‘Let them buy petrol’ The line makes little, if any, sense. The corresponding image is, sadly, a bit dumb for Greens party MP Adam Bandt. As shown below, the meme features a famous portrait of a 12 year old Marie Antoinette, which has been crudely photoshopped to have Joe Hockey’s face over it. It parodies…
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My name is Brianna and I am a former employee of the Australian Public Service. This may sound like a dirty little secret or admitting that I am in some kind of 12-step recovery program for an addiction, but if you are anything like me three years ago, you may not really know what it…
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If you’re anything like me, you’ve been spending the last few months with a strong sense of impending doom with all the new legislation the Abbott government is intending to implement. I’ve spent many a day with my eyes glued to my phone in horror reading article after article about the ways in which my…
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After Joe Hockey announced the Liberal Party’s budget plans for 2014, many people began to panic due to the proposed changes to Australia’s welfare system, in particular Newstart Allowance and the Disability Support Pension. Just to confuse people even further, a report entitled A New System for Better Employment and Social Outcomes was released last…
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In Lynn Coady’s short story ‘Hellgoing’, published in the 2013 collection of the same name, the protagonist unleashes on her friends a weekend’s worth of frustration after visiting her father. Her friend Ruth leans in, ready with a ‘discussion question’ as the conversation turns to men in general. A feminist and academic, she never…
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In parliament last Wednesday, everyone’s favourite YouTube celebrity/Greens Senator Scott Ludlam challenged Tony Abbott to call a double dissolution, saying ‘if it’s an election you want then bring it on’. The phrase was repeated by Greens leader Christine Milne and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten (hopefully with some sassy finger snaps) who have both challenged the…
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When I learnt that ABC Ramp Up is set to be defunded with the new Federal Budget I literally involuntarily yelped ‘Oh my god NO!’ I was still waking up in bed, doing my usual morning Twitter check when I found the news. Tears streamed down my face as I scoured the internet for evidence…
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‘Why should Australian citizens and businesses be taxed, and working women discriminated against, just so that the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff can receive a massive benefit when she gets pregnant?’ This accusatory rhetorical posed by Clive Palmer in a parliamentary debate on Monday has been the talk of the town this week. As…
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For the first time in a decade, Monica Lewinsky, is speaking out. Not about her affair with then president Bill Clinton exactly (of which she says only that it was an abuse of power and also consensual) but the aftermath. The essay in the June 2014 issue of Vanity Fair is for many people…
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My mum once told me that when she quit her job after my younger sister was born to look after my sisters and me full time it was the happiest time of her life. But to really understand that statement you need to know a little bit about my mum. In the speech she gave…
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Ahhh, Tony Abbott, so you’ve done it again, huh? During an interview on ABC Radio Wednesday morning, the Hon. Tony Abbott MP, leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister of this dinky-di land of ours, was busted on camera winking and grinning after a caller to the radio show – who wanted to discuss…
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Thousands of people turned out in major cities across Australia on Sunday in protest against the Liberal Party’s budget. (Click below to hear audio report.) They protested in response to what has been criticised as an attack on low income earners, among other things. Proposals in the budget included the introduction of a $7 ‘co-payment’…
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On Tuesday the 13th of May, the federal government’s treasurer Joe Hockey presented the 2014-2015 budget to the Australian Nation in a speech that was broadcast on ABC TV. Throughout the speech Hockey proclaimed that the budget changes were for and about ‘the people.’ However, as a socially conscious individual, I beg to disagree….
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The federal budget, revealed Tuesday night, held few surprises for the Australian public, but it has caused outrage and debate over many of the Coalition’s proposed policies. A large portion of this heated discussion revolves around healthcare, including the changes to Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, cuts to health and hospital funding, and the…
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