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The God We Made - The Threat And Promise Of Artificial Intelligence; Quarterly Essay 102

by Anna Goldsworthy

~~17,61€~~ 15,85€ 10% OFF

 <h2 id="-humanity-in-the-age-of-ai-">Humanity in the age of AI</h2> How will we be changed by the rise of artificial intelligence? In this scintillating essay, Anna Goldsworthy argues that AI is a rupture that makes us confront what it is to be human what we do, and want. As it learns human ways, AI raises big questions about work, leisure and education. It brings new existential, social and ethical risks. Above all, it invites us to consider what is irreplaceable in us, starting with the body and the friction of others. The God We Made is a brilliant inquiry into identity and a transformed future. How can we learn to live with AI? And will AI be happy to live with us? "The experts have spoken, but many of us remain curiously unprepared, burying our heads in the sand Look at its hallucinations! It's never going to be as smart as us! or imagining that the only issue is plagiarism. AI is not just another tool: it is a paradigm shift, a ceding of our superiority." Anna Goldsworthy, The God We Made
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Blind Spot - Southeast Asia And Australia'S Future; Quarterly Essay 101

by Michael Wesley

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 Australia has forgotten what keeps it safe. So argues Michael Wesley in this sharp and compelling essay about our place in the world. Southeast Asia is the key to our national security and prosperity. If China dominates the region, as it plans to, Australia will be very vulnerable. So why are we following an American strategy that isolates and alienates us from our neighbours? Wesley argues that the focus on AUKUS and sticking with Trump is a dangerous distraction. Whereas the United States has little at stake in Southeast Asia, Australia has everything to lose. How did our foreign policy elite become so wedded to the US worldview? What do our Southeast Asian neighbours have to tell us, if only we would listen? Blind Spot is a gripping essay about strategic folly and the future of our region. "It should be clear that Australia has made the wrong bet: that relying on the US alliance to address the threat of a Chinese-centred Sphere of Deference on its northern doorstep has left it dangerously exposed and unprepared. If anything, Canberra's adherence to the US strategy has led to an increasing divergence of interests and perceptions between Australia and its neighbours. As a consequence, Australia is arguably at an all-time low in its ability to shape events and attitudes in Southeast Asia."Michael Wesley, Blind Spot
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Woodside Vs The Planet - How A Company Captured A Country; Quarterly Essay 99

by Marian Wilkinson

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 Why is Australia doubling down on fossil fuels?The world may have committed at Paris to hold back dangerous climate change, but Australias fossil-fuel giant Woodside is doubling down: it has bold new plans to keep producing gas out to 2070. Support from the major parties is locked in, so something has to give.This is a story of power and influence, pollution and protest. How does one company capture a country? How convincing is Woodsides argument that gas is a necessary transition fuel, as the world decarbonises? And what is the new energy realism narrative being pushed by Trumps White House?In this engrossing essay, Marian Wilkinson reveals the ways of corporate power and investigates the new face of resistance and disruption. The stakes could not be higher.The gas companies and the Labor governments in WA and Canberra had refined their defence: the gas industry was helping the world decarbonise, curbing its emissions and providing energy security. It sounded like the planet could hardly have a better friend than Australias LNG industry and companies like Woodside. Marian Wilkinson, Woodside vs the PlanetThis issue contains correspondence relating to Hard New World by Hugh White from Lachlan Harris, Emma Shortis, Ali Wyne, James Curran, Susannah Patton, Mark Edele, Brendan Taylor, Clive Edwards, and Hugh White.
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Good Fight - What Does Labor Stand For?; Quarterly Essay 100

by Sean Kelly

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 The 100th issue of Australias leading agenda-setting journal of politics, culture and debateIn Quarterly Essay 100, Sean Kelly considers the enigma of the Albanese government. With wide yet shallow support, will it change the country? Does it have big ideas, or is it content just to become the natural party of government?Kelly gives a definitive account of Albaneses political style and asks what lies behind it. In speaking to a fragmented, disengaged electorate, the Prime Minister places a high value on moderation. Often that means ducking fights with entrenched interests. But this runs the risk of embedding an ever more unequal nation, led by a government that can seem gutless.In this subtle and brilliant essay, Kelly explores whether Labor is still up for the good fight.Labor has cast itself as a version of what the conservatives once were: the defender of the way things are. This may well appeal to large numbers of Australians, as it did in this last election. [But] Labors task, historically, has been to change things on behalf of those who desperately need them to change. Sean Kelly, The Good Fight
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Hard New World - Our Post-American Future; Quarterly Essay 98

