With the long-awaited new Star Wars film The Force Awakens being released next month, hopes are high that there could be improvements in Star Wars’ depiction of women. The Star Wars franchise has had issues with its lack of representation, however the portrayal of Leia Organa (most famously by Carrie Fisher) as rebellious and quick-witted…
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Clinton vows to stop using the phrase ‘illegal immigrant’ Hillary Clinton has promised to stop using the term ‘illegal immigrant’ after being criticised for it in a Facebook Q&A . Journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas explained that the term was offensive, and that he was asking all candidates to pledge that they would…
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Government appoints women to the ABC board The Turnbull government has appointed two new women to the ABC board. The two businesswomen, Dr Kirsten Ferguson and Donny Walford, bring the total of women on the board to four, who sit alongside five men. They will assist in making the decision on a successor to current…
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Breast Cancer Patient Warns of Private Health Insurance Brisbane woman Michelle Hennessy contracted breast cancer after having top-level private health insurance with extras for 20 years, and was still forced to pay over $20,000 for her treatment. She is now warning unsuspecting Australians to check the fine print of their plans for coverage levels….
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Jessica Mauboy backed out of singing national anthem due to panic attack Australian singer Jessica Mauboy has broken her silence on why she backed out of singing the national anthem at the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday at the last minute. She revealed that she had panic attack moments before the performance as a result of…
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pregnant refugee Abyan to return to Australian for ‘medical advice’ It has been confirmed by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton that the pregnant Somali refugee known as Abyan will return to Australia to receive medical advice. Earlier this month, Abyan was flown to Australia for an abortion, alleging that she had been raped on the island…
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Associate editor for The Australian, Chris Kenny, has become the first foreign news reporter in 18 months to be granted a visa by the Nauruan government to visit the island. Since January 2014, any foreign journalist who has wished to visit Nauru must lodge an application and pay a fee of $8,000, which is non-refundable…
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Australian firm Mercer PR has been widely criticised, including by the Public Relations Institute of Australia, the industry’s peak body, for releasing the name of an alleged rape victim on Nauru, as well as information pertaining to the case. On Monday, the public relations firm released the victim’s name in a police briefing document…
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Advocates for gender equality have voiced concerns about the delay in appointing a new Sex Discrimination Commissioner, after Elizabeth Broderick left the position early in September. In recent weeks, new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been vocal about the need to put gender equality back on the national agenda, particularly with the rise…
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The host of ABC’s 7:30, Leigh Sales, has been criticised for being ‘too soft’ on Malcolm Turnbull in his first interview on the program as Prime Minister. Some viewers argued that, in Monday night’s interview, Sales allowed Turnbull to ramble on for too long and dodge giving concrete answers to questions of tax and…
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The new leader of the UK Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has announced Labour’s revamped shadow cabinet, which contains no women in the most senior positions but more women than men overall. Corbyn was elected as Labour leader in a landslide victory last Saturday, with widespread support from Labour and union members. However, the party establishment…
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An editorial by The New York Times has attacked the Australian government’s current ‘stop the boats’ policy, in a week where the desperate plight of refugees and asylum seekers has been highlighted in the media. The editorial published in Thursday’s edition of The New York Times pulled no punches, decrying the Abbott government’s policy as…
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A new study has revealed that women had less than a third of speaking parts in the 700 most popular films released between 2007 and 2014. Researchers from the University of Southern California’s (USC) Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, as part of USC’s Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative, concluded that there was an…
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A surprisingly sedate affair occurred on Wednesday when South Australian senators Penny Wong and Cory Bernardi debated the issue of same-sex marriage at the National Press Club in Canberra. There has been yet another push for Australia to legalise same-sex marriage, following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June to allow same-sex couples in…
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