In Australia, It’s Impossible to Think About Anything Except the Bushfires

by cjharris | Jan 6, 2020 | current affairs, environment, life, politics

I woke up in Melbourne this morning, not just to the smell of smoke — I’m used to that — but the unmistakable odour of burning. It was so strong that I actually checked my partner hadn’t left the stove on, before I realised that it was coming through our closed doors...

Australia Is On Fire — Where Is Any Sign of Leadership?

by cjharris | Dec 19, 2019 | activism, current affairs, politics

A couple of days ago, my sister sent a message to the family Facebook chat — their area in the Blue Mountains was declared “too late to leave” as the roads out were closed off. She had already evacuated her two kids to my Mum’s house in Sydney and driven back to...

In Times Like These, Are We Right to Care About the Arts?

by cjharris | Dec 7, 2019 | current affairs, film, politics, popular culture

This week, the Australian Government declared that the arts were no longer important.  No, that’s not actually true. They didn’t make any such declaration. Instead Prime Minister Scott Morrison spouted some nonsense about why he was cutting a number of government...

Kindness Is Not Always the Best Response

by cjharris | Oct 26, 2019 | current affairs, equality, politics

One of the unfortunate side effects of the Trump presidency is that it has made people forget the awfulness of other world leaders, both past and present. The bar of our expectations has now been set so low, that everyone who isn’t Donald Trump sails over it —...

Public Disruption is Necessary to Force Change

by cjharris | Oct 10, 2019 | activism, current affairs, history, politics

Thousands of Extinction Rebellion activists took to the streets of Australia’s major cities this week in a display of peaceful civil disobedience. Across my social media feed, I’ve seen countless messages of support… Then there’s the odd comment calling them...

Every Deportation Matters

by cjharris | Aug 31, 2019 | equality, justice, politics

Two nights ago, I received a notification — from social media of all places — that a Tamil family were being put on a plane and sent back to danger. I follow a Facebook page that is dedicated to aiding their legal case to stay in Australia. I only tuned in just in...