by Hugh White

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 <h2 id="-what-is-australia-s-place-in-the-new-global-landscape-">What is Australia’s place in the new global landscape?</h2>Are we ready for our post-American future? In an era of rising danger for all, and dramatic choices for Australia, Hugh White explores how the world is changing and Australia should respond.Under Donald Trump, America's retreat from global leadership has been swift and erratic. China, Russia and India are on the move. White explains the big strategic trends driving the war in Ukraine, and why America has "lost" Asia. He discusses Albanese Labor's record and its post-election choices, and why complacency about the American alliance - including AUKUS - is no longer an option. This essential essay urges us to make our way in a hard new world with realism and confidence."The Canberra establishment is shocked by any suggestion that we should walk away from the ANZUS commitments. They think we can and must depend on America more than ever in today's hard new world. But that misses the vital point. It is America that is walking away from the commitments it made in very different circumstances seventy-five years ago. That was plain enough under Joe Biden. It is crystal clear today under Trump."—Hugh White, Hard New World
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Losing It - Can We Stop Violence Against Women And Children?; Quarterly Essay 97

by Jess Hill

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 <h2 id="-what-will-it-take-to-stop-gendered-violence-">What will it take to stop gendered violence?</h2>What went wrong? Australian governments promised to end violence against women and children in a single generation. Instead, it is escalating: men have been murdering women at an increased rate, coercive control and sexual violence are becoming more complex and severe, and we see a marked rise in youth-on-youth sexual assault. Why?In Losing It, Jess Hill investigates Australia's National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children to find out what’s working and what’s not - and what we can do to turn things around. This compassionate, groundbreaking essay lifts the lid on a national crisis."Each time a woman or child was murdered, I felt a gnawing sense of urgency. If it’s everybody’s responsibility to prevent violence, where does the buck stop?" - Jess Hill, Losing It'Losing It is a sobering read. But most of all, it's a galvanising one, inviting Australia to solve the "wicked problem" of violence against women and children within one generation.' —The Conversation'The heavy lifting that goes into Jess Hill's work is extraordinary. I can't put this down and I hope it finds as many readers as possible'—Sarah Krasnostein'Hill makes a compelling case that preventing violence involves not just transforming the big picture but training our lens on the source.' —Inside Story
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Minority Report - The New Shape Of Australian Politics; Quarterly Essay 96

by George Megalogenis

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 <h2 id="-what-does-the-new-political-landscape-look-like-in-australia-">What does the new political landscape look like in Australia?</h2>Australian politics is shifting. The two-party system was broken at the last federal election, and a minority government is a real possibility in the future. Politics-as-usual is not enough for many Australians.In this richly insightful essay, George Megalogenis traces the how and why of a political re-alignment. He sheds new light on the topics of housing, the changing suburbs, the fate of the Voice to Parliament, and trust in politicians. This is an essay about the Greens, the teals and the Coalition. In a contest between new and old, progressive and conservative, which vision of Australia will win out? But it's also about Labor in power - is careful centrism the right strategy for the times, or is something more required?In Minority Report, Megalogenis explores the strategies and secret understandings of a political culture under pressure."The sword of minority government hangs over the major parties. Neither side commands an electoral base broad enough in the twenty-first century to guarantee that power, once secured, can be sustained for more than a single three-year term. Now the question turns to whether a return to minority government will further damage our democracy, or, perhaps, revitalise it."—George Megalogenis, Minority ReportThis essay contains correspondence relating to Quarterly Essay 95, High Noon, from Thomas Keneally, Emma Shortis, David Smith, Bruce Wolpe, Paul Kane, and Don Watson
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High Noon - Trump, Harris And America On The Brink; Quarterly Essay 95

