Ai Weiwei Highlights Treatment of Global Refugees in Human Flow Documentary and Sydney Biennale Installations

My latest post for Global Voices:

During a visit to Australia, Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has blitzed the media with his concerns about the global treatment of refugees.

He is the headline artist with two major installations at the Biennale of Sydney that runs until June 2018. One, called “The Law of the Journey” located at the Cockatoo Island, features a black rubber, inflatable boat and figures. They were made with the same material used to produce the hazardous boats that some asylum seekers and migrants travel in while attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

...Ai also spoke at the Cinema Nova for the Melbourne opening of his documentary “Human Flow”, which features the stories of refugees in 23 countries in 2016.

...Kon Karapanagiotidis from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre conducted a live interview on Facebook and Twitter that has since attracted nearly 10,000 viewers.

More: From Sydney Biennale Installations to Film Screenings, Ai Weiwei Highlights Treatment of Global Refugees

Voluntary Assisted Dying Becomes Reality in Victoria

Euthanasia – Courtesy Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 http://nyphotographic.com/

"The Australian state of Victoria is the first in the country to have passed voluntary assisted dying [VAD] legislation. This historic decision by the Victorian parliament has been very controversial, with people divided over the question of euthanasia on ethical and/or religious grounds.

...The likelihood of VAD becoming law in other parts of the country is uncertain. There have been a number of unsuccessful attempts in recent years in other states to introduce comparable legislation, and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is going down a similar path to Victoria by establishing a multi-party parliamentary committee to look into end of life choices.

While any VAD laws that the ACT may pass could still be disallowed by the federal parliament, it seems that only one parliamentary member would be keen to do so: the former prime minister, Tony Abbott, is a conservative Catholic who campaigned vigorously against same sex marriage, and he has said that he hopes the Victorian laws will be overturned someday."

From my latest globalvoices.org post: Victoria Becomes the First Australian State to Pass Voluntary Assisted Dying Legislation

Australian Federal Police Accessed Journalist's Phone Records Illegally - ‘We Told You So'

My latest post for Global Voices Advox:

The Australian Federal Police revealed on April 28 that one of their officers broke the law by accessing a journalist's phone records without a warrant.

...There was... a strong negative reaction on social media, especially from critics of the data retention system. There were concerns that the police, often referred to as the AFP (not to be confused with the French news wire) are above the law as the officer concerned is not facing any action.

...Others shared their concerns that the original justification for retaining and accessing data, namely national security and drug law enforcement, was being used to control media freedom

...The police have admitted that the data revealed by the breach cannot be “unseen”. Whether evidence arising from the illegality will be admissible in a court case remains unclear.

‘We Told You So: Australian Federal Police Accessed Journalist's Phone Records Illegally

Updated Australian National Dictionary Is Here to Teach You ‘Dinkum’ Aussie English

From my latest post for Global Voices: The Updated Australian National Dictionary Is Here to Teach You ‘Dinkum’ Aussie English

Australian National Dictionary 2nd Edition.

When I was a teacher, an unfamiliar student approached me in the schoolyard during play lunch, or the mid-morning break. "Is it true you read the dictionary for fun?" he enquired. His response to my positive answer was, "You're a sick man!" You've been warned.

Over the years, Global Voices editors and translators have wondered about some of the words in my posts. For those struggling with or just interested in 'Australianisms', the updated Australian National Dictionary may be a timely addition to your library.

To most English-speaking people, Australian English, otherwise known as Strine, must seem like a foreign language. Take the sentence below:

Any true blue, dinkum Aussie battler from Astraya's Deep North knows that Canberrans are really Mexicans.

Translation:

Any genuine Australian from Northern Queensland knows that residents of Canberra, the national capital, are from south of the border (and hence inferior).

Interstate or regional rivalry down under is present in a lot of Australian English terms (both geographical references in the sentence above carry derogatory connotations). For example, Taswegians, who are from the southern island state of Tasmania, are proud of their contributions to the Australian National Dictionary, and as such their bragging might qualify them as a 'yaffler', or a loudmouth.

