I have been absent for a couple of weeks due to semester starting last week. There has been much happening and rather than working though everything I wanted to mention a just a few things:
- Being out west: Homophobic violence
To begin with I was lucky enough to be invited to chair a symposium looking at homophobic violence in Western Sydney. It was an amazing evening with stories of both violence and also hope – as some who had confronted violence spoke out against it. About 100 people showed up and each of the presentations where amazing...
What was obvious is that homophobic violence remains a problem in Australia – not just ‘out west’. The statistics are harrowing and I encourage everyone to speak out against it.
I wrote an article on the event for New Matilda available here...
- Parental leave
A big ‘battle ground’ looming with the federal election to be held sometime later this year is ‘paid parental leave’. This was highlighted this week when the leader of the Opposition stated a new position on parental leave which brought a chorus of criticisms from many sides of politics.
Abbot’s position seems not to have been greatly conceived and it concerns me that this will undermine a scheme that was due to be put in place by the Rudd Government which is to start 1 January 2011.
I hope this is not the case.
What we should remember though, is how far the debate has come (reflecting the fact that societies are constantly changing).
If you want to get a great overview of some of the debates on this issue, check out this piece by Eva Cox – a former colleague of mine who is also a good friend.
- Night time research project
A group of friends and colleagues at the University of Western Sydney are undertaking a research project into ‘The City After Dark’.
The group wants to know what you get up to after hours and your ideas and opinions could well shape the future design of our city.
To undertake the survey click here or for more questions call the research team at (02) 9685 9493
Ok... that is all from me...
Do not forget to email me at askjames@fbiradio.com if you have any questions...
Cheers, james
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