by Don Watson

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 Is the United States disintegrating?Don Watson offers a report from the United States that catches the madness and theatre of an election like no other.This is a historically informed, mordant account of Donald Trump, Kamala Harris and a country approaching democratic high noon. From Los Angeles to New York, from Detroit to Kalamazoo, Watson observes America in all its diversity and conflict, reality and unreality. Above all, he sees the threat posed by Trump and his movement, with its blend of menace and glee, Great Replacement theory and electoral malpractice. Do Harris and the Democrats have what it takes? Can America mend its divisions? Do enough of its voters even want to?An essential essay about a crucial moment of choice."The fact that half the voters in a country that never stops calling itself the world''s greatest democracy are cheering on a man with contempt for the law and unashamed autocratic ambitions may be explained by the man''s charisma, or by his supporters'' derangement. Take your pick. Maybe they all just want to have a good time."Don Watson, High NoonThis essay contains correspondence relating to Quarterly Essay 94 Highway to Hell from Lesley Hughes, Clive Hamilton, David Pocock, Polly Hemming, James Bowen, and Lesley Head
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Highway To Hell - Climate Change And Australia''S Future; Quarterly Essay 94

by Joelle Gergis

~~18,48€~~ 16,63€ 10% OFF

 Australia is in peril. Do we truly grasp the impact of a warming planet - in particular, what it will mean for our sunburnt country? As temperatures rise, the climates of our capital cities will change. The sea will rise, and we will see increased fire and drought.In this powerful essay, Joëlle Gergis, a leading climate scientist, depicts the likely future in vivid and credible detail. Working from the science, she discusses the world''s and Australia''s efforts to combat climate change. She outlines how far Australia is from keeping its promises to cut emissions. She takes aim at false solutions and the folly of "adaptation" rather than curbing fossil fuel use. This is an essay about government paralysis and what is at stake for all of us. It''s about getting real, in the face of an unprecedented threat."How many disasters does it take to wake people up to the fact that Australia''s climate is becoming more extreme, with today''s destruction set to be dwarfed by things to come? Do people realise that adapting to climate change won''t be possible in some parts of the country?" Joëlle Gergis, Highway to HellThis essay contains correspondence relating to Quarterly Essay 93 Bad Cop from Niki Savva, Thomas Mayo, Lachlan Harris, Mark Kenny, Robert Wood, Paul Strangio, and Lech Blaine
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Great Divide - Australia''S Housing Mess And How To Fix It; Quarterly Essay 92

by Alan Kohler

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 <h2 id="what-caused-australia-s-housing-crisis-and-how-we-might-fix-it">What caused Australia's housing crisis - and how we might fix it</h2>One of the great mysteries of Australian life is that a land of sweeping plains, with one of the lowest population densities on the planet, has a shortage of land for houses. As a result, Sydney's median house price is the second most expensive on Earth, after Hong Kong's.The escalation in house prices is a pain that has altered Australian society; it has increased inequality and profoundly changed the relationship between generations - between those who have a house and those who don't. Things went seriously wrong at the start of the twenty-first century, when there was a huge and permanent rise in the price of housing. But what actually happened? And what to do now? As Alan Kohler explains, "the solutions are both complex and simple, difficult and easy: supply must be increased and superfluous demand reduced."In this crisp, clarifying and forward-looking essay, Alan Kohler tells the story of how we got into this mess - and how we might get out of it."The growth in the value of Australian land has fundamentally changed society, in two ways. First, generations of young Australians are being held back financially by the cost of shelter, especially if they live somewhere near a CBD and especially in Sydney or Melbourne; and second, the way wealth is generated has changed. Education and hard work are no longer the main determinants of how wealthy you are; now it comes down to where you live and what sort of house you inherit from your parents. It means Australia is less of an egalitarian meritocracy." Alan Kohler, The Great DivideCorrespondence ‘LIFEBOAT’ from Bill Shorten, Monique Ryan, Sam Drummond, Rhonda Galbally, Sam Bennett, Robbi Williams, Carly Findlay, and Micheline Lee.
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Bad Cop - Peter Dutton''S Strongman Politics; Quarterly Essay 93