Taswegians view the rest of Australia as 'mainlanders':

Tourism pitch to 'save a mainlander' - ABC News (Australian ... http://t.co/WiQVsXDT

— Manny Papadoulis (@TourismSMM) June 4, 2012

Two new additions to the dictionary are related to Australia's capital, Canberra: 'Canberran' is a person from Canberra, and 'Canberra bashing' is somewhat of a national political pastime. The local chief minister had a message to the online oligarchs to fix their spellcheckers:

Canberran has finally made it to the dictionary but it's time for that underline to go #Microsoft #Apple #Twitter pic.twitter.com/ND10ElyjwB

— Andrew Barr (@ABarrMLA) August 23, 2016

Another Canberra politician, member of the House of Representatives Andrew Leigh, helped launch the second edition of the dictionary, 28 years after the first. In his remarks, he highlighted some of the phrases that made it into the publication:

• 'callithumpian' (a lack of adherence to any religion)
• 'rurosexual' (a fashionable young man living in a country area)
• 'sea changer' (a change of lifestyle, especially moving from the city to a seaside town)
• 'doesn't know whether he's Arthur or Martha' (to be in a state of confusion)
• 'your blood's worth bottling' (you are of exceptional value)
• 'do a Bradbury' (to become the unlikely winner)
• 'carry on like a pork chop' (to behave foolishly, make a fuss)
• 'happy as a bastard on father’s day' (extremely unhappy)
• 'straight to the pool room' (expressing the great value of a gift or prize, etc.)
• 'wouldn't know if a tram was up him unless the conductor rang the bell' (extremely stupid)

He also pointed out some of the Indigenous words that now feature, such as 'gubinge', which is a type of plum, and 'migaloo', meaning a white person.

'Migaloo' is only one of over 500 words from 100 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, as Australian National Dictionary editor Bruce Moore explained on news and analysis site The Conversation in a post titled 'Do you know a Bunji from a Boorie? Meet our dictionary’s new Indigenous words'.

While all these entries are touted as 'new', many are only new to the dictionary. During the 1960s, for example, my father claimed that he always wrote 'callithumpian' as his religion on the Census form.

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Mariam Veiszadeh: Shedding Light and Hope on Islamophobia in Australia

'Islamophobia in Australia', Mariam Veiszadeh's address to the Castan Centre's Human Rights Law conference on 22 July 2016, had a heightened sense of urgency given the international situation. She is the founder and President of the Islamophobia Register Australia which "seeks to provide a means for incidents of Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim sentiments to be reported, recorded and analysed".

This video contains her presentation and the question session that followed:



Mariam's speech was blunt, personal yet conciliatory:

My relationship with islamophobia over the years has taken many forms – from being an advocate against it, to becoming a victim of it and everything in between.

...My message is for the backyard bigots and the backyard sheikhs and everyone in between.

...The utter irony is that all of the parties involved on each end of the extreme spectrum cling on to the false hope that their words and actions are actually tackling and thereby reducing endemic and institutionalised Islamophobia and global injustices (in the case of the young disillusioned souls, falling prey to radicalisation) or in turn, reducing and countering radicalisation, terrorism and/or the perceived Muslim threats (in the case of the islamophobes - both at an individual and institutional level).

...Put simply, there are far too many disaffected and disillusioned people amongst us on both ends of the spectrum.

We need to work together to bring them into the fold. Both the ones on this end of the extreme spectrum and the ones on the other end of the spectrum.

Nevertheless, Mariam did not shy away from the horrific consequences of what she calls normalisation of islamophobia:

Of particular concern is the fact that our data contains in it an alarming number of incidents in which mothers are harassed in the presence of young children.

Mariam discussed the impact of Pauline Hanson's One Nation party with her anti-Muslim policies, and the rise of Donald Trump's islamophobia.

She also tackled growing of dehumanisation in Australian society:

When you oppress me by sending me threats of death, violence and rape, simply because I speak out about the islamophobia that my community and I are facing, a process of dehumanisaton is taking place.

