Acting Up!: Recent Episodes
Posts from AANES, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria: a flourishing, radical experiment in direct democracy in the midst of a warzone
Ratbags, Peaceniks and Agents of Change. Resistance radio that explores the movements that made us, drawing from the activist archives through to voices of resistance today. We take you under the hood to see how collectives and campaigns are formed, mobilise people, work cooperatively to transform systems of oppression and are sustained over time.
In 2026 3CR Community Radio Station is celebrating 50 years of Radical Radio. 3CR is widely recognised as the first community owned and community run grassroots radio station in the country. Broadcasters come from 3CR’s diverse local community and the station provides a platform for the many issues and people misrepresented and underrepresented in the mass media.But at the end of January 2020, the emergence of Covid-19 in Victoria changed everything and by March the station had to go into deep lockdown. What would this mean for a small community radio station like 3CR? I put that question to three people who, with the help of their community, guided the station through this difficult time: Pilar Aguilera, Chair of the Board of 3CR during the Covid crisis, Rachel Kirby, Station Manager during the Covid crisis, and Gab Reade, Coordinator of Current Affairs. Together they recall the challenges they had to overcome, the support they received from their community and what kept them going.
Tiny Sparks and Turning Points is a monthly selection of protests, strikes and significant dates concerning social change in Australian history. This was the segment for May. It was produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a repository of more than 1500 resources for campaigners, which can be found at commonslibrary.org
Greens spokesperson for defence.For more information on this topic, you can contact the Save Public Housing Collective (savepublichousingcollective@gmail.com), and Stop the Demo (stopthedemogroup@gmail.com).
Tiny Sparks and Turning Points is a monthly selection of protests, strikes and significant dates concerning social change in Australian history. This was the segment for April. It was produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a repository of more than 1500 resources for campaigners, which can be found at commonslibrary.org
Tiny Sparks and Turning Points is a monthly selection of protests, strikes and significant dates concerning social change in Australian history. This was the segment for March. It was produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a repository of more than 1500 resources for campaigners, which can be found at commonslibrary.org
Commons Conversations is a series of interviews in which campaigners share their experiences and insights into activism, learning in movements, radical history, and more. The series is produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a repository of more than 1500 resources for campaigners, which can be accessed for free at commonslibrary.orgIn the latest episode digital campaigner James Clark chats with Mar Garcia Sanz, former Secretary General of the European Green Party and current co-director of the European Centre for Digital Action. They discuss how the far-right has successfully used digital tools to engage with dissatisfied citizens and what it will take for progressives to win back this terrain.
Commons Conversations is a series of interviews in which campaigners share their experiences and insights into activism, learning in movements, radical history, and more. The series is produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a repository of more than 1500 resources for campaigners, which can be accessed for free at commonslibrary.orgIn the latest episode Commons Library director Holly Hammond chats with Hayley Sestokas from Environment Victoria. They discuss community and environmental organising in rural and regional areas with a focus on the importance of local connections and deep engagement. The episode also discusses resources to do with regional, remote and rural organizing, as summarised by the Advocacy Research Network.
Tiny Sparks and Turning Points is a monthly selection of protests, strikes and significant dates concerning social change in Australian history. This was the segment for February. It was produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a repository of more than 1500 resources for campaigners, which can be found at commonslibrary.org
s report can be read here- https://commonslibrary.org/first-nations-and-multicultural-voices-from-the-climate-movement/
In today’s episode Commons Librarian Iain McIntyre chats with artivist Jess Harwood about the role of comics and art in creating social change, as well as her work with various campaigns and organisations. The program is produced by the Commons Social Change Library. To access more than 1500 training resources and guides for activists visit commonslibrary.org
s is entitled Tactics Used by Fossil Fuel Companies to Suppress Critique and Obstruct Climate Action while Cathy has co-authored Strategies and Tactics to Curb the Fossil Fuel Industry. The reports can be read here-https://commonslibrary.org/strategies-and-tactics-to-curb-the-fossil-fuel-industry/https://commonslibrary.org/tactics-used-by-fossil-fuel-companies-to-suppress-critique-and-obstruct-climate-action/
s Minday Breakfast program on the first Monday of each month, as well as on other community radio stations around Australia.This was the segment for January. It was produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a repository of more than 1500 resources for campaigners, which can be found at commonslibrary.org
In this week’s episode of Commons Conversations Will Potter from the Tomorrow Movement chats with researcher and activist Natasha Adams about the nature of far-right ideologies in Australia and the UK, as well as their global connections. The pair outline strategies for countering these movements, including building solidarity, scenario planning, and reimagining democracy.This program was produced by the Commons Social Change Library. To access more than 1500 campaigning guides, how-tos, case studies and videos visit commonslibrary.org
In this week’s episode episode Commons Director Holly Hammond chats with Lucy Graham, Cape York Campaigner at the Cairns and Far North Environment Center (CAFNEC) about her experiences of rural and regional organizing.This program was produced by the Commons Social Change Library. To access more than 1500 campaigning guides, how-tos, case studies and videos visit commonslibrary.org
In this week’s episode of Commons Conversations climate justice organizer and therapist Charlie Wood chats with trainer and educator Kazu Haga about his new book, Fierce Vulnerability. Together they explore the intertwined nature of personal and systemic change, emphasizing the importance of collective trauma healing and nonviolent direct action.This program was produced by the Commons Social Change Library. To access more than 1500 campaigning guides, how-tos, case studies and videos visit commonslibrary.org
Tiny Sparks and Turning Points is a monthly selection of protests, strikes and significant dates concerning social change in Australian history. This was the segment for December. It was produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a repository of more than 1500 resources for campaigners, which can be found at commonslibrary.org
s Monday Breakfast program on the first Monday of each month, as well as on other community radio stations around Australia.This was the segment for November. It was produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a repository of more than 1500 resources for campaigners, which can be found at commonslibrary.org
s a highly educational episode about Acquired Brain Injury and disability reform in the criminal justice system.Voices for Change is a self-advocacy group for people with Acquired Brain Injury in the criminal justice system. To learn more, visit: voices-for-change.orgVoices for Change is proudly supported by Fitzroy Legal Service.
s story is powerful and inspiring.Melanie Keely, a well-loved coordinator at the Self Advocacy Resource Unit, also features in the episode talking to Fran about the self-advocacy movement more broadly and what keeps groups on the map.Voices for Change is a self-advocacy group for people with lived experience of Acquired Brain Injury in the criminal justice system.Voices for Change is proudly supported by Fitzroy Legal Service.
talking about how she acquired her brain injury and her message of the need for equitable care by our health and justice system for women who have experienced domestic violence.Bindi also chats with social worker, Sinead Tobin, about her experiences supporting clients with Acquired Brain Injury and what our health and social systems need to recognise ABI and to provide appropriate care.Bindi is a strong advocate and we hope you learn a lot from her episodeThis episode contains heavy themes of abuse and violence that could trigger emotional distress. Please take care when listening.Voices for Change is a self-advocacy group for people with lived experience of Acquired Brain Injury in the criminal justice sytem. To find out more, visit: voices-for-change.orgVoices for Change is proudly supported by Fitzroy Legal Service.
s compared to 2% in the general community (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare).Voices for Change is a self-advocacy group for people with lived experience of Acquired Brain Injury in the criminal justice system. To find out more, visit: voices-for-change.orgVoices for Change is proudly supported by Fitzroy Legal Service.
Tiny Sparks and Turning Points is a monthly selection of protests, strikes and significant dates concerning social change in Australian history. It goes to air on the first Monday of each month on 3CR at 8am.This was the segment for October. It was produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a repository of more than 1500 resources for campaigners, which can be found at commonslibrary.orgMore historical dates can be found here
Tiny Sparks and Turning Points is a monthly selection of protests, strikes and significant dates concerning social change in Australian history. It goes to air on the first Monday of each month on 3CR at 8am.This was the segment for September. It was produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a repository of more than 1500 resources for campaigners, which can be found at commonslibrary.orgMore historical dates can be found here
Tiny Sparks and Turning Points is a monthly selection of protests, strikes and significant dates concerning social change in Australian history. It goes to air on the first Monday of each month on 3CR at 8am.This was the segment for August. It was produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a repository of more than 1500 resources for campaigners, which can be found at commonslibrary.orgMore historical dates can be found here
Tiny Sparks and Turning Points is a monthly selection of protests, strikes and significant dates concerning social change in Australian history. It goes to air on the first Monday of each month on 3CR at 8am.This was the segment for July. It was produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a repository of more than 1500 resources for campaigners, which can be found at commonslibrary.orgMore historical dates can be found here
Tiny Sparks and Turning Points is a monthly selection of protests, strikes and significant dates concerning social change in Australian history. It goes to air on the first Monday of each month on 3CR at 8am. This was the segment for June. It was produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a repository of more than 1500 resources for campaigners, which can be found at commonslibrary.org More historical dates can be found here.
