In Environment, Social justice on
Some Pacific Island communities are already moving themselves beyond rising tides, but there’s nothing simple about how, why or when they’re doing it. FOR the last ten years, Ursula Rakova has been trying to move her small community to higher ground. Rakova grew up on the Carteret Islands, Papua New Guinea. “It’s beautiful – like white, sandy beaches,” she says. “The sea is very clear. I mean, if you wanted a holiday, that … Read
In Social justice on
On racial profiling, hard-won police reforms, and why the Age was so wrong about the riots. IT was mid-2013, and I was about to sit in on a multicultural training session for new Victoria Police recruits. I was writing a feature for The Age about racial profiling. It had taken me several months of asking and some good fortune to get inside the academy, which is located in an old seminary on top of Wheelers … Read
In Environment, Social justice on
Could a partnership between a small town and a large utility help to transform the Australian electricity grid? FIVE years ago, Geoff Park and his neighbours began investigating whether their village, Newstead, could become Australia’s first 100 per cent renewable-powered town. Newstead is in south-eastern Australia, one-and-a-half hours drive from Melbourne. It has a population of 800, but boasts more than fifty volunteer … Read