Opinion
Greece and Australia, two different approaches to raging fires
Next year, I will clock up 50 years as a firefighter. In my line of work, the sound of an alarm always triggers an immediate, co-ordinated, and focused response. Firefighters …
Ten minutes of curfew
The street is still, still like a photograph. There are no cars on the road. A person last walked in the street more than two hours ago. She abandoned her …
Features –
An attitude to Jews in the 1821 Greek War of Independence
According to tradition, after Patriarch Gregory and other Orthodox prelates were cut down from their place of execution soon after the outbreak of the Greek Revolution, the Ottomans ordered that …
Fires, floods and the worsening climate crisis
Dangerous climate change has gone from forecasted future to lived experience in more and more countries. In recent weeks, devastating fires in southern Europe and floods in northern Europe have …
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British Museum: Finally the truth leaks out
On my first visit to the British Museum (BM) Parthenon Sculptures gallery in 2015, I was surprised to see this strange pattern on the skylight. London is not a dusty …
Apocalyptic films have lulled us into a false sense of security about climate change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)‘s sobering “code red for humanity” report comes on the heels of months of devastating weather events around the world. Our front pages have been dominated …
Census night and the case of the missing ancestral box, lost in the land of “Other”
The front security door clicks open. I walk to the counter and the constable lifts his head. “I’m here to report a lost item,” I say. “A box with my …
The federal government just made it even harder for Australians overseas to come home. Is this legal? Or reasonable?
The COVID-19 pandemic has meant huge restrictions on Australians’ ability to travel both within Australia and overseas. But until now, Australian citizens ordinarily resident in other countries have been able …
My Life in (bloody) Lockdown 6.0
What are you eating? Food, “ρε μαλακά”, food. What are you listening to? The voices in my head. What do you think I’m listening to? What are you reading? Who …
Kings, symbols and cities: Constructing the divine
A few years ago, at a meeting of Victorian Christian leaders in Parliament, the then premier Ted Baillieu, an architect by training, commented on just how intrinsic churches are to …