In this podcast Movement Monitor Fellow Isabella Todd interviews Dan Sherrell, from the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and Desiree Cai, from the Tomorrow Movement. They discuss the lessons learnt from campaigning around a policy and legislation win, in the form of the 2024 founding of the Net Zero Authority. In particular they explore how this work brought together and strengthened relationships between unions, climate activists and others. To listen to previous series of Commons Conversations visit https://commonslibrary.org/commons-conversations-podcast/
In a conversation held in late 2024 Tarneen Onus-Browne and Noura Mansour discuss solidarity between First Nations and Palestinian communities in Australia, highlighting the resilience and strength derived from resistance to shared experiences of genocide and settler colonialism. Tarneen Onus-Browne is a proud Gunditjmara, Yorta Yorta person through their mother and Bindal and Meriam person through their father and they live on the unceded land of the Wurundjeri people. They are a community organising lead at Australian Progress and a community organiser for Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance working on Invasion Day, Black Deaths in Custody and Black Lives Matter. Noura Mansour is a Palestinian educator, political analyst, writer, activist and community organizer who is the National Director of Democracy in Colour. To listen to previous series of Commons Conversations visit https://commonslibrary.org/commons-conversations-podcast/
In this episode of Commons Conversations Emily Trounce-Wood interviews anti-nuclear activists Al Lad and Annie McGovern about the 40+ years they have spent opposing the Roxby Downs uranium mine. The pair reflect on their experiences during the 1983 and 1984 blockades against the mine as well as the activism, support and citizen science work they have done in the decades since.To listen to previous series of Commons Conversations visit https://commonslibrary.org/commons-conversations-podcast/
Common Library Engagement Officer Aoife Carli Hannan chats with two activists from Timor-Leste. First off Aoife is joined by Upe, a human rights activist and member of the LGBTIQA+ community, sharing his experiences in the Pride Movement in Timor, his involvement in international solidarity movements, and his experiences joining the fight to save Binybarra / Lee Point on Larrakia Country. After this, she chats with the formidable Bella Galhos, a freedom fighter, survivor, social activist and current Presidential Advisor. During this interview, Bella talks about her role in Timor-Leste's liberation struggle, advancing LGBTIQA+ and women's rights in Timor, and the ongoing challenges facing the nation. These interviews were conducted during a trip to Dili, Timor-Leste in August 2024.www.commonslibrary.org
In this episode Commons Social Change Library Director Holly Hammond chats with Allison Rich and Alicja Pawluczuk from the Endo Violence collective about their creative approach to health activism. To find out more visit- https://endoviolence.com/To listen to previous series of Commons Conversations visit https://commonslibrary.org/commons-conversations-podcast/
In conversation with activist and filmmaker Alex Kelly, Jackie Turner from the Trans Justice Project discusses the importance of building solidarity, community and knowledge of history while combating disinformation.To find out more visit:https://transjustice.org.au/https://commonslibrary.org/the-anti-trans-disinformation-handbook/
In this episode from the third series of Commons Conversations, Kenzie Harris from the Global Grassroots Support Network discusses justice oriented activism and the lessons of successful climate justice organizing with Commons Librarian Iain McIntyre. To find out more visit-https://blueprintsfc.org/ggsn/https://commonslibrary.org/ingredients-for-wins-lessons-from-successful-climate-justice-campaigns-in-north-america/
UCLA-based academic and activist Daniel Pérez Gámez collaborates with Thursday Breakfast programmer Priya to bring you a conversation about the struggle for justice and self-determination by Indigenous land defenders and allied activists in Mexico City. Daniel and Priya delve into the land defence activities and criminalisation of the Indigenous community of San Gregorio Atlapulco, Xochimilco, Mexico City, in the wake of calls for solidarity with veteran activist Hortensia Telésforo Jiménez and her comrades after police and vigilantes violently attacked them during a rally on the 5th of September this year. The audio is a combination of a conversation between Priya and Daniel about the context of this activism and struggle for urban Indigenous community control over communal spaces under contemporary Mexican neoliberalism, and a dubbed interview with Hortensia and her comrades Max Negrete (also from the General Permanent Assembly of San Gregorio Atlapulco), Anselma Margarita (Otomí) and Gato about the events of 5th September.The song used throughout today's show is Trincheras by Mexico City-based duo Zeiba Kuicani and El Flores, from their 2024 album Somos Flechas.
On this edition of Acting Up! we bring you some of the history of protest against weapons exhibitions on this continent. We have a look back into the archives and listen to some 3CR coverage of the Australia International Defence Exhibition (AIDEX) in Canberra in 1991 with an edition of the Stick Together program from 7 December 1991 where presenter Dave Sweeney reports from on the ground at the protests in Canberra. First up we'll listen back to an episode of Uprise Radio from 21 September 2022 in the lead up to Disrupt Land Forces in Muggan Djin - Brisbane. James Brennan and Mercedes Zanker bring some historical context to protesting weapons exhibitions with a presentation from historian Iain McIntyre (Commons Library) and an interview with researcher activist Jacob Grech (A Friday Rave).A coalition of groups is organising the Disrupt Land Forces 2024 festival of resistance.To follow along with 3CR coverage of Disrupt Land Forces you can go to www.3cr.org.au/dlf2024.
When I first arrived there (Woomera) at 3- 3:30 am and it was too dark, I couldn’t see anything.. and in the morning when I woke up I was like OH.. a razor wire? I have came back to prison again? I was expecting they were gonna take me somewhere.. but not like a prison camp!This episode features archival audio and story telling and interview from an Iranian asylum seeker that escaped from the Woomera detention center during the breakout on 28th of June 2002.Produced by Izzy Brown.Featuring music from Combat Wombat.
They bent like half cooked spaghetti, we didn't expect it to happen like that, to the soundtrack of Amelie (a popular French movie at the time) blowing across the desert from dusty speakers, the fences began to fall. Under the weight of people wanting justice, under the weight of people that had enough...This episode features archival audio, interviews and stories from people that were at the Woomera detention center break out in May 2002.Produced by Izzy Brown.Featuring music from Combat Wombat and the Amilee soundtrack.
Commons Conversations was a summer series of interviews in which campaigners shared their experiences and insights into activism, learning in movements, radical history and more. The program was broadcast by Community Radio 3CR and produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a website containing over 1000 resources for campaigners, which can be accessed for free at commonslibrary.orgThis episode features an interview with Laura O’Connell Rapria, the former director of Aotearoa digital campaign organization ActionStation and former executive director of movement building at the Foundation for Young Australians. In conversation with Commons Librarian Holly Hammond they discuss the importance of putting shared values at the heart of campaigning and other work, as well as the significance of contributions by youth and First Nations to social change. Laura also reflects on assisting people to work together across difference in terms of background, life experiences and approaches to social change through the creation of meeting and organizing spaces where people can show up as their full selves.
Commons Conversations was a summer series of interviews in which campaigners shared their experiences and insights into activism, learning in movements, radical history and more. The program was broadcast by Community Radio 3CR and produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a website containing over 1000 resources for campaigners, which can be accessed for free at commonslibrary.orgHow did a rank and file led campaign force the University of Melbourne to hand over $31.5 million in stolen wages? To find out Commons Librarian Iain McIntyre chatted with Geraldine Fela, a member of the National Tertiary Education Union and a former delegate with the University of Melbourne’s Casual Network. She discussed how a strong group, built around concerted campaigning and a culture of grassroots democracy, forced the university into conceding better conditions and paying back stolen wages.
Commons Conversations was a summer series of interviews in which campaigners shared their experiences and insights into activism, learning in movements, radical history and more. The program was broadcast by Community Radio 3CR and produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a website containing over 1000 resources for campaigners, which can be accessed for free at commonslibrary.orgIn this episode Commons Librarian Holly Hammond chats with Maddy Rose Braddon, who works as a connector and collaborator with people and networks to help them thrive in safer communities impacted by climate change. They reflect on the impact of climate change on Northern New South Wales, the lessons to be drawn from community led responses to disaster, and the role of local, grassroots institutions in leading recovery efforts.
Commons Conversations was a summer series of interviews in which campaigners shared their experiences and insights into activism, learning in movements, radical history and more. The program was broadcast by Community Radio 3CR and produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a website containing over 1000 resources for campaigners, which can be accessed for free at commonslibrary.orgThis episode features an interview by Commons Librarian Holly Hammond with novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and historian Sarah Schulman. They discuss the nature of effective coalitions, the challenges of accurately documenting social movements, and lessons from campaigns led by the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) during the 1980s and 1990s. A participant in the campaigns, Schulman’s book, Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993, is based on over 200 interviews with those involved in the fight for healthcare and justice for people living with AIDS and HIV.
Commons Conversations was a summer series of interviews in which campaigners shared their experiences and insights into activism, learning in movements, radical history and more. The program was broadcast by Community Radio 3CR and produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a website containing over 1000 resources for campaigners, which can be accessed for free at commonslibrary.orgIn this episode Commons Librarian Iain McIntyre interviews Irish activist and researcher Laurence Cox about the nature and role of learning in creating social change. Laurence has been involved in a range of movements for more than 35 years. In his day job he researches social movements and co-edits the activist/academic movement journal Interface. Alongside using reflection, learning and sharing to improve a range of practical skills Laurence discusses how various projects and organisations, including Movement Learning Catalyst, are also working to help activists address broader dilemmas to do with strategy and movement building.
Commons Conversations was a summer series of interviews in which campaigners shared their experiences and insights into activism, learning in movements, radical history and more. The program was broadcast by Community Radio 3CR and produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a website containing over 1000 resources for campaigners, which can be accessed for free at commonslibrary.orgIn this episode Millie Telford is interviewed by Grace Vegesana, the Climate & Racial Justice Director for the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC). Millie was active in AYCC prior to co-founding and leading Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network. She worked with Seed for ten years and has recently moved on, focusing on First Nations justice through a new role at Australian Progress. During the interview Millie discusses a range of recent shifts that have come about in Australian society through the activism of First Nations communities. She also outlines the challenges for those communities in finding and working with allies, and the way in which centering the voices of those most affected by issues works to benefit all.
Commons Conversations was a summer series of interviews in which campaigners shared their experiences and insights into activism, learning in movements, radical history and more. The program was broadcast by Community Radio 3CR and produced by the Commons Social Change Library, a website containing over 1000 resources for campaigners, which can be accessed for free at commonslibrary.orgEl Gibbs is a campaigner and award winning writer whose work focuses on disability and social justice issues. In this episode she and writer, speaker and disability rights advocate Elly Desmarchelier discuss their experiences of campaigning around a range of causes. They also chat about ways in which campaigns can become more effective, strategic and accessible, about learning from mistakes, and the importance of rest and fun in creating sustainable, deep and lasting change.
