shift in voting with enormous swings against the ALP across the…
Australia and the secret sauce of western civilisation?
Historian Niall Ferguson, in his Civilization: The West and the Rest, notes that: “For 500 years the West patented six killer applications that set it apart. The first to download…
International Women’s Day – some things to celebrate but more work to do
It is International Women’s Day again and surveying the scene here in Australia for women I find much to celebrate. Yet there remains much work to do for the women…
Who does Alan Jones think he is to speak to the Prime Minister like that?
I was completely appalled to hear how a well known radio personality in Sydney spoke to the Prime Minister of Australia on air. The details are outlined well by Barrie…
A lucky country indeed …
Even though it was once said ironically, it has always seemed to me that Australia really is the lucky country. Our national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, sums it up: We’ve…
Australian citizenship, ceremony and ritual
A friend invited me along to his citizenship ceremony the other day. He’s terribly excited about becoming an Aussie after living here for a number of years. We went to…
Inspiring women: Louisa Lawson – women’s suffrage activist and publisher
The fight for women to get the vote was a monument to cooperation, ingenuity and collaboration on the part of many women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.…
On this Christmas Eve in Paris
I contemplate the year past and the year to come and think on how I want my life to be. What do I want my life to stand for? Not…