This opinion piece was first published by the Australian Financial Review and is reposted here with permission. Read the original here. As a Jewish Australian, whose professional and personal life...
By Kim Rubenstein
Referendum vote: Women from history can help us
The upcoming 2023 Constitutional Referendum on enshrining a First Nations Voice in the Australian constitution seeks a change to a document drafted by white male colonial politicians through a...
An inspiration: Professor Stuart Macintyre (1947 – 2021)
In 1993, as a freshly minted Harvard graduate and thrilled by my appointment to teach constitutional and administrative law at Melbourne University, I had an idea of academia as seen through a...
The ecosystems of Parliament need urgent change
With a Christmas tree behind him the Prime Minister unwrapped a recycled theme years in the making and painful in its unpacking — the findings of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkin’s...
The future must be better than this
Shortly after Kevin Rudd became Prime Minister in 2007, he announced an exciting policy initiative — an inclusive gathering of Australians to help shape a long-term strategy for the nation’s future...
Paying attention to voices of trailblazing women
‘Listening’ to the women of the 1890s, the first women with an electoral voice in Australia, hails as a guide as we consider the quality of representative democracy in our Federation, further...
Joan’s story: Power triumphing over reason
The Vetting of Wisdom is the gripping true story of revered Principal Joan Montgomery —acclaimed nationwide as the leading girls’ school educator of her day—being assailed by a Presbyterian Church...
Too Much Icing and So Little Cake….
Like the budget before it, the 2021-22 Budget held out the promise of structural reform to address gender equality. Disappointedly, it delivered yet another missed opportunity for...
Will this budget reflect a government representing the needs of all Australians?
Déjà vu or “haven’t we heard this all before” lurks distinctly as we approach next week’s budget. Last year we wrote in this Public Service Informant of hopeful signs with the Treasurer hinting at...