Welcome to Part 4 of the Homes Not Prisons radio series.Homes Not Prisons is a campaign established in March 2021 to stop the expansion of the maximum-security women’s prison in Melbourne’s western suburbs, the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre (DPFC), and divert the funding in public housing and Aboriginal community controlled housing. This episode features talks that explore the intersections of poverty, homelessness and trauma, and how these experiences often include an interception of time in prison. Content Warning: This episode contains descriptions of sexual harmMusic: F**k tha Police by NWA and Get Up Stand Up - Bob MarleyListen to the previous Episode to hear about historic actions on abolition and decarcerationCatch the final episode in the series on Dec 22nd to hear about why abolition is not a dirty word.
Welcome to Part 3 of the Homes Not Prisons radio series.Homes Not Prisons is a campaign established in March 2021 to stop the expansion of the maximum-security women’s prison in Melbourne’s western suburbs, the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre (DPFC), and divert the funding in public housing and Aboriginal community controlled housing. This episode features a radio documentary about the historic ‘Wring Out Fairlea’ protests that took place outside the old Fairlea women’s prison in Yarra Bend Park in 1988, 1992, 1993 and 1996. Fairlea closed in 1996 to make way for a new private prison for women, which would later be renamed DPFC when it was taken into state control in 2000. This episodes highlights the continuities between campaigns waged against the injustices of incarceration in Naarm (Melbourne) three decades ago, to the campaign being waged now, by Homes Not Prisons. Listen to the previous Episode to hear the perspectives of supporters and organisers of the Homes Not Prisons rally in October 2022.
Welcome to Part 2 of the Homes Not Prisons Radio SeriesHomes Not Prisons is a campaign established in early 2021 to stop the expansion of the maximum-security women’s prison in Melbourne’s western suburbs, the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, and divert the funding in public housing and Aboriginal community controlled housing. On the 21st October 2022 Homes Not Prisons held a rally in Naarm/Melbourne on the steps of Parliament house to raise community awareness. This episode features speakers and supporters from the Rally.Among the voices you'll hear are Aunty Di Kerr, members of the Homes Not Prisons steering group: Aunty Vickie Roach, Sara Stilianos, Nina Storey, and Sarah Schwartz from the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, and Georgina Gartland from Shut Don Dale about the campaign the build homes not PrisonsStay tuned for our next episode as we look at the campaign origins in more detail, and meet some of the people fighting for homes, not prisons.Listen to Previous Episode
Welcome to the Homes Not Prisons campaign.Homes Not Prisons is a campaign that was established in early 2021 to stop the expansion of the maximum-security women’s prison in Melbourne’s western suburbs, the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, and divert the funding in public housing and Aboriginal community controlled housing. On the 21st October 2022 Homes Not Prisons held a rally in Naarm/Melbourne on the steps of Parliament house to raise community awareness. This episode features speakers from the Rally.Aunty Di Kerr, members of the Homes Not Prisons steering group: Aunty Vickie Roach, Sara Stilianos, Nina Storey, and Sarah Schwartz from the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, and Georgina Gartland from Shut Don Dale about the campaign the build homes not PrisonsCatch the next Episode where we explore the campaign’s origins and why more and more people are fighting for homes, not prisons.
Today we hear from those documenting the movement about the importance of peer led projects. Featuring Jamine Barzani who documented the Bendigo St Campaign in 2016, which saw the occupation of over 15 government owned houses compulsorily acquired for the defunct East-West Link highway project; and Lucy McMahon with Things Will Be Different: documenting how Tenants in the North of Melbourne were forced to relocate as the Walker Street public housing estate was privately redeveloped. Joining Jasmine and Lucy on the panel is Kelly Whitworth and Spike Chiappalone who recently produced the Homeless in Hotels series featuring the voices of Melbourne’s homeless community who went from a life on the street to life in hotels during the city’s COVID 19 curfew and rolling lockdowns. The conversation was facilitated by Eirene Tsolidis Noyce from the Renters and Housing Union (RAHU).
In this converstion, scholar activists Libby Porter, Dr.Elizabeth Flynn, Tasnim Sammak, Liz Strakosch, Tina Grandinetti and Natalie Osborne, focus on the politics of dwelling on stolen land. They consider a more expansive concept of 'dwelling' as being located in a place and the forms in which this emplacement occurs with in a colony.
This conversation will elaborate upon the relations between sovereignty and dwelling struggle in the political projects of panellists. Themes include incarceration, displacement, policing and race, making explicit connections between those intersections of dwelling and sovereignty.Natalie Ironfield is a Dharug person whose PhD research focuses on the limitations and consequences of carceral reformism for First Nations people. Natalie is also an educator and is currently working on the #BanSpitHoods campaign.Debbie Kilroy OAM is one of Australia’s leading advocates for protecting the human rights of women and children through decarceration – the process of moving away from using prisons and other systems of social control in response to crime and social issues. She is a founding member of Sisters Inside.Roj Amedi's life work is racial and economic justice which she aspires towards as a community organiser, building solidarity between intersecting communities. Roj is the current head of Communications and Engagement at Justice Connect, a legal services organisation and charity that designs and delivers high impact interventions to increase access to legal support and progress social justice.Idil Ali is a proud Somali woman raised by the east African community in the Carlton flats. A settler on unceded Wurundjeri land, Idil embeds her belief in freedom, sovereignty and resistance into her work as a writer, performer, youth practitioner and community organiser.Witt Gorrie is a transgender social worker who, for the past decade, has worked alongside communities impacted by criminalisation and incarceration. Witt runs a project at Flat Out called Beyond Bricks & Bars, providing direct support to trans and gender diverse people who are incarcerated in Victoria and also the Incarcerated Trans & Gender Diverse Community Fund.From September 8 - 29, each Thursday from midday - 1pm 3CR will be broadcasting some of the conversations from the Forum for Dwelling Justice that brought together grassroots individuals, groups and activist-scholars to identify the radical potential for resistance to dispossession, displacement and precarity in our campaign work. The purpose of the event was to foreground the relationship between ongoing colonial dispossession, housing injustice, incarceration, racial violence and poverty, and to build solidarity among movements.The forum was organised by RMIT's Centre for Urban Research and supported by the International Journal of Housing Policy(link is external), Renters and Housing Union and 3CR Community Radio.#DwellingJustice #housingjustice #ForumForDwellingJustice
Featuring Linda Kennedy, Lidia Thorpe and Robbie Thorpe.The housing crisis is deepening and expanding, as many of us are experiencing firsthand. The struggle to dwell — housing struggle — has existed in so-called Australia since 1788. Our collective fight for dwelling justice must be in solidarity with the fact of First Nations sovereignty. From September 8 - 29, each Thursday from midday - 1pm 3CR will be broadcasting some of the conversations from the Forum for Dwelling Justice that brought together grassroots individuals, groups and activist-scholars to identify the radical potential for resistance to dispossession, displacement and precarity in our campaign work. The purpose of the event was to foreground the relationship between ongoing colonial dispossession, housing injustice, incarceration, racial violence and poverty, and to build solidarity among movements.The forum was organised by RMIT's Centre for Urban Research and supported by the International Journal of Housing Policy, Renters and Housing Union and 3CR Community Radio.#DwellingJustice #housingjustice #ForumForDwellingJustice
Five million people amidst a war zone are creating a new society based on principles that are dear to the hearts of many radicals in Australia. Welcome to Posts from AANES: the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). Over the next ten weeks we have a series of interviews with members of a Civil Diplomacy Centre based in the city of Qamislo. This is an insight into how they are organising their society, how they are making decisions and how they are defending their country from aggression from some of the most powerful military empires on the planet. We’re confident you’ll find this series exceptionally interesting but, more importantly, it’s the type of news we need today in order to ensure that here in Australia we continue to act up to create that new society based on egalitarian principles.On the penultimate episode of the series, we are rejoined by Heval Tekosin and Heval Ferhat after Tekosin's recent stint in hospital, of which he speaks very highly, prompting us into a discussion of the healthcare differences between AANES and the UK. We also refresh our understanding of the Hevals and the key role they play in the region. We hope you have enjoyed the series and it has given some hope and inspiration in seeing an example of direct democracy in the world today. If you have any suggestions for future topics of conversation in future series, send an email to producer Kelly Whitworth (radicalaustralia3cr@gmail.com)Hosted by Anarchist World This Week, Radical Australia and Talkback With Attitude host Joseph ToscanoProduced by Anarchist World This Week and Radical Australia producer Kelly WhitworthTitle tracks: 'Heyran Jaro' and 'Evare' by Awaze Ciya
Five million people amidst a war zone are creating a new society based on principles that are dear to the hearts of many radicals in Australia. Welcome to Posts from AANES: the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). Over the next ten weeks we have a series of interviews with members of a Civil Diplomacy Centre based in the city of Qamislo. This is an insight into how they are organising their society, how they are making decisions and how they are defending their country from aggression from some of the most powerful military empires on the planet. We’re confident you’ll find this series exceptionally interesting but, more importantly, it’s the type of news we need today in order to ensure that here in Australia we continue to act up to create that new society based on egalitarian principles.On this week's episode, we discuss with Heval Tekosin the nuts and bolts of everyday life in NES, a society based on participation and friendship. How do neighbours resolve issues with each other? What is the role of the police force? How do you administer the budget for roads and electricity? We also get further insights into the women's movement and how they are educating their peers in line with the revolution's philosophical underpinnings. We hope you enjoy the episode. Hosted by Anarchist World This Week, Radical Australia and Talkback With Attitude host Joseph ToscanoProduced by Anarchist World This Week and Radical Australia producer Kelly WhitworthTitle tracks: 'Heyran Jaro' and 'Evare' by Awaze Ciya
