The human mind is surely the most complex phenomenon that we are aware of in the universe. Consequently it displays many perplexing and often seemingly contradictory traits. Many of us, erroneously, believe that we are autonomous when it comes to our behaviour so that our will has dominion such that we can just choose to […]

One of the more important debates we are going to have this year is about the Voice referendum. The discussions about the Voice have already become very vitriolic and partisan. My friend and astute commentator on indigenous affairs, Anthony Dillon, deplores the fact that the debate on the voice has become so polarised that contrary […]

Roy Green was a farmer. He had a little plot not far out of town where he specialised in growing greens for the local vegetarian restaurants. Although he sometimes varied his crops his staples were kale, bean sprouts and lentils. And because he was an organic farmer his products received a high premium when sold […]

Our ability to assimilate into our Australian population migrants from a multitude of countries is often held up as an indicator of our tolerant and largely inclusive society. There is no doubt that strongly embedding such people into our society has aided both the economic and cultural advancement of our country. Of course in doing […]

In contrast to the current impecunious and troubled Greece of today, ancient Greece led the world with its concepts of philosophy, politics and citizenship. Many would argue that modern democracies owe much to the developments of these concepts over two millennia ago emanating from Greece. A major figure in these developments was Plato’s famous pupil, […]

In 1942, American composer, Aaron Copland, produced a musical work that he titled a Fanfare for the Common Man. This was an attractive concept for me because such tributes as fanfares are normally the preserve of kings and queens, emperors and presidents and those of popular high repute. I was reminded of this because of […]

It has always intrigued me how different things look when viewed from different perspectives. One of the different ways we can look at things is to examine them in detail or look at them holistically. In my youth I studied economics and found out there were two major ways of coming to an understanding of […]

My previous essay was about the so-called Voice to parliament. The good (self-indulgent) thing about writing my essays is that it always stimulates my own thinking causing me to question and try to reconcile my own beliefs. After writing about the Voice and the seeming attempt to ensconce a race-based bias in our constitution, it […]

I grew up in a regional country town with quite a large indigenous community. In each of my primary school classes there were quite a few indigenous children. In general they were quietly spoken and well-behaved. While I can’t remember any of them being high achievers academically, I do remember that some had exquisite handwriting […]

I noticed an article in the press the other day where the university research community is lobbying the new Labor government not to interfere in the disbursement of ARC grants.  They resented the fact the previous government had intervened and refused to fund 6 out of the recommended 587 proposed for funding on the basis […]