by Lech Blaine

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 <h2 id="where-will-dutton-lead-the-coalition-">Where will Dutton lead the Coalition?</h2>Who is Peter Dutton, and what happened to the Liberal Party? In Bad Cop, Lech Blaine traces the making of a hardman - from Queensland detective to leader of the Opposition, from property investor to minister for Home Affairs. This is a story of ambition, race and power, and a politician with a plan.Dutton became Liberal leader with a strategy to win outer-suburban and regional seats from Labor. Since then we have seen his demolition of the Voice and a rolling campaign of culture wars. What does Peter Dutton know about the Australian electorate? Has he updated Menzies' Forgotten People pitch for the age of anxiety, or will he collapse the Liberals' broad church? This revelatory portrait is sardonic, perceptive and altogether compelling."Dutton doesn't need to become prime minister to redraw the battle lines of Australian politics. His fight with Albanese over parochial voters was always going to drag the political conversation rightwards: on race, immigration, gender and the pace of a transition away from fossil fuels … Dutton's raison d'être? Make Australia Afraid Again. Then he will offer himself as the lesser of two evils. A serious strongman for the age of anxiety."—Bad Cop, Lech Blaine
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Lifeboat - Disability, Humanity And The Ndis; Quarterly Essay 91

by Micheline Lee

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 <h3 id="-what-ails-the-ndis-">What ails the NDIS?</h3>Caring or careless? In this powerful and moving essay, Micheline Lee tells the story of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, a transformative social change that ran into problems. For some users it has been "the only lifeboat in the ocean," but for others it has meant still more exclusion.Lee explains what happened, showing that the NDIS, for all its good intentions, has not understood people with disabilities well enough. While government thought the market could do its job, a caring society cannot be outsourced. Lee draws deeply on her own experience, on diverse case studies, as well as insights from moral philosophy and the law. She begins by considering what it is to be disabled. And since to be disabled is part of the human condition, she also considers what it is to be human.This is an essay about common humanity and effective, lasting social change."Unless you change how people think about things, you're not really going to change their actions or responses.""How people understand disability transforms how they respond to it. When they saw us as cursed or contaminated, they banished us, euthanised us or left us on the streets to perish. When they saw us as requiring protection, they institutionalised us. When they saw us as defective and in need of a cure, we were hospitalised and medicalised. When they saw us as tragic, they treated us as objects of charity. Now the NDIS has given us a new identity: consumer." Micheline Lee, LifeboatThis issue contains correspondence relating to Voice of Reason by Megan Davis from Sana Nakata & Daniel Bray, Mark McKenna, Antoniette Braybrook, Daniel James, Damien Freeman, Rachel Buchanan, Henry Reynolds, and Megan Davis.
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Quarterly Essay 89 The Wires That Bind - Electrification And Community Renewal

by Saul Griffith

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 A compelling vision of green energy at a local level The country is at a crossroads. In The Wires That Bind, inventor, engineer and visionary Saul Griffith reveals the world that awaits us if we make the most of Australia''s energy future. Griffith paints an inspiring yet practical picture of empowered local communities acting collectively when it comes to renewable energy, and benefiting financially. He considers both equity and security - an end to dependence on foreign oil, for instance. He explores the rejuvenation of regional Australia, as well as the rise of a new populist movement driven by Australian women. And he explodes once and for all the trees v. jobs binary. This is an electrifying essay about building a better world, one community at a time. ‘We need a realistic and achievable vision for the future because the future is coming fast. We have only about one-quarter of one century, twenty-five years, one human generation, to get ourselves out of this climate quandary. If we get this right, if we design the incentives and the policies and the regulations correctly, communities will thrive. Every Australian will benefit economically, socially and even health-wise. So let''s hit the road.’ Saul Griffith, The Wires That Bind
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Voice Of Reason - On Recognition And Renewal: Quarterly Essay 90