Five million people amidst a war zone are creating a new society based on principles that are dear to the hearts of many radicals in Australia. Welcome to Posts from AANES: the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). Over the next ten weeks we have a series of interviews with members of a Civil Diplomacy Centre based in the city of Qamislo. This is an insight into how they are organising their society, how they are making decisions and how they are defending their country from aggression from some of the most powerful military empires on the planet. We’re confident you’ll find this series exceptionally interesting but, more importantly, it’s the type of news we need today in order to ensure that here in Australia we continue to act up to create that new society based on egalitarian principles.In episode eight of Posts from AANES.., Heval Tekosin gives us an insight into what it is like to be a foreigner living in a revolution. In a non-productivist, heterogenous society, how is infrastructure managed and what are the roles of municipal offices? How do people access healthcare? Within the many Kurdish dialects spoken in the region, language is fluid and there are no definite meanings to concepts. People are making meaning on a day-to-day basis and turn to each other for the meaning of things. Fascinating stuff. We hope you enjoy the episode.Hosted by Anarchist World This Week, Radical Australia and Talkback With Attitude host Joseph ToscanoProduced by Anarchist World This Week and Radical Australia producer Kelly WhitworthTitle tracks: 'Heyran Jaro' and 'Evare' by Awaze Ciya
Five million people amidst a war zone are creating a new society based on principles that are dear to the hearts of many radicals in Australia. Welcome to Posts from AANES: the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). Over the next ten weeks we have a series of interviews with members of a Civil Diplomacy Centre based in the city of Qamislo. This is an insight into how they are organising their society, how they are making decisions and how they are defending their country from aggression from some of the most powerful military empires on the planet. We’re confident you’ll find this series exceptionally interesting but, more importantly, it’s the type of news we need today in order to ensure that here in Australia we continue to act up to create that new society based on egalitarian principles.In episode seven we are joined by Heval Tekosin and Heval Ferhat from the Civil Diplomacy Centre in Qamislo who begin by telling another tragic story about having lost another community member to a drone attack the night before. How frequent are these kind of attacks? What are Turkey's strategic moves in this region? We also delve into the ideas of the people in the region in regards to the global climate emergency. What are the people's attitudes towards behavioural changes to climate change in a place where there is little to no capitalistic consumption as we know it? What are the effects of climate change in this autonomous zone and what are the ongoing environmental challenges imposed by surrounding nation-states? To what degree can NGOs work in this zone? What are attitudes toward long-term future prosopects in a place where the future is so unstable? How does this interplay with the happiness of the people in this region? We thank Hevan Tekosin and Heval Ferhat for a stimulating discussion and hope you enjoy the episode. Presented by Anarchist World this Week, Radical Australia and Talkback With Attitude host, Joseph ToscanoProduced by City Limits producer, Karina Aedo Title tracks Heyran Jaro and Evare by Awaze Ciya
Five million people amidst a war zone are creating a new society based on principles that are dear to the hearts of many radicals in Australia. Welcome to Posts from AANES: the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). Over the next ten weeks we have a series of interviews with members of a Civil Diplomacy Centre based in the city of Qamislo. This is an insight into how they are organising their society, how they are making decisions and how they are defending their country from aggression from some of the most powerful military empires on the planet. We’re confident you’ll find this series exceptionally interesting but, more importantly, it’s the type of news we need today in order to ensure that here in Australia we continue to act up to create that new society based on egalitarian principles.Joseph Toscano resumes the conversation with Heval Tekosin. Last week we ended with a discussion of what underpins the idea of refugees in this region as not "burdensome", as in productivist and consumerist Australia. So, what does "working life" look like in a place where maximising GDP is not a core value? With no job descriptions or work contracts, is a worker more able to practise their moral and philosophical ideas? Are there associations that attempt to maintain a skill level in work, especially when law is regarded as a “useful guide” to things? What does the heterogeneous model look like when there are no objective laws? What does it mean to be "inside the revolution" and how does it relate to subject-object thinking? Does philanthropy mean the same in a place where reciprocity simply isn't tallied and counted as we experience it in Australia? How does the autonomous region deal with the free market outside the fuzzy bubble of the revolution? Is there room for self-sufficiency in the region? We thank our guest Heval Tekosin and hope listeners enjoy this episode.Presented by Anarchist World this Week, Radical Australia, and Talkback With Attitude host, Joseph Toscano.Produced by City Limits producer Karina AedoTitle tracks Heyran Jaro and Evare by Awaze Ciya
Five million people amidst a war zone are creating a new society based on principles that are dear to the hearts of many radicals in Australia. Welcome to Posts from AANES: the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). Over the next ten weeks we have a series of interviews with members of a Civil Diplomacy Centre based in the city of Qamislo. This is an insight into how they are organising their society, how they are making decisions and how they are defending their country from aggression from some of the most powerful military empires on the planet. We’re confident you’ll find this series exceptionally interesting but, more importantly, it’s the type of news we need today in order to ensure that here in Australia we continue to act up to create that new society based on egalitarian principles.In Episode Five of the series, we resume our conversation with Heval Tekosin, our guide into the world of NES, a society based on cultivating friendship and the science of woman. Using anecdotal information surrounding recent protests, how do we tease apart the ideas of various different groups within this small area? What occurs when a group is trying to prevent pluralism from happening in a society like this? Is there a nonviolent mechanism by which we can modify authoritarian behaviour? How are the concepts of useful knowledge vs. the exercise of power uncoupled under the umbrella of philosophical and political "expertise"? How has Rojava's history influenced general attitudes towards this? Is there a form of protection against the push for physical and ideological starvation by neighbouring nation-states? What is the attitude of the people toward refugees in this non-productivist, post-scarcity society and why? How does this compare to attitudes in Australia and other countries? We hope you enjoy the episode. Visit https://rojavainformationcenter.com/ for reporting by an independent group of foreign and local groups. Presented by Anarchist World this Week, Radical Australia, and Talkback With Attitude host, Joseph Toscano. Produced by City Limits producer Karina Aedo Title tracks Heyran Jaro and Evare by Awaze Ciya
Five million people amidst a war zone are creating a new society based on principles that are dear to the hearts of many radicals in Australia. Welcome to Posts from AANES: the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). Over the next ten weeks we have a series of interviews with members of a Civil Diplomacy Centre based in the city of Qamislo. This is an insight into how they are organising their society, how they are making decisions and how they are defending their country from aggression from some of the most powerful military empires on the planet. We’re confident you’ll find this series exceptionally interesting but, more importantly, it’s the type of news we need today in order to ensure that here in Australia we continue to act up to create that new society based on egalitarian principles.What happens to the old things in a revolution? How do the old and the new coexist or coalesce? The institutions, social relations, the economy, infrastructure and religion? In this week's fascinating episode, our lovely guide, Heval Tekosin, takes us deeper into the world of North and East Syria (NES), where a peer-to-peer revolution is taking place. We will learn about approaches to social relations based on 'emotional intelligence' and lead by women, such as domestic violence. We will also learn something about what life was like in the region before the revolution and hear examples of AANES' philosophy in action, spread through cultivating friendship. What does it feel like to live in a society that is bottom-up, creative and heterogeneous? We hope you enjoy episode four.Presented by Anarchist World this Week, Radical Australia and Talkback With Attitude host, Joseph Toscano.Produced by Anarchist World this Week and Radical Australia producer, Kelly Whitworth.Title tracks Heyran Jaro and Evare by Awaze Ciya
Five million people amidst a war zone are creating a new society based on principles that are dear to the hearts of many radicals in Australia. Welcome to Posts from AANES: the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). Over the next ten weeks we have a series of interviews with members of a Civil Diplomacy Centre based in the city of Qamislo. This is an insight into how they are organising their society, how they are making decisions and how they are defending their country from aggression from some of the most powerful military empires on the planet. We’re confident you’ll find this series exceptionally interesting but, more importantly, it’s the type of news we need today in order to ensure that here in Australia we continue to act up to create that new society based on egalitarian principles.On the cusp of a possible Turkish invasion and an onslaught of COVID-19, we resume our conversation in Episode Three with Heval Ferhat and Heval Tekosin on the defence structure of AANES, such as its groups and their different functions. We will cover aspects such as conscription, the control of armaments and the 'friends' among other interesting features of this multi-ethnic revolution. We hope you enjoy this week's episode.Presented by Anarchist World this Week, Radical Australia and Talkback With Attitude host, Joseph Toscano.Produced by Anarchist World this Week and Radical Australia producer, Kelly Whitworth.Title tracks Heyran Jaro and Evare by Awaze Ciya
Five million people amidst a war zone are creating a new society based on principles that are dear to the hearts of many radicals in Australia. Welcome to Posts from AANES: the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). Over the next ten weeks we have a series of interviews with members of a Civil Diplomacy Centre based in the city of Qamislo. This is an insight into how they are organising their society, how they are making decisions and how they are defending their country from aggression from some of the most powerful military empires on the planet. We’re confident you’ll find this series exceptionally interesting but, more importantly, it’s the type of news we need today in order to ensure that here in Australia we continue to act up to create that new society based on egalitarian principles.In episode two, we resume our conversation with Heval Tekosin, our guide into the world of NES, a society based on cultivating friendship and the science of woman. What does it mean to have a society that is opposite to positivism? What does genealogy mean and how does it play out in people's day-to-day lives? Tekosin talks us through different facets of life in NES, such as the hevals (friends), the constitution and emotional intelligence. A fascinating look at a society striving to remove all forms of domination.Presented by Anarchist World this Week, Radical Australia and Talkback With Attitude host, Joseph Toscano.Produced by Anarchist World this Week and Radical Australia producer, Kelly Whitworth.Title tracks Heyran Jaro and Evare by Awaze Ciya
