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A new history of ‘blackbirding’ favours moral condemnation at the expense of complexity

In the second half of the 19th century, colonial agriculture and pastoralism in Queensland were hungry for labour, and people of the South Pacific supplied much of it. Ryan Butta is not the first author to write the history of their maltreatment, but Blackbirding is a readable reminder of a…

The Conversation · 1h ago

Explainer: the governor-general is also commander-in-chief of the defence forces. What does this mean in practice?

Australia’s new Governor-General, Sam Mostyn, recently said that she does not fit the usual idea of a governor-general – especially the type of person we expect to see as the commander-in-chief of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). But those expectations are beginning to change, and Mostyn, from a military family,…

The Conversation · Sep 3, 2024

The 13 Electorates With The Highest Total HELP Debts In Australia Have Been Revealed

Data from the Parliamentary Library has revealed which of the 11 federal electorates have the highest total HELP debts in Australia.

Pedestrian.tv · May 29, 2024

Friday essay: a slave state - how blackbirding in colonial Australia created a legacy of racism

In July 2021, Jack Dempsey, the mayor of Bundaberg, delivered an official apology for Northern Queensland’s past reliance on the indentured labour of Pacific Islanders, many of whom were kidnapped (or “blackbirded”) and forced to work on the state’s cane plantations. “To say sorry,” explained Dempsey, “is a start in…

The Conversation · Aug 4, 2022

Even in the political afterlife, Morrison departs from the norm

In the past fortnight, former prime minister Scott Morrison has reemerged as a subject of public discussion. First, there was rumour about his interest in securing work with the Australian Rugby League Commission, which he promptly dismissed as “pub talk”.

The Conversation · Jul 22, 2022