by Megan Davis

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 Why a First Nations Voice to Parliament is a ‘constitutional moment’ that offers a new vision of Australia At Uluru, an invitation was issued to the Australian people. With the upcoming referendum, the nation will decide whether to accept that invitation. In this compelling, fresh and imaginative essay, Megan Davis draws out the significance and the promise of this "constitutional moment" - what it could mean for recognition and justice. Davis presents the Voice to Parliament as an Australian solution to an Australian problem. For Indigenous people, it is a practical response to "the torment of powerlessness." She highlights the failure of past policies, in areas from child protection to closing the gap, and the urgent need for change. She also brings out the creative and imaginative dimensions of the Voice. Fundamental to her account is the importance of truly listening. In explaining why the Voice is needed from the ground up, she evokes a new vision of Country and community. "When people say this is about changing Australian identity, it’s not. It’s about location; we are located here together, we are born here, we arrive here, we die here and we must coexist in a peaceful way. The fundamental message that many elders planted in the Uluru Statement is that the country needs peace, and the country cannot be at peace until we meet; the Uluru Statement is the beginning of that." Megan Davis, Voice of Reason
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Quarterly Essay 88 Lone Wolf - Albanese And The New Politics: Quarterly Essay 88

by Katharine Murphy

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 A prime minister in the making, and a nation on the move. In Lone Wolf, Katharine Murphy offers a new portrait of Anthony Albanese. She reveals a leader who has always had to think three steps ahead, who was an insurgent for much of his professional life, but had to learn to listen and devise "strategies of inclusivity" to win the 2022 election.Following that victory, Greens leader Adam Bandt voiced hopes for "a great era of progressive reform," but it is Albanese and Labor who will ultimately decide whether that potential is reached or not.Drawing on interviews with Albanese, Bandt, Penny Wong, Jim Chalmers, Mark Butler, Katy Gallagher, Simon Holmes à Court, Zoe Daniel and more, Murphy''s brilliant essay draws out the meaning of an eventful political year. She offers a telling character study of the prime minister, investigates the success of the teals and the Greens, and looks to the challenges of the future."Taking the party leadership was both a beginning and an ending. Insurgency was done. New skills were required … Albanese knew how to recruit people to a cause and to get them to a similar place. He''d been doing that since his teens. But to win, he had to learn to listen, to trust his team and to lead, understanding that sometimes leadership involves holding back rather than imagining it''s all on you." Katharine Murphy, Lone Wolf
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Uncivil Wars - How Contempt Is Corroding Democracy; Quarterly Essay 87

by Scott Stephens e Waleed Aly

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 <h2 id="why-is-public-debate-increasingly-polarised-and-what-can-we-do-about-it-">Why is public debate increasingly polarised - and what can we do about it?</h2>Is our democracy corroding? In this original, eloquent essay, Waleed Aly and Scott Stephens explore the ethics and politics of public debate - and the threat it now faces.In a healthy society we need the capacity to disagree. Yet Aly and Stephens note a growing tendency to disdain and dismiss opponents, to treat them with contempt. This toxic partisanship has been imported from the United States, where it has been a temptation for both left and right. Aly and Stephens discuss some telling examples, analyse the role of the media, and look back to heroes of democracy who found a better way forward.Arguing that democracy cannot survive contempt, they draw on philosophy, literature and history to make an urgent case about the present.'So what do we owe those with whom we might profoundly, even radically, disagree? In our time, the answer increasingly seems to be: Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We've come to regard our opponents as not much more than obstructions in the road, impediments standing between us and our desired end. We have grown disinclined to consider what it might mean to go on together meaningfully as partners within a shared democratic project. To put it bluntly, we see no future with our political opponents because we feel we have nothing to learn from them.' Waleed Aly & Scott Stephens, Uncivil WarsThis issue also contains correspondence discussing Quarterly Essay 86, Sleepwalk to War, from Malcolm Turnbull, Kevin Rudd, Michael J. Green, Kishore Mahbubani, Sam Roggeveen, Peter Varghese, Rory Medcalf, Emma Shortis, Dennis Altman, Hugh White
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Sleepwalk To War: Quarterly Essay 86 - On Alliance Failure And China Delusions

by Hugh White

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 In this essential essay, Hugh White explores Australia’s fateful choice to back the United States to the hilt, and oppose China. How did we come to this position - what led both sides of politics to align with America so absolutely? White considers the wisdom of the choice in relation to AUKUS, Taiwan, the Quad, Biden and Trump. Can America’s containment strategy hope to succeed? Can America bear the burden of our dependence on it? If not, where does this leave our future security and prosperity? Is there a better way to navigate the disruption caused by China’s rise? This is a dramatic and original essay by Australia’s leading strategic thinker.
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Not Waving, Drowning - Mental Illness And Vulnerability In Australia; Quarterly Essay 85