However, Mariam finished on a positive note:

Let the reasonable voices unite and let us expend our energies into trying to inject love and compassion into a world that is being increasingly filled with destruction and despair for the forces binding us together are stronger than the forces pulling us apart.

And when we lose hope, as I sometimes do, let us look down at the face of our future generations, reflect on their futures, reflect on our hopes and dreams, and pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and light that damn candle again, for darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that.

The transcript of her speech can be accessed here. In addition there is an video interview with Mariam:

World Spotlight on Australia's Cardinal Pell

From my latest post for globalvoices.org - World Spotlight on Australia's Cardinal Pell at Rome Child Sexual Abuse Hearing:

It may have been a blessing in disguise that he did not ‘come home’ as musician Tim Minchin demanded because the hearing's set-up focused international attention on the issues raised and the cardinal's role.

...During his presentation, Pell was quite prepared to criticise the Catholic Church's handling of abuse allegations. He blamed the former bishop of Ballarat, Ronald Mulkearns, for repeatedly moving Ridsdale from parish to parish. He also accused former Archbishop of Melbourne Frank Little of covering up serious allegations. However, those looking for personal contrition or a smoking gun implicating him in cover-ups were sorely disappointed and many questioned his evidence.

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Comic versus Cardinal: Come Home to the Child Sex Abuse Hearing

From my latest post for @globalvoices: Oz Comedian's Song Challenges Cardinal to ‘Come Home’ for Child Sex Abuse Hearing

The lyrics are deliberately offensive, as is typical of Minchin's in-your-face comedic style.
He calls Pell a “coward”, “scum” and a “pompous buffoon”. In a very provocative red rag finish, he goads the Cardinal to “come home and frickin’ sue me”.
Cardinal Pell has since offered to “meet with and listen to victims and express his ongoing support”.

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‘Paddle Outs’ Pay Tribute to Australian Surfers #AdamandDean Murdered in Mexico

'Surfers from around the world have honoured Australians Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas, who were killed in Mexico in what authorities say was a robbery gone wrong, with ‘paddle outs‘ — a tribute in which participants paddle out into the water on their surfboards and join hands in a circle. Thousands took part in several countries including Australia, Mexico and the United States on 13 December 2015.

"Too young, too soon".'

From my latest Global Voices post: Worldwide ‘Paddle Outs’ Pay Tribute to Australian Surfers Murdered in Mexico

Family violence still a national emergency that needs more than words

My Global Voices story for last week: Australians Unite to Tackle Family Violence on White Ribbon Day 2015

#WhiteRibbonDay, which observes the International Day of the Elimination of Violence against Women, took on a strong sense of urgency in Australia on 25 November 2015.

More than needing sympathy, those experiencing family violence need well funded services, decent housing, strong social welfare #HittingHome

— Emeline Gaske (@emelinegaske) November 24, 2015

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Is Australia's ICT Workforce Facing Life Support?

Demand for ICT workers in Australia is predicted to grow by 100,000 by 2020 according to a report commissioned by the Australian Computer Society. That's an average annual growth of 2.5%. Australia's Digital Pulse produced by Deloitte Access Economics (DAE) outlines some of the challenges related to skills, jobs and education.

Digital Pulse Appendix

Those gathered at the Victorian launch on 8 July welcomed the report. According to ACS President Brenda Aynsley: “Victoria has a strong history of development in ICT and this is shown in the continuing growth in employment demand. An additional 3.2% to the ICT workforce is going to be required each year, right up until 2020. This equates to nearly 40,000 extra local workers needed over the next six years. With a sustained focus on digital education and training, Victoria will be better positioned to meet this high demand locally."

However, she believes that it is "an urgent matter".

