Demography, that supposedly neutral science of human statistics, is only ever one step away from politics. Especially so in France, where the national discourse over the past two months has summoned historical memory and hinted at political futures in disturbing admixture. The post Emmanuel Macron and the rearming of French demography appeared first on Overland literary journal ..read more

“Amnesia”, “myopia” and “living in an alternative reality”. This is how the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur, international lawyer Francesca Albanese, described Australia’s response to the war in Gaza to our National Press Club. But for me and other Australian citizens of Palestinian origin, another important word was missing: betrayal. The post Australia’s Palestinian citizens are second class citizens appeared first on Overland literary journal ..read more

Constitutional change is dead in the water. The Referendum has exposed the divides within our society, and the result demonstrates to the world Australia’s unconsciousness of its human rights failures. Sixty per cent of Australian voters have, consciously or unconsciously, determined that ‘bipartisanship’ lies somewhere between erasure and assimilation. The post The lost Commonwealth appeared first on Overland literary journal ..read more

The long history of Australian militarism reminds us that the necessary condemnations of Ben Roberts-Smith and the SAS need to be situated in relation to the country’s sub-imperial ambitions. ‘Are we a part of the Empire / Close welded as hilt and blade?’ AG Hales asked. As the tensions between the United States and China grow, that determination to weld Australia into Empire only becomes more dangerous. The post Why we excuse Australian war crimes appeared first on Overland literary journal ..read more

In recent weeks, the right-wing press has been trying to revive the spectre of the ‘dole bludger’. Yet It should be clear to anyone paying attention (or running an employment services inquiry) that the key problem is not that welfare recipients are cheating the government—it’s that the government is cheating them. The post The ‘bludger’ myth masks the cruel reality: welfare programs are bludgeoning the poor appeared first on Overland literary journal ..read more

My mum took her first job in 1980, when she was fourteen. In my childhood, she worked as a medical receptionist. For every hour she worked, she was almost certainly paid less than a man in a job of ‘comparable value’. For every curtailed pay check, there was a lower superannuation benefit, a lower amount left for savings at the end of each week and, inevitably, a lower amount to put towards a house deposit. The post The gender pay gap’s grim legacy: homelessness among older women in Australia appeared first on Overland literary journal ..read more

So the Summary Offences (Obstruction of Public Places) Bill 2023 has been passed by South Australia’s Legislative Assembly and will become law. Fifteen hours of debate in the upper house, led by the Greens and SA Best, could not overturn the bill that was reportedly rushed through the lower house in just twenty-two minutes a fortnight ago. The post Turning peaceful protesters into criminals—again appeared first on Overland literary journal ..read more

Speculative strategy aside, the most satisfying thing about the Victorian Socialists result is that it proves there’s a mass audience for an explicitly socialist project. It’s not just that socialism is electorally viable. It’s more than that. Now, VS has made it possible to articulate a socialist answer to the systemic problems that are degrading our lives. And, if we place our bets wisely, we can back it up with numbers, both in and out of parliament. The post Socialist politics after the elections in Victoria appeared first on Overland literary journal ..read more

The daily spectacle of televised briefings was not unique to New Zealand, and it may simply be the case that Ardern thrived when given the opportunity to speak to the public directly—in other words, that she was better than others at it. Alternatively, we could say that her rhetoric found in the pandemic the ground on which to turn into concrete action. Either way, the benefits we derived in terms of lives saved from the remarkable extension of that social license are literally incalculable. The post The end of the politics of care appeared first on Overland literary journal ..read more

By then, although young in age, I already knew about those rituals of humiliation and how they were part of my Black family's lives. I also knew that surviving those daily interactions required putting my head down and following the instructions received with no hesitation. I must have had ‘the talk ‘with my parents when I was eight or nine. Life was just like that. Being Black in Brazil means living in a war. No one should ever go to war underprepared. The post ‘Sir, please get me the Manager’: Brazil before and after Bolsonaro appeared first on Overland literary journal ..read more