by Sarah Krasnostein

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 <h2 id="how-can-we-mend-australia-s-broken-mental-health-system-">How can we mend Australia’s broken mental health system?</h2>Mental illness is the great isolator - and the great unifier. Almost half of us will suffer from it at some point in our lives; it affects everybody in one way or another. Yet today Australia's mental health system is under stress and not fit for purpose, and the pandemic is only making things worse. What is to be done?In this brilliant mix of portraiture and analysis, Sarah Krasnostein tells the stories of three women and their treatment by the state while at their most unwell. What do their experiences tell us about the likelihood of institutional and cultural change? Krasnostein argues that we live in a society that often punishes vulnerability, but shows we have the resources to mend a broken system. But do we have the will to do so, or must the patterns of the past persist into the future?"In our conception of government, and our willingness to fund it, we are closer to the Nordic countries than to America. However, we're trending towards the latter with a new story of Australia. The moral of this new story is freedom over equality, and one freedom above all - the freedom to be unbothered by others' needs. However, as we continue to saw ourselves off our perch, mental health might be the great unifier that climate change and the pandemic aren't." Sarah Krasnostein, Not Waving, DrowningThis issue also contains correspondence discussing Quarterly Essay 84, The Reckoning, from Gina Rushton & Hannah Ryan, Amber Schultz, Malcolm Knox, Janet Albrechtsen, Kieran Pender, Sara Dowse, Nareen Young, and Jess Hill
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Reckoning: Quarterly Essay 84

by Jess Hill

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 This year, Australia's #MeToo moment erupted in the national parliament. In this electrifying essay, Jess Hill, the acclaimed author of See What You Made Me Do, traces the meaning of those events and what could happen next. What are the politics of rage? What couldn t Scott Morrison see? And what hope is there of real progress and accountability? Hill examines how the law, the media and politics can bring about or stall change. She shows how when #MeToo meets patriarchy, the results are unpredictable from lasting reform to backlash. And she asks whether a conservative prime minister can do what is required to meet the moment.
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Quarterly Essay 83 Top Blokes - The Larrikin Myth, Class And Power

by Lech Blaine

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 Who can be a larrikin and how is it used politically?The figure of the larrikin goes deep in Australian culture. But who can be a larrikin, and what are its political uses?This brilliant essay looks at Australian politics through the prisms of class, egalitarianism and masculinity. Lech Blaine examines some top blokes, with particular focus on Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese, but stretching back to Bob Hawke and Kerry Packer. He shows how Morrison brought a cohort of voters over to the Coalition side, flipping what was once working-class Labor culture. Blaine weaves his own experiences through the essay as he explores the persona of the Aussie larrikin. What are its hidden contradictions can a larrikin be female, or Indigenous, say? and how has it been transformed by an age of affluence and image?
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Quarterly Essay 82 Exit Strategy - Politics After The Pandemic

by George Megalogenis

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 Between the fires and the plague, Scott Morrison had no choice but to adapt his style of leadership. But does he have an exit strategy for Australia from the pandemic?In this original essay, George Megalogenis explores the new politics of care and fear. He shows how our economic officials learnt the lessons of past recessions and applied them to new circumstances. But where to from here? Megalogenis analyses the shifting dynamics of the federation and the appeal of closed borders. He discusses the fate of higher education what happened to the clever country? And he asks: what should government be responsible for in the twenty-first century, and does the Morrison government have the imagination for the job? Morrison has no political interest in talking about the future. But passivity does not reduce the threat of another outbreak. In any case, the future is making demands on Australia in other ways. George Megalogenis, Exit Strategy
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Quarterly Essay 3 The Opportunist - John Howard And The Triumph Of Reaction

