‘Very totemic and very Aboriginal’: A family tree going back 65,000 years

Archie Moore’s meticulous genealogy, kith and kin, is a memorial to Indigenous lives lost – but it’s also about global common humanity Australia’s entry at Venice Biennale is a family tree going back 65,000 years For the past two months, in the quiet, darkened room of the Australia pavilion at the Venice Biennale, Bigambul-Kamilaroi artist Archie… Read More ‘Very totemic and very Aboriginal’: A family tree going back 65,000 years

Aboriginal DNA study reveals 50,000-year story of sacred ties to land / Australian dig finds evidence of habitation 80,000 years ago

First posted March 2017; March 2018 Melissa Davey A study of ancient Aboriginal hair samples has revealed distinct Aboriginal populations were present in Australia with little geographical movement for up to 50,000 years. The discovery of such a long, continuous presence in the those regions emphasised why land was so sacred to Aboriginal people, researchers… Read More Aboriginal DNA study reveals 50,000-year story of sacred ties to land / Australian dig finds evidence of habitation 80,000 years ago

Rare eastern osprey chick hatches in South Australia, captivating birdwatchers around the world

Birdwatchers from around the world have celebrated the arrival of a rare eastern osprey chick in South Australia. Fran Solly, secretary of the Friends of Osprey conservation group, says everyone in Tumby Island and Port Lincoln knows about the chick that hatched last Thursday. But the livestream has captivated bird watchers from as far away as… Read More Rare eastern osprey chick hatches in South Australia, captivating birdwatchers around the world

Australia is still in denial, its history of forgetting a festering wrong

The referendum became by proxy a vote on Indigenous peoples’ right to exist in our own land… and our fellow Australians voted to reject us. Imagine – just try – how that feels today Lorena Allam Anthony Albanese was fond of saying, during the campaign, “If not now, then when?” On Saturday night he got… Read More Australia is still in denial, its history of forgetting a festering wrong

How did Australia’s university system get so broken?

Widespread precarity has facilitated a culture of illegal underpayment, with more than $80m in underpayments since 2020 across public universities, according to the National Tertiary Education Union’s wage theft report Jeff Sparrow On Monday, unionised workers at the University of Melbourne (where I teach) will go on strike. In the faculty of arts, the Melbourne law school, student… Read More How did Australia’s university system get so broken?