Five million people amidst a war zone are creating a new society based on principles that are dear to the hearts of many radicals in Australia. Welcome to Posts from AANES: the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). Over the next ten weeks we have a series of interviews with members of a Civil Diplomacy Centre based in the city of Qamislo. This is an insight into how they are organising their society, how they are making decisions and how they are defending their country from aggression from some of the most powerful military empires on the planet. We’re confident you’ll find this series exceptionally interesting but, more importantly, it’s the type of news we need today in order to ensure that here in Australia we continue to act up to create that new society based on egalitarian principles.Episode One: The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), formerly known as Rojava: a decentralised, autonomous society based on intimacy and friendship, home to close to 4 million people, including many who have come for relative safety. From a revolution based on Marxist-Leninist ideology to a movement which can be said to protect an already-existing, Middle Eastern Kurdish way of life. How do the people of AANES live? How are decisions made? How is conflict resolved? What is the role of women in the revolution? In this first conversation of the series we speak with Heval Tekosin and Heval Ferhat from the Civil Diplomacy Centre in Qamislo as they begin to paint a picture of revolutionary life within a warzone. Presented by Anarchist World this Week, Radical Australia and Talkback With Attitude host, Joseph Toscano.Produced by Anarchist World this Week and Radical Australia producer, Kelly Whitworth.Title tracks Heyran Jaro and Evare by Awaze Ciya
Photo: Pioneer Of Freedom Street IV housing hundreds of refugees in Makassar City, Indonesia. Photo courtesy of Alfred Pek What China's commitment to carbon neutrality means for Morrison's gas plans In a statement at the United Nations General Assembly in September China’s leader Xi Jinping committed his country to carbon neutrality by 2060. If China is serious about this pledge, there are huge implications for Australia’s fossil fuel industry and the Federal Government’s plans for a gas-led Covid-19 recovery. Hao Tan is an Associate Professor with the Newcastle Business School, University of Newcastle with research interests in China’s energy and resource transitions. He joined me on Listening Notes to discuss these developments. Hao Tan and his colleagues have written China just stunned the world with its step-up on climate action – and the implications for Australia may be huge. Link to paper Here Freedom denied: The impact of the externalisation of Australia's migrant control policies on refugees in Indonesia Alfred Pek is a filmmaker, video journalist and refugee advocate based in Sydney, Australia. He’s currently working on Freedom Street, a documentary about three refugees living in Makassar, Indonesia, and the impact of Australia’s external migration control policies on their lives. Fundraising website below:https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/freedom-street/ To find out more about how Australia's externalised migration control policies function in Indonesia check out:Policy Paper: Externalisation of Migration Control Policies: An Introduction by Amy Nethery and Asher Hirsh, Comparative Network on Refugee Externalisation Policies (CONREP) April, 2020 here Quote from the above paper: Externalisation policies undermine human rights principles, violate international law, cause significant harm for refugees and people seeking asylum, and undermine the entire system of refugee protection. Such policies must be resisted and challenged to protect the rights of asylum seekers and refugees, including through legal challenges in domestic and international fora, democratic institutions, civil society and grassroots movements. Nethery and Hirsh 2020, p.14
Photo: Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, by ej yao Unsplash Special Report on Aged care and Covid-19: Not a lot of actionThe Special Report into the Covid-19 pandemic released October 1st by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, contains “a lot of information and not a lot of action”, according to Professor Joseph Ibrahim. Joseph is from the Health Law and Ageing Research Unit in the Department of Forensic Medicine at Monash University. He joined me to discuss a paper he'd written for The Conversation entitled Older Australians deserve more than the aged care royal commission's COVID-19 report delivers here. Joseph is concerned that the report doesn't offer a clear picture of what went wrong and that the recommendations fall short and come too late.Also see Rick Moreton's article Care Deficit published in the Saturday Paper, Oct. 10-14th on the neglect of aged care in the Federal Budget.Colonial legacy behind talk of secession in Sabah and SarawakProfessor James Chin is the Director of the Asia Institute Tasmania. He studies governance issues in Sotheast Asia, in particular in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. He's wrirtten a paper for The Conversation entitled Is Malaysia heading for BorneoExit? Why some in East Malaysia are advocating secession here. James discuses the colonial history of Sabah and Sarawak, the Malaysian Federation's failure to deliver on its agreements and what it could do to resolve the problems.
Covid-19 Omnibus Bill: "Unprecedented, excessive and open to abuse" The Covid-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2020 passed the Victorian House of Assembly on September 18th and is headed for the Legislative Council. But statements by the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service here, Human Rights Watch here and the Victorian Bar here are saying the Bill goes too far in broadening the powers of the police with little or no oversight. Jude McCulloch is a Professor Emerita of Criminology at Monash University and has worked for many years as a lawyer in community legal centres. She’s written a paper for The Conversation entitled Expanding Victoria’s police powers without robust, independent oversight is a dangerous idea here. She joined me last Thursday to discuss the Bill and why so many legal and human rights groups are concerned. Update: On Wednesday, October 7, the Age reported that the Victorian Government had modified the Bill to address concerns about detention powers here Sianan Healy is an historian from La Trobe University. She’s begun work on an oral history study of the ways in which women’s experiences of infertility have changed since the post-war period from 1950 to 2010. She joins me on Listening Notes to discuss the research; why it’s needed, the response she’s had from women so far and how people wishing to participate in the study can become involved. Sianan sees her research as a beginning in the work of recording the history of infertility in Australia.
Proposed mobile phone ban for detainees unnecessary, adds to trauma The Migration Amendment (prohibiting items in immigration detention facilities) Bill 2020 would allow the Minister to deem mobile phones and other internet devices “prohibited items” and grant staff new powers to search detainees without a warrant and allow strip searches and detector dogs within the centres. Groups like Amnesty International, The Australian Medical Association and the Australian Human Rigts Commission have raised concerns about the Bill and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) is conducting a campaign to prevent the Bill passing the Senate. Jana Favero is the Director of Campaigns at the ASRC. We discuss how the measures contained in the Bill would affect people currently in and outside detention, the impact of Covid-19 on the people they're seeing at the ASRC and the September Hope Appeal to support the opening of a new community centre in Dandenong. Myanmar's Rohingya GenocideMost of us remember the images on our television screens in 2017, of the Rohingya people fleeing from Myanmar to Bangladesh in the face of the extreme violence against them by the Myanmar military and civilians. Dr Ronan Lee is a visiting scholar at Queen Mary University of London’s International State Crime Initiative. He conducted in-depth interviews with Rohingya people during his PhD research and his book, Myanmar’s Rohingya Genocide: Identity, History and Hate Speech, published by Bloomsbury this month, draws on that research. Ronan discusses the history of the Rohingya people, how their citizenship rights deteriorated from 1962 and the genocide case against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice. We also look at concerns about Australia's training of Myanmar military, a matter raised with Foreign Minister Marise Payne by Human Rights Watch in February this year. See Human Rights Watch press release here. Also check out the 3CR Thursday Breakfast podcast for September 3rd to hear a conversation with JN Joniad, a Rohingya refugee and journalist presently living in Jakarta, Indonesia.
These gasfields: If they were viable industry would already have developed themLast Tuesday Scott Morrison announced the Federal Government's plan for a gas-led recovery from the coronavirus recession. Described by Katharine Murphy in The Guardian as A gas-fuelled calamity, the plan has been widely criticised for not being financially viable, a boondoggle to the fossil fuel industry and ignoring the urgent need for action on climate change.Cam Walker is the campaigns coordinator for Friends of the Earth Australia. He outlines the problems with the Government's gas plan, describes what a green-led recovery would look like and encourages us to check out the Market Forces report on who’s funding fossil fuels in Australia. Global Day of Action: Fund our Future Not Gas!https://www.schoolstrike4climate.com/ Super funds moving toward net zero emissions by 2050While Scott Morrison refuses to commit to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, a new report has found that Australian Superannuation funds are following the advice of financial regulators and moving toward a net zero emissions future by 2050. Last week ClimateWorks released the results of research conducted with 20 Australian Superannuation Funds as part of its Net Zero Momentum Tracker series. The report shows that, while there’s still a way to go, results are encouraging. Amandine Denis-Ryan, Head of National Programs at Climateworks, joined me to discuss the report.
Predators, prey and moonlight singing: how phases of the Moon affect Australian wildlifeLast week Alice Gorman, an Associate Professor in Archeology and Space Studies at Flinders University, told us about the need to conserve the Moon's environment and protect it from potential exploitation by mining interests. This week we hear from three early career researchers, Ashton Dickerson, University of Melbourne, Grant Linley, Charles Sturt University and Kate Senior, University of Melbourne, about the way phases of the Moon affect Australian wildlife. They tell us what attracted them to environmental sciences, what they're discovering through their research and how they felt when they heard about a recent study showing that environmental scientists are being silenced. How business organisations shafted climate policy in Australia and their sudden about faceDr Marc Hudson is a post-doctoral fellow with the Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity at Keele University. His PhD research investigated the strategic responses of incumbents to proposals for carbon pricing over thirty years of Australian political history, from 1989 to 2011. We speak with him about that history, his paper, A bit rich: business groups want urgent climate action after resisting it for 30 years, and speculate about why the sudden change from industry groups represented on the Climate Roundtable.
Photo by Jorge Gardner, Unsplash Responses to AGL's Environmental Effects Statement reveal the risks of a floating gas terminal in Westernport BayVictor Komarovsky is a community organiser for Environment Victoria working to stop the floating gas terminal project proposed by AGL for Cribb Point in Westernport Bay. On July 2nd AGL's Environmental Effects Statement (EES) was made availabe for public comment. Submissions closed on August 26th and at least 10,000 were received. Victor Komarovsky explains why the response has been overwhelmingly negative and the reasons the community, councils and scientsts are concerned. Can the moon be a person?Alice Gorman (@drspacejunk) is an Associate Professor in Archeology and Space Studies at Flinders University. She's a leader in the field of space archeology and her research focuses on the archeology and heritage of space exploration, including space junk, planetary landing sites and off-earth mining.We talk about how she became involved in space archeology, the richness and magic of the moon's environment and the importance of valuing it; i.e. not seeing the moon as just one more mining opportunity. Check out Alice Gorman's article Can the Moon be a person? As lunar mining looms, could a change of perspective protect the Earth's ancient companion here and the link to the podcast of the MVA Public Forum on the Moon held on August 18th, 2020 here.
Creating dialogue through photography and advocacy Joshua Sim is an emerging artist and a Philosophy and Anthropology student. His way of seeing the world is grounded in his experiences growing up in Australia, and his love for his Chinese Peranakan and Indian heritage. Through his art Josh hopes to create dialogue about shared experiences of belonging, loneliness, disconnection and mental health. Josh is a Shout-out speaker for the Centre for Multicultura Youth (CMY) in Melbourne. He told me about his role as a Shout-out speaker, his experiences growing up in Australia and how food preparation in the Peranakan tradition influences his photography and writing. Australia's climate inaction: 'Gaming the system' Matt McDonald is an Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Queensland. His research focuses on climate politics and comparative national approaches to climate change. We discuss how Australia's inaction on climate change is viewed by the international community; i.e. as gaming the system, and we look at the implications of a Joe Biden presidency for Australia's stance in future international climate meetings. To find out more, check out Matt McDonald article in the Conversation, Under Biden the US would no longer be a climate pariah: that leaves Scott Morrison exposed.
Creating dialogue through photography and advocacy Joshua Sim is a professional photographer, an emerging artist and a Philosophy and Anthropology student. His way of seeing the world is grounded in his experiences growing up in Australia, and his love for his Chinese Peranakan and Indian heritage. Through his art Josh hopes to create dialogue about shared experiences of belonging, loneliness, disconnection and mental health. Josh is a Shout-out speaker for the Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) in Melbourne. He told me about his role as a Shout-out speaker, his experiences growing up in Australia and how food preparation in the Peranakan tradition influences his photography and writing. Australia's climate inaction: 'Gaming the system' Matt McDonald is an Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Queensland. His research focuses on climate politics and comparative national approaches to climate change. We discuss how Australia's inaction on climate change is viewed by the international community; i.e. as gaming the system, and we look at the implications of a Joe Biden presidency for Australia's stance in future international climate meetings. To find out more, check out Matt McDonald article in the Conversation, how a Biden presidency might affect Australia's climate politics and policies.
Stringray Sisters documentary poster, photo courtesy Katrina Channells 'We don't need anything more from gas'Peter Newman is a Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University and founding director of the Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute. He is the Coordinating Lead Author for Transport with the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. His most recent book, published in 2017, is Resilient Cities: Overcoming Fossil Fuel Dependence, co-authored with Timothy Beatley and Heather Boyer. Peter Newman joined me on Listening Notes to talk about his article Creative destruction: Covid-19 economic crisis is accelerating the demise of fossil fuels, published in The Conversation on August 3rd. Katrina Channells is a documentary film maker based in Melbourne. Her video production company We Are Yarn, set up with Bridget O'Shea, focuses on films about social justice issues. Katrina joins me on Listening Notes to talk about Stingray Sisters, a documentary on the campaign to prevent fracking along the coast of Maningrida in Arnhem land and the role of the Eather sisters, Noni, Alice and Grace, in that campaign. And a warning to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that this story speaks about and includes the voice of a person who has passed away. The Stingray Sisters is being screened on Friday, August 28th as a fundraiser for Sue Bolton's re-election campaign to Moreland Council. You can book on trybooking.com/BKYIJ.
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety continues to hear damning reports about how the sector has been mismanaged. Professor Joseph Ibrahim is Head of the Health Law and Aging Research Unit in the Department of Forensic Medicine at Monash's Victoria Institute of Forensic Medicine, and a practicing consultant physician in geriatric medicine. His paper publised in The Conversation in July this year, 4 steps to avert a full-blown coronavirus disaster in Victoria's aged care homes, sets out the problems with the sector. Joseph Ibrahim joins me on Listening Notes to discuss the current crisis and what has to change. As Scott Morrison progresses his gas-led Covid recovery plans, community groups are standing up for the environment against enormous odds. A few weeks ago Julia Stockitj told us about the Save Westernport Campaign to prevent AGL from installing a floating regassification terminal at Crib Point on the Mornington Penninsula.Another project attracting strong community opposition is the Santos coal-seam gas project proposed for Narrabri, New South Wales. The New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) has given the project the green light but the New South Wales Independent Planning Commision (IPC), the body which makes the ultimate decision, has received 23,000 submissions, 98% of which oppose the project. Madeline Taylor ia a lecturer at the University of Sydney Law School specialising in Energy and Natural Resources Law. She argues that DPIE's approval is based on flawed evidence and that Santos' proposed coal seam gas project may endanger critical water supplies, farmland and threatened species.
A long-nosed Potoroo caught on a Reconyx HC600 camera during a nightly forage for truffles Photo courtesy of Vivianna Miritis As we've seen from recent reports Australia's environment is in decline due to the inadequacy of current laws and the Federal government's failure to administer the laws adequately and resource data collection. Rob Fowler is an Adjunct Professor in Environmental Law from the University of South Australia. He led the team of environmental law experts who developed the APEEL Report a blueprint for the next generarion of Australian environmental laws published in 2017. We discuss the Interim Report of the Samuel Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act and his concerns that the Federal government is moving too quickly to devolve responsibility to the states.If you want to participate in the survey responding to the Interiim report of the Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act click here. The long-nosed potoroo has been declared vulnerable due to loss of habitat and predation by foxes and feral cats. Vivianna Miritis investigated the interaction between long-nosed potoroos and feral cats during her honours research conducted at Deakin University. There were a few surprises as she explains. Vivianna is now enrolled in a PhD at the Unviversity of Sydney where she's looking at ways of advancing fauna conservation in post fire landscapes.
Photo: Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park Courtesy Unsplash fezbot2000 #RaiseTheAgeIn 2019, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended 14 years as the minimum age of criminal responsibility, but in Australia it's still 10 years old. Aboriginal organisations, human rights groups, youth advocates, doctors and lawyers have been urging the Council of Attorneys-General (CAG) to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 but at a meeting held on July 27th, the Council failed to act.Chris Cunneen is a professor in criminology at Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney. His article in The Conversation, Ten-year-olds do not belong in detention. Why Australia must raise the age of criminal responsibility makes the case for immediate action. For the Hibakusha: ICAN marks 75 years since the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 75 years ago this week, on August 6th, 1945, the first nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, followed by another bomb on Nagasaki on August 9th. Since then nuclear testing has had devastating effects on Aboriginal peoples in Australia and the Pacific. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, ICAN, begun in 2007 and succeeded in introducing a nuclear weapons ban treaty in the United Nations in 2017. ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize that same year for their work on this issue. Gem Romuld, Australian Director of ICAN, tells us about events organised across the Australia to mark the anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to acknowledge the Hibakusha, survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and their pledge to make sure it never happens again.
Photo: Cover of Independent review of the EPBC Act Interim Report Melbourne's hard lockdown created unique challenges for people who use alcohol and other drugs. Adjunct Professor Nicole Lee from the National Drug Research Institute at Curtin University discusses how the Victorian government responded and what we can all to manage our alcohol use and stay safe during Covid-19. This month saw the approval of a pregnancy warning label that will appear on alcoholic beverages in Australia and New Zealand; labels that will be mandatory in the future. But doesn't everyone already know that alcohol use during pregnancy may be damaging to the mother and the foetus? Well, maybe not. Elizabeth Elliott, Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Sydney discusses why pregnancy warning labels on alcoholic beverages are needed. She tells us about the campaign to have have the labels mandated, the groups that supported it and the opposition from the alcohol industry. Two reports released a month apart have highlighted the parlous state of Australia's environment and the Federal Government's failure to protect Australia's unique wildlife and habitat. Both the Auditor-General's report Referrals, Assessments and Approvals of Controlled Actions under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act and the Interim Report of of the Samuel Review of the EPBC Act have highlighted the need for urgent action. James Trezise, Nature Policy Analyst from the ACF, explains why action is needed and his concern that the Federal Government will cherry-pick the recommendations that suit their desire to reduce so-called 'green tape', leaving the environment even more at risk.
Energy company AGL has plans to establish a floating gas import terminal in Victoria's Western Port Bay. The Save Westernport campaign has been working for the past two years to prevent this from happening. Julia Stockigt from the Save Westernport Campaign spoke with me about why the community is so concerned and the difficulties of organising during the Covid-19 shutdown. And if you click on the campaign link you'll see a beautiful photo of the mangroves which Julia speaks about and lots more! Following the disappointing COP 25 climate meeting held in Madrid in December last year, Dr Maria Tanyag from the Australian National University and her colleague Professor Jacqui True, from Monash University, wrote Climate conferences are male, pale and stale – it’s time to bring in women. Maria speaks with me about the importance of women’s knowledge in developing responses to climate change and how that knowledge is often sidelined at local, state and global levels. Maria also discusses the findings of research she conducted in Vanuatu, Cambodia and the Philippines which features in her contribution (p. 34) to the United Nations report, Gender, Climate and Security published in June this year.
The Coronavirus pandemic presents additional challenges for people living on the streets and those who work with them. Greg Denham is an outreach worker in the Yarra area and a member of LEAP (Law Enforcement Action Partnerships) a former police officer and a long time advocate of drug policy reform. He tells us about the impact of Covid-19 on his outreach work and on the lives of the people he's seeing.The 'hard lockdown' of nine public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington on Saturday, July 4th, has been described as hard-handed and discriminatory. it has also shown the strength and connectedness of the people who live the towers and support for them from the broader community. For Dr David Kelly, a research fellow at the Centre for Urban Research at RMIT, the risk Covid-19 presented for the people living in the towers was a result of years of neglect of public housing by the Victorian Government.Links to public housing advocacy groupsSave Public Housing Collective https://www.savepublichousing.com/Renters and Housing Union https://www.facebook.com/rentersandhousingunion/And if you want to dig deeper, here's the link to the report David Kelly referred to in the interview:https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/43214/AHURI-Final-Report-315-Social-housing-as-infrastructure-rationale-prioritisation-and-investment-pathway.pdf
Last year when Professor Jo Lindsay and her colleagues from Monash looked into Victorians’ attitudes to avoiding plastic, their findings were encouraging. The majority of people were already avoiding plastic use and intended to do better. The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown up challenges but Jo encourages us to maintain the momentum and discusses how we can do that. Shane Cuckow is the spokesperson on plastics for Australian Marine Conservation Society. He spoke to 3CR Monday Breakfast last November when Queensland announced its intention to begin community consultations on banning single use plastics and what that would mean. For young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds in Australia, Covid-19 has created additional responsibilities and pressures. Dr Jen Couch from the Australian Catholic University calls for better representation of refugee and migrant communities and young people in government decision making. Jen's also published an article in The Conversation on her longitudinal study of the expeiences of young refugees in Australia.
Public pressure is growing for a royal commission into the controversial Robodebt scheme. There are too many unanswered questions and too many people have suffered unnecssarily.Darren O'Donovan, Senior lecturer and researcher in administrative law at La Trobe University, argues that only a royal commission can bring real change at Centrelink and ensure that every unlawful debt is accounted for and fixed.
In episode 7 Carly speaks with Anna Carlson who is a cofounder and organiser of the Brisbane Free University, co-host of 4zzz's Radio Reversal and a freelance radio producer, illustrator, writer and community (dis)organiser. She is mid way through her PhD, supervised by Dr. Alissa Macoun, Associate Professor Chelsea Bond, Dr. Liz Strakosh, and Dr. David Singh. Her research examines the relationship between surveillance and colonial governance in (so-called) Brisbane, focusing on how surveillance functions to produce and maintain settler colonial regimes of possession, ownership and belonging. Anna is a white settler currently based on Yuggera country, and committed to finding ethical paths between colonial complicity, accountability, solidarity and resistance. Some texts that Anna mentions in our conversation, or that have framed her thinking around colonialism & surveillance:Aileen Moreton-Robinson (2015) The White PossessiveSimone Browne (2015) Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of BlacknessStuart Hall et al (2013) Policing the Crisis: Mugging, the state and law and order (2nd Edition)Natalie Harkin (2019) Archival PoeticsAlison Whittaker (2018) blakworkChelsea Bond (forthcoming) Another Day in the Colony Irene Watson (2009) "In the Northern Territory Intervention, what is saved or rescued and at what cost?", Cultural Studies Review Chelsea Bond & David Singh (2020) "More than a refresh required for closing the gap of Indigenous health inequality", Medical Journal of Australia Elia Zureik, David Lyon, and Yasmeen Abu-Laban (Eds) (2010) Surveillance & Control in Israel/PalestineAmy McQuire (2019) "Black and White Witness", MeanjinAlison Whittaker (2018) 'White Law, Blak Arbiters, Grey Legal Subjects: Deep Colonisation's Role and Impact in Defining Aboriginality at Law', Australian Indigenous Law Review (20)Evelyn Araluen Corr (2018) "Silence and Resistance: Aboriginal Women working within or against the archive", ContinuumRuth Wilson Gilmore & James Kilgore (2015) "The Case for Abolition": https://www.themarshallproject.org/2019/06/19/the-case-for-abolitionPodcasts:Let's Talk (with the Academics) (On race, health and responsibility in the colony): https://989fm.com.au/listen/programs/lets-talk/989fm-presents-a-special-lets-talk-with-the-academics/Nick Estes (2018) "Native Resistance and the Carceral State: Rustbelt Abolition Radio": https://rustbeltradio.org/2018/07/11/ep19/AND, my amazing colleague Shreya and I interviewed a bunch of great activists and academics on the intersections of colonialism, race and policing in COVID-19 for our radio show (Radio Reversal) last week, so head over to 4zzz to listen back to that show for the next 6 weeks!http://www.4zzzfm.org.au/program/radio-reversal
In episode 6 Carly speaks with Lauren Caufield. Lauren works at the intersection of interpersonal and state-sanctioned gender violence, and is involved in training, organising work and community-based interventions to violence. She also co-ordinates the “Policing Family Violence: Changing the Story” project, which is a collaborative, integrated community legal and survivor support project that responds to harm and criminalisation of people through family violence policing. Here are some tools that Lauren speaks about: Asset mapping - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZoapxFV3V3Xk3i0Pzu4dkrTYdyWq3V5Q2JrIuTT9kts/edit?usp=sharing Safety planning - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fV_31K_G4qlKrlCeuEC8eL5BETiSfuEe7X6U0QbSHU8/edit?usp=sharing http://www.creative-interventions.org/tools/toolkit/
Image description: Nawa is in front of a citrus tree, holding their right arm above their head and the back of their left hand is turned towards the camera. In Episode 5, Carly speaks with Nawa Nightshade. Nawa is a herbalist, somatic coach and community organiser. Their healing practice is centred on anti-oppressive praxis that works to address systemic harm, informed by decolonial activism on the front lines, with respect to all who have fought and lost their lives for collective liberation. Groups Nawa encourages listeners to follow & join: - AntiColonial Asian Alliance - Naarm https://www.facebook.com/AAAKulinNation/- Bipoc Talking Wellness - https://www.facebook.com/bipoctalkingwellness/- Elder Solidarity Network - https://www.facebook.com/Elder-Solidarity-Network-109584284025663/ Funds to donate money:- COVID-19 Victorian First Nations Mutual Aid Fund - https://chuffed.org/project/covid-19-first-nations-fund?fbclid=IwAR2Oajkb28Jvb-rx4vN2ocDu4kLQXkZldjSSvo20wGd5US_utd2d0VC01P0-Undocumented Migrants COVID-19 Fund - https://www.gofundme.com/f/undocumented-migrants-covid19-fund?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet- Philippines COVID-19 Mutual Aid Fundraiser - https://www.gofundme.com/f/philippines-covid19-mutual-aid-fundraiserResources to learn more about somatics, herbalism and care work: - https://generativesomatics.org/-http://queerherbalism.blogspot.com/- http://brownstargirl.org/care-work-dreaming-disability-justice/- http://adriennemareebrown.net/
Image Description: Vincent Silk is wearing a white t-shirt and smiling into the camera. In episode 4, Carly speaks with Vincent Silk. Vincent is a writer, poet and community organiser. His work has been published in the UTS Writers' Anthology, Voiceworks, Going Down Swinging, Archer and Seizure, among other places. In this conversation Vincent reflects on his first novel, Sisters of No Mercy, speaks about his passion for collective organising and shares with us a writing exercise that we can use to ground ourselves during this health pandemic. Grounding exercise shared by Vincent Silk (extract from interview)It’s an automatic writing exercise, so some people like to set a timer and do it while having a coffee or cup of tea. Try 20 minutes. It’s been really hard to ground myself with all the uneasiness and confusion of this global pandemic. So I have been trying to use writing to ground myself, and feel joy or pleasure.Take a line from your favourite book, poem, song, performance. Mine is from the transcript of a live performance I saw in NYC earlier this year, by a collective called What Would A HIV Doula Do? - ‘I want to be seen. By you. I don’t want to be dismissed or forgotten.’Speak the line aloud to yourself. Write it down. Really think about why it speaks to you. Write down how it makes you feel. Where do you feel it resonate in your body? Does it make your shoulders light? Does it make you want to stand up and stretch your legs?Whose voice do you hear when you speak this line aloud? If you had to respond to it, what would you say?Write down these things, and as you do, notice how the words are flowing. Keep writing as unconsciously as possible, your reactions to the quote you wrote down, and your reactions to your own words and ideas as they form on the page. Let your thoughts come in whatever way they do. When you’re done, read over what you’ve written, and observe any reflections you have about how you’re feeling. Do you feel a new meaning in the prompt phrase? Do you feel connected to what you’ve written? You might even like to share it with someone else. Or keep it to yourself.
Photo credit: Anne-lise Ah-fat [Image Description: A woman is facing towards the camera and smiling. She is holding red,pink and yellow flowers with green leaves held together in shiny yellow paper.]In episode 3 Carly speaks with Anne-lise Ah-fat about collaborative dialogue, a tool used in behaviour change work. Anne-lise Ah-fat is a community organiser, mother of two, behaviour change facilitator and family violence practitioner who is passionate about transformative justice. Anne-lise loves to think, reflect and practice accountability, prison abolition and absolutely loves malleefowl. Anne-lise works with persons of diverse cultural and economic backgrounds and believes that social change can only occur collectively. Anne-lise is involved in the following collectives and projects:Undercurrent Commuity Education Project - undercurrentvic.comIRL Infoshop - https://www.irlinfoshop.org/Incedium Radical Library - https://incendiumradicallibrary.com/Transformative Justice Podcase - https://www.mixcloud.com/transformativejusticeradio/
Photo credit: Dương Ocean Đặng [Image description: woman wearing a floral jacket is facing the camera with her hand under her chin.] In Episode 2, Carly converses with Dương Ocean Đặng about pod mapping. Ocean is a Vietnamese settler, therapist, supervisor and facilitator living and working on Jagera and Turrbal country. Trained as a social worker and narrative therapist, and brought up through prison abolition and anti-violence organising, Ocean has spent the last several years working to articulate the connection between collective liberation and personal transformation through political education and counselling. Guiding and grounding her work is a commitment to supporting people to respond to trauma and violence in a context of safety, dignity and social justice. This episode discusses the importance of preparing for crisis situations and challenges us to broaden our ideas about consent within our interpersonal relationships. You can follow Ocean Đặngs work here:Website: http://healingandjustice.com.au/Facebook: Healing and JusticeInstagram: @healingandjustice The Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective created the term and resources for pod mapping. You can find out more about pod mapping here: https://batjc.wordpress.com/pods-and-pod-mapping-worksheet/ Music produced by Squidgenini
Photo credit: Lou Wheeler [Image description: A person is holding recording equipment to a police car and sitting in front of speakers]In Episode 1 Carly converses with Bridget Chappell about their current project To (Phase) Cancel the Cops which imagines a future without police. Bridget is the founder of Sound School, and they coordinate the synthesizer program. They perform solo as Hextape and as a producer they have toured Australia, Europe, and South East Asia; they work as a sound engineer, co-organise raves with various collectives and they have a residency at Testing Grounds for their project To (Phase) Cancel the Cops. This conversation encapsulates what this series is about – merging theory and practice, learning from trial and error. Bridget wrote about their project to (Phase) Cancel the Cops for unMagazine last year. Follow this link to read more about their project: http://unprojects.org.au/magazine/issues/issue-13-1/bridget-chappell/Music produced by Squidgenini
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth - FoE & 3CR. Today's program is the final one of this series, and looks at the bonds between Friends of the Earth and 3CR Community Radio. Presenters: Megan Williams and Em Gayfer. Guests: Mick Harris (a FoE volunteer from the late 70s and an early representative on 3CR's Community Radio Federation), Larissa MacFarlane (who in 1994 started Green Beat, a Friends of the Earth radio show on 3CR), Juliet Fox (a Green Beat presenter from 1996 - the show became Earth Matters - and current 3CR Projects Coordinator), Michaela Stubbs (anti-nuclear campaigner with the ACE collective at FoE and current 3CR Program Coordinator), and Cam Walker (FoE Campaigns Coordinator).
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth - Bands and Gigs. FoE is quite a musical place! Many musos have worked for the org and FoE is a manifestation of Melbourne's counter culture, which is closely connected to the grassroots music community. Presenters: Megan Williams and Em Gayfer. Guests: Leanne McLean, Beth Cameron, Anthony Amis.
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth - Climate action to climate justice. In the 80s, FoE campaigned around "global warming", carbon debt and had a focus on the emissions of wealthy countries. We worked with people in the Carteret Islands impacted by climate change and ran speaking tours for speakers from India and Latin America to speak on the impacts of climate change in their regions. FoE focused on consumption as a global north issue as opposed to population control in global south, which was controversial at the time. Worked on climate refugee intake and when this failed, reducing emissions locally and our social justice model around Just Transitions. Presenters: Em Gayfer and Megan Williams. Guests: Stephanie Long, Wendy Flannery, Tristy Fairfield, Anna Langford, Emma Sanford.
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth - The Barmah-Millewa Collective. The Barmah-Millewa Collective formed in late 2000 to put into action commitments FoE had made to the Yorta Yorta people after receiving a formal request to join them in a campaign to protect Barmah-Millewa and re-establish their rights to manage the forest. The campaign was first mooted in 1998 at the Dharnya Centre occupation in Barmah Forest. The Yorta Yorta had occupied the centre in protest against the Kennett and Howard governments’ racist “10 point plan” to water down native title legislation. Many traditional owners and supporters including FoE attended the occupation, and new alliances and campaigns were established, including campaigns to protect red gum forests along the length of the Murray. Presenter: Megan Williams. Guests: Aunty Monica Morgan, Jono La Nauze, Indira Narayan.
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth - International focus. FoE started in the US then went to Europe, and started as a "global north" middle class environment group. FoE International has a democratic model where 1 country has 1 vote. The org then expanded to Malaysia and Africa, and takes the approach of wanting to go to places other groups ignore. After the breakup of USSR, FoE was active in Eastern Europe, as well as Latin America and SE Asia. Now due to our regional structure, most of our voting is in the "global south", with Europe & Nth America having less sway. This influences our campaigns and politics. Presenter: Em Gayfer. Guests: Lee Tan talks about doing FoE campaigning at local and international levels. Peter Hayes (who was part of founding FoE Australia) details the history of FoE's international groups and the importance of being devolved, decentralised, and unstoppable. Hye Lin discusses her work in FoE South Korea. Sam Cossar Gilbert from FoE International talks about current international work.
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth - Radioactive Tours. Nuclear power has marginalised Traditional Owners back to nukes testing. The environment movement was very focused on coastal city issues, RAD Tours take people out onto country and to the problems, share the stories and knowledge of Traditional Owners and broaden the scope of environmentalism away from the east coast. Presenter: Em Gayfer. Guests: Ila Marks, Linda Marks, Jemila Rushton, and Meryl Yusef interviewed by Phil Evans.
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth - Anti-capitalist & Trade Union solidarity. FoE is overtly on the left and critiques capitalism and growth based economics. Today's program looks at how FoE's anticapitalist principles have worked to build alliances with the union movement. Presenters: Megan Williams and Em Gayfer. Guests: Dave Kerin (BLF) discusses Green Bans and neoliberalism's attacks on secondary boycotts and solidarity. Cam Walker (FoE) discusses FoE's environmental justice history, forest blockading and worker alliances including the creation of Earthworker. Dimity Hawkins (FoE) talks about how peace has always been core to union work and her involvement in FoE's anti-militarism campaigns against the Gulf War, the successful shut down of the AIDEX arms fair, and the importance of fighting corporate power.
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth - Queer & Feminist History. Talking about feminist and LGBTQ histories at Friends of the Earth and how they've intersected with campaign work over the years. The genesis of FoE was in the 60s "new social movements" around anti-war, sexuality and land rights. These developed into streams in the 70s - FoE sought to be active in all movements and not let things be silo'd off into isolaton. Pre "intersectionality" was the understanding that politics has to be holistic in understanding oppression, however we explore whether this was always put into practice. Presenters: Em Gayfer and Megan Williams. Guests: Trish Luker, from Chain Reaction magazine. Lyn Harriott and Beth Mellick, former FoE bookshop coordinators. Sam Castro, FoE international gender justice working group.
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth. Going Back to Where it All Began - The Early Days of FoE. Friends of the Earth Australia was founded in 1974 around issues including anti-uranium, whaling and lead in petrol - issues that might make people shake their heads now to believe that happened! We are joined by guests who were involved from the early days of the organisation and look at the first national meeting at French Island, the Ride Against Uranium, our very first petition and database and some of the great actions run in the 1970s! Presenters: Megan Williams and Em Gayfer. Guests: Richard Nankin, Neil Barrett, Pat Jessen, and Bro Sheffield-Brotherton.
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth - Transform Waste. Waste has always been an issue - and nothing is ever new! Campaign started around deposit legislation and Coca-cola - was successful in some states. Shows victory is never permanent as we are still campaigning on that now. Campaigned around E-Waste to packaging to food waste. Plastics in the ocean is current now, but we've been talking about this issue for 4 decades. Presenter: Megan Williams. Guests: Fran McDonald (WAGA), Genevieve Fry (FoE Food Coop), Anine Cummins (FoE Transform Waste coordinator), Edgie Gifford (FoE Zero Waste volunteer), and Jim Green discusses nuclear waste dumps.
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth. Wrong Way go back! Roads has been a defining early issue from the 70s that continues to today. It started with anti Eastern Freeway campaigns from F19,CAF, CAFE to East West link campaigns and sustainable cities today. FoE always sought to support public transport over privately owned highways and gas guzzling cars. Presenters: Em Gayfer & Megan Williams. Guests: Tony Murphy & Domenica Settle (CAFE - 1994 campaign), Claudia Gallois (Foe Sustainable Cities Community Engagement Officer) and Local resident Keith Fitzgerald.
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth. Walking tall amongst giants - FoE's work in forests. Friends of the Earth came to forests later in the game and was strong from the 1990s via old growth forests campaigns. We worked to critique plantations, break down the greenies vs loggers dynamic by working with unions (Earthworker experiment), and bringing in Indigenous voices. FoE helped to set up the Forest Stewardship Council, and further sharpened our holistic approach. Presenter: Megan Williams. Guests: Fiona York, Martin Daly, Anthony Amis.
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth - Talking Tactics: From Lobbying to Locking on. FoE was born from Direct Action. In our original set up, whaling campaigns and anti-nuclear campaigns had Direct Action at their core. It's still in our DNA and whilst we use a range of creative tactics, it's a defining thread in our work. We have also supported a lot of communities wanting to undertake DA. Presenter: Phil Evans. Guests: Mara Bonacci, Merryn Redenbach.
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth - Taking a look at FoE Local Groups: FoE Brisbane. Friends of the Earth has a long and rich history outside of Melbourne. We talk about the structure of Friends of the Earth Australia and look at one local group - FoE Brisbane and the work they've done over the years: from anti-nuclear to peace activism, climate justice and beyond! Presenter: Em Gayfer. Guests: Cam Walke, June Norman, Jessica Lawson, Robin Taubenfeld.
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth - Pesticides, Permaculture, Organics & Food Coop. We look at FoE's food activism. There's a human rights connection - in the 70s/80s some campaigns focused on pollution from agriculture and the impacts on the Global South as well as gender issues. We've remained in the food space, considered a "less sexy issue", and this has led to us working with organic agriculture, trade unions, fair trade. FoE Melbourne's Food Coop is one of the longest standing bulk foods stores in the city, and continues to lead the way with sustainable practices. Presenter: Em Gayfer. Guests: Beth Cameron, Leanne McLean, Esala Liyanage, Peter Podolinsky, Alex Bhathal.
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth - Indigenous Solidarity Gatherings 1997 & 1998. Indigenous Sovereignty is at the core of our work. In the early 70s FoE was part of meetings with Traditional Owners in Kakadu. We've tried to keep this as part of all our campaigning work - to various degrees of success. In this episode we talk about the Indigenous Solidarity Gatherings FoE organised in 1997 & 1998. Presenters: Em Gayfer & Megan Williams. Guests: Anthony Amis, Jim Green.
Celebrating 45 years of Friends of the Earth - The Fun Begins (Anti Nuclear). We look at our longest running campaign. FoE has always worked in the Anti-Nukes space with very few resources. It has defined our work and the holistic approach we take. Presenter: Em Gayfer. Guests: Ila & Linda Marks, Dave Sweeney.