Most of the audience were wearing their daytime uniforms, with grey suits predominating. However, there was nothing bland about the Q&A session after the presentation. Many in the audience expressed concern about the extent of the problems facing Oz ICT:

• The 100,000 increase does not represent the actual number of new workers needed. The high industry turnover will mean many more workers will have to be replaced.
• The critical role and importance of TAFE training needs more attention.
• The need for concrete plans to realise future directions such as the report recommendation that higher education institutions develop "more disciplinary opportunities between ICT and other subject areas".
• The education and training needs of so-called 'non-ICT' workers.
• The short-sighted approach to the brain-drain, using temporary 457 visas. DAE reports that "in recent years many Australian businesses have relied on workers from overseas and importing ICT skills to fill the gap. More than 10,000 temporary skilled migration (457) visas have been granted annually to ICT workers over recent years, and net arrivals of ICT workers were around 19,000 in 2013–14. with 10,000 granted annually in recent years".
• The increasingly artificial distinction between the technological world of engineers, programmers and web developers and their "users".

DAE has recommended "an increased national focus on growing Australia's ICT capabilities and skills in the workforce". When the report was first released in June, SBS's The Feed concentrated on the workforce's poor image in its segment Are TV nerd stereotypes holding back the industry?



Terence Huynh, aka the Tech Geek, is no nerd hiding in the backroom. His post Victoria needs 40,000 extra IT workers, according to new ACS data looks at the State data distributed at the Victorian launch:

Victoria will need 40,000 extra IT employees over the next six years in order to meet demand in 2020, according to new data from the Australian Computer Society and Deloitte Access Economics released today.

...According to the new local data, Victoria’s IT sector will grow by an additional 3.2 percent each year over the next six years – higher than the national average found in the Australia’s Digital Pulse report.

This will largely be due to the predicted growth in IT management jobs as a number of organisations are expected to base their organisations in Victoria. This was recently helped by Square announcing that they open an Australian office in Melbourne, and said they chose the city because of its “growing reputation as Australia’s technology hub”.

“Victoria has a large number of highly skilled workers, and as a result the state is an attractive place for leading edge companies to do business. What this report shows is that state based programs can deliver real results and because of this we are seeing the digital economy in Victoria reaching new heights,” ACS Victoria Chair, Craig Horne, said.

It was disappointing that there was not enough time for more discussion. The audience raised several hot issues including a perceived failure of government and business to take a lead.

More than one participant expressed the view that the 2.5% growth in the ICT workforce reflects a "pathetic trend" when compared with our international competitors.

If the sector is to balance some of 5 million Australian jobs tipped to go by CEDA (Committee for Economic Development of Australia), then it needs to get cracking. Ironically, the disappearing jobs will be the result of "technological advancements".

Human Rights Video: Do We Have a Right to Vote?

Do We Have a Right to Vote?

Who has the right to vote (and who should) and when can that vote be taken away?

Monash University's Castan Centre for Human Rights Law tackles these issues in the latest of its video series "Have You Got That Right?".

Australians Tweeting for #MotherLanguage Day

What is your first language? Do you use it on social media or in other communications? From my latest post for Global Voices:

Even though more than 7,000 languages are spoken in the world, the Internet is dominated by a handful of them. For International Mother Language on 21 February 2015, Global Voices was part of an international community which promoted the campaign to Tweet in Your #MotherLanguage.

In Australia, it is estimated had between 300 and 400 Indigenous languages at the time of British colonisation in 1788. Of those remaining today, perhaps only a few dozen remain strong while many of the others are threatened.

Australians Shake Up Internet With Indigenous #MotherLanguage Tweets

Federal Government considering welfare card to limit spending on fast foods

The Australian Federal Government proposes to crackdown on the use of welfare payments at fast food outlets. This would be part of a new welfare card designed to stop people from spending the majority of their government benefits on alcohol, gambling and poor diet.

A trial is to take place involving fast food giants McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Coded named ‘No fries with that”, welfare recipients will be restricted to one unhappy meal per week per family.

The Minister responsible for the Obesity Epidemic, Kevin Morrison, is to join a fat finding mission to the United Kingdom next month. The British government is currently considering cutting welfare benefits to people who will not undergo treatment for drug problems and obesity.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, Malcolm Trudge, insists that the card will not only apply to indigenous people. He has emphasised that, “it would not apply just to Indigenous people. It would be colour-blind. It would apply to everybody according to a set of criteria”. The installation of weighing machines in Centrelink offices could be the first step in establishing benchmarks.

