Category: Opinion

Who’s Afraid Of Cultural Appropriation?

May 7, 2018 | by | 1 Comments
The online harassment of Keziah Daum for ‘cultural appropriation’ of a Chinese dress underscores the escalating cultural segregation of society. Dr Christine Louis-Dit-Sully & Courtney Hamilton ‘I hope the concept of cultural appropriation is a passing fad’ – some wishful thinking from the author Lionel Shriver, at the Brisbane Writers Festival two years ago. For […] Read more

We Must Support Britain’s Secular Muslims

May 2, 2018 | by | 1 Comments
Secular Muslims like Sajid Javid in prominent government posts are victories for the battle of hearts and minds. In tough times for Muslims in public life, a cohort of secular Britons hailing from Muslim communities are challenging assumptions and extremism on all sides. This week, as a result of the Home Office scandal on the treatment […] Read more

No Free Speech For Racists and Fascists?

May 2, 2018 | by | 0 Comments
As ever, the debate about ‘free speech’ continues to rage. But recently, I’ve seen it suggested that the only reason someone would defend freedom of speech for racists is if they were, themselves, racist. This just helps to demonstrate the point, however, that restricting freedom of speech for some people threatens everyone else. Many of […] Read more

The Missed Opportunity of Gonski 2.0

May 1, 2018 | by | 0 Comments
The Gonski 2.0 report is a missed opportunity which doubles down on what has caused declining achievement standards in Australian education. On Monday morning in Australia, the much-anticipated Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools was released to the public. More commonly referred to as Gonski 2.0, the second iteration of the report on education […] Read more

The Fallacy of “Woke Anti-Science”

April 28, 2018 | by | 0 Comments
The claim that science is inherently untrustworthy because of past errors is fallacious and shows a lack of understanding of the scientific method. “Remember, science can’t be trusted because of the history of phrenology and eugenics”. Strange how nobody thinks science can’t be trusted because scientists once posited the existence of “ether” – the imagined […] Read more

When Bad Regulation Stops You From Earning

April 17, 2018 | by | 0 Comments
Many occupational licensing laws, though made with the best intentions, place unnecessary barriers to entering the workforce and need a rethink. Occupational licensing is a hot topic among economists, policy researchers and wonks at present. Though it has not received the same level of attention of other economic issues in recent times, such as those […] Read more