by Guy Rundle

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 In the third Quarterly Essay, Guy Rundle comes to grips with John Howard, the prime minister who, on the eve of an election, seems to have turned round his political fortunes by spurning refugees and writing blank cheques for America's War on Terror. This is a brilliant account of John Howard's dominant ideas, his concerted 'dreaming' with its emphasis on unity and national identity that reveals him to be the most reactionary PM we have ever had, the only political leader who would allow ideas like those of One Nation to dominate the mainstream of Australian politics in order to improve his political chances. Rundle puts Howard in the context of the economic liberalism he shares with his colleagues and opponents and the conservative social ideology that sets him apart. It is a complex portrait in a radical mirror which relates John Howard to everything from Menzies's 'forgotten people' to the inadvertent glamour of the government's antidrug advertising. It is also a plea for right-thinking people of every political persuasion to resist the call to prejudice and reaction. 'A portrait of a political opportunist who is also ... a sincere reactionary: putting back the clock because he believes in it, but also fanning the whirlwind of unreason in order to save his political skin.' Peter Craven, Introduction'The coincident occurrence of the asylum seeker confrontation and the attack on the U.S. has made visible the most dangerous and damaging thing he has done to the Australian polity...and that is to deepen contempt for such protection as we did have from unbridled executive power, mass hysteria, the rush to surrender our freedoms and offer them up on the alter of crisis.' Guy Rundle, The OpportunistGuy Rundle was a co-founding editor of Arena, a magazine of political and social comment. Formerly a theatre critic for the Age, he has written and produced a number of TV programs and stage shows, and contributes regularly to the Age , the Australian, the Sydney Morning Herald and Spiked, and is currently Crikey s global correspondent-at-large. He is the author of two Quarterly Essays, The Opportunist: John Howard and the Triumph of Reaction and Bipolar Nation: How to Win the 2007 Election. His most recent book is the award-winning Down to the Crossroads: On the Trail of the 2008 US Election.
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Quarterly Essay 31 Now Or Never - A Sustainable Future For Australia?

by Tim Flannery

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 Sometime this century, after 4 billion years, some of Earth's regulatory systems will pass from control through evolution by natural selection, to control by human intelligence. Will humanity rise to the challenge?This landmark essay by Tim Flannery is about sustainability, our search for it in the twenty-first century, and the impact it might have on the environmental threats that confront us today. Flannery discusses in detail three potential solutions to the most pressing of the sustainability challenges: climate change. He argues that Australia has a special responsibility when it comes to climate change, and that our prime minister could be a critical player on the global stage in Copenhagen in December 2009 - but only if we take swift and effective action and make sharp cuts in emissions. Brilliant and terrifying, Now or Never is a call to arms by Australia's leading thinker and writer on the natural world. "Throughout the latter part of 2007 and into 2008, I found it increasingly hard to read the scientific findings on climate change without despairing ... I think that there is now a better than even chance that, despite our best efforts, in the coming two or three decades Earth's climate system will pass the point of no return." Tim Flannery, Now Or Never
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Quarry Vision - Coal, Climate Change And The End Of The Resources Boom; Quarterly Essay 33

by Guy Pearse

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 <h3 id="-australia-s-response-to-climate-change-must-truly-baffle-outsiders-why-do-our-leaders-pretend-that-they-are-leading-the-world-in-the-battle-against-global-warming-when-do-environmental-risks-outweigh-economic-benefits-why-dig-deeper-when-the-rest-of-the-world-is-looking-for-alternatives-to-coal-">Australia's response to climate change must truly baffle outsiders. Why do our leaders pretend that they are leading the world in the battle against global warming? When do environmental risks outweigh economic benefits? Why dig deeper when the rest of the world is looking for alternatives to coal?</h3>Why do our leaders pretend that they are leading the world in the battle against global warming? When do environmental risks outweigh economic benefits? Why dig deeper when the rest of the world is looking for alternatives to coal? This is an essay about 'quarry vision,' the belief that Australia's greatest asset is its mineral and energy resources - coal above all. How has this distorted our national politics and stymied action on climate change? In this powerful essay about the national interest, Guy Pearse dissects the Rudd government's climate change response- from the Garnaut report to the silver bullet of 'clean coal' and beyond. He exposes the shadowy world of the carbon lobbyists; how they think, operate and advance their agenda. He discusses the future of the coal industry and challenges the economic orthodoxy. Quarry vision, he argues, is a trap and a blind faith we can no longer afford.'A generation ago, our leaders showed courage and vision in pushing for unilateral trade liberalisation - they knew it was