As spokesperson for the Trans Fat National Foods Association, Colonel Ronald Sanders, has responded, “The government must weigh its options carefully. They cannot afford to clown around with people’s health”.

‘St Valentine’s Day Massacre’ at Melbourne Cricket Ground #AUSvENG

Really enjoyed writing this post for Global Voices: Cricket World Cup: 'St Valentine’s Day Massacre' at Melbourne Cricket Ground

...The thousands of tweets about the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) match fell into a number of clear categories. The majority were descriptions of the action and scores, such as those above. The next most common involved either triumph or disaster. A recurring theme amongst England supporters was the sorry state of their team and their performance.

...Aussie supporters revelled in their team’s dominance... However, some were unforgiving when it came to individual players.

...Cricket commentators and celebrities were frequent targets, especially Oz cricket icon Shane Warne and the Mail Online’s Piers Morgan.

...A meme soon emerged comparing England to the minor cricket nations.

...There were other more serious political connections. Protesters gained some support online.

...Finally, the Valentine’s Day meme popped up numerous times, culminating in the inevitable cliché:

St Valentines Day Massacre #AusvEng

— Zag Neek (@zagneek) February 14, 2015

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Last-Minute Pleas to Stop Indonesia's Execution of Two Australian Drug Smugglers

The vigils continue for Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan. My roundup for Global Voices of online reactions to the latest developments:

Tony Abbott says he has done everything he can but will not engage in “megaphone diplomacy”, according to the Jakarta Post. Many are not convinced:

Not objecting to the execution of your own citizens is, itself, a form of megaphone diplomacy.

— Sir Newt (@NewtonMark) February 5, 2015

Last-Minute Pleas Pour In to Stop Indonesia's Execution of Two Australian Drug Smugglers


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Countdown to Asian Cup 2015 Hots Up

The Asian Cup 2015 kicks off on Friday 9 January in Melbourne. Global Voices is covering the unfolding stories.

The first post: Countdown to Asian Cup 2015 Hots Up in Australia

Tony Abbott's About-Face on Sexism, Two Years Late

My latest roundup for Global Voices Online: Australian Prime Minister's About-Face on Sexism, Two Years Late

A tense moment between Prime Minister Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott (25 February 2012)
Copyright © Demotix. Photo by Angus Mordant

"There are doubts that the prime minister will be able to put the gender card back in the pack".

What World Leaders Should Discuss at Brisbane's G20 Summit

My latest Global Voices post: What World Leaders Should Discuss at Brisbane's G20 Summit

The G20 summit on 15- 6 November 2014 has done what terrorism has never managed to do – shutdown the centre of an Australian city, namely Brisbane. Just the arrival of Barack Obama has been a showstopper.

Watch this space.

Burqa Banished Behind Glass

From my latest post for Global Voices Online: Burqa Banished Behind Glass in Australian Parliament

There have been strong reactions to a decision on 2 October 2014 by the presiding officers of the Australian parliament concerning the burqa.

The current controversy should be seen in the context of:

The raising of the National Terrorism Public Alert level from Medium to High, “that points to the increased likelihood of a terrorist attack”.

High profile security raids with subsequent terrorism charges.

The stabbing of two police officers by a Muslim youth who was shot dead.

Australia’s military participation in the coalition against the so-called Islamic State.

New, tougher anti-terrorism laws that have been condemned by some as striking “at the heart of press freedom”.

Twitter was ablaze with lots of opposition to and some support for the proposal.

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Peter Greste: Act to #FreeAJStaff

My post for Global Voices: Australian Shock and Outrage at Egyptian Sentencing of Al Jazeera Journalists

Update from @no_filter_Yamba:

@Kevin_Rennie Trying to spread info where write, phone, fax, email Egyptian Embassy in Australia re Peter Greste pic.twitter.com/es0Aid4iyU
— no_filter_Yamba (@no_filter_Yamba) June 25, 2014

So let's do something! Silence is consent.