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- AQ: Australian Quarterly 95.1 – Jan-Mar 2024
AQ 95.1 - New Jan-Mar 2024 Edition - Out Jan 1st
No matter how you voted, there’s no doubt that the referendum has become an important historical and cultural event for the country – and we at AQ believe that there is a lot to be unfolded from the process, the reception, and the repercussions.
As Michelle Grattan and Mark Evans note, this was the first referendum of the social media age. Yet what effect did this have? Debate was more vociferous, arguably more manipulated and misinformed, yet the result closely echoed the result from the 1999 Republic referendum. What can Australia do post referendum, to not undo the decades of reconciliation that brought us to this point?
And just like 1999, the Murdoch media empire was at the very centre of the debate. Yet even the Sky and Fox juggernauts have changed, increasingly elevating opinion over news reporting, and political gains over social cohesion. Dr Victoria Fielding takes us through her research on how much of the media is failing our democracy.
All this and more in the Jan 2024 Edition of AQ!
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Burning Down the House: Greedflation and the RBA
The Reserve Bank of Australia has failed, and mortgage holders are paying the price. The recent surge in inflation was initially caused by a number of supply shocks but these shocks have been used as cover by businesses in Australia and around the world, to increase their profit margins. This ‘profit push’ inflation has been dubbed ‘greedflation’. With the supermarkets and banks posting record profits and inflation remaining stubbornly high, perhaps it is now time to look at the actual causes, and stop punishing those who can least afford it.
Matt Grudnoff
The Voice to Parliament and the Silent Majority
The Albanese government’s referendum on the Voice to Parliament was a gamble against the odds of history. For First Nations people, the referendum was another test of their faith in the ability of Australia’s democratic settlement to right historic wrongs. So why did the vote fail and what are the consequences? Most importantly, what set of policy instruments – some old and some new – might be able to rebuild trust between government and First Nations?
Mark Evans and Michelle Grattan
Treating People, not just a Virus: Cure, Community, and Collaboration for Hep B
Two billion people in the world have been infected with hepatitis B. Each year 800,000 people die from the virus and related complications. It is the primary cause of liver-cancer, the globe’s second biggest cause of cancer deaths. In Australia, the disease burden is carried by primarily indigenous communities, refugees, and migrants – the people historically marginalised from the medical system. More needs to be done to get governments, companies, and communities to tackle the world’s least understood public health crisis.
Thomas Tu
The last great opportunity? Penetrating the politics of whistleblower protection
Recent memory is littered with public servants prosecuted by the state, despite whistleblowing on issues of high public interest. Witness K and Bernard Collaery on Timor phone tapping; David McBride and the Afghan Files; Richard Boyle and oppressive ATO tactics; Robodebt. Whistleblowers save taxpayers money, and are a backstop against corruption – why are they continuing to be prosecuted for revealing the truth, and is Australia about to miss it’s last great chance for reform?
AJ Brown