May 2016

There are lots of ways to say sorry, but Indigenous Australians need a treaty now | Paul Daley

Submitted by Paul Daley on

Sorry Day is an important if not yet sufficient moment of symbolism. Australia has a lot more to do to. And that means a treaty first, recognition second

For the 18th year in a row Australia is commemorating National Sorry Day.

It has grown from the May 1997 Bringing Them Home report to federal parliament about the stolen generations of Indigenous children often forcibly removed from their parents.

The holy trinity of cultural crises continues under Malcolm Turnbull | Paul Daley

Submitted by Paul Daley on

How does Australia want to be seen and to see itself? The attacks on our national institutions, the arts and science limit our ability to answer that

Australian cultural identity is balanced at the edge of a cliff.

This country’s scientific advancement, its artistic communities and the national institutions that curate its stories and make it possible to tell new ones are buckling under what can only be seen as ideologically driven federal government funding cuts.

Romaldo Giurgola, architect of Australia's parliament, was a giant who never forgot the 'human scale'

Submitted by Paul Daley on

The Italian-born architect who died on Monday aged 95 never lost sight of the fact that successful buildings have to serve both humanity and landscape

The old man stood before the expansive windows with his arm extended.

He shut one eye and, with a hand remarkably steady for that of a 91-year-old, traced with his finger the northern bank of Lake Burley Griffin, glittering down there in the autumn sunshine.

Lunatic coaches, controlling managers and overzealous parents are wrecking kids' sport

Submitted by Paul Daley on

Sometimes I told abusive coaches they were out of order, but was roundly shouted down – after all, whose side was I on?

Tim was a psycho soccer dad.

As I stood beside the pitch all those winter Saturdays in Canberra, the frozen grass crunching underfoot, the chill wind belting through my ski jacket, I heard stories about what a monster this guy was.

Continue reading...

Australian patriotism: it's not about war, it's in our love of the land | Paul Daley

Submitted by Paul Daley on

As another federal election looms, we need to keep in mind that violence and violent imagery do not prove passion for a nation

Let’s redefine Australian patriotism.

It’s time, because on the eve of a two-month long federal election campaign, we’re about to be subject to all manner of evocations from public figures about their advancement of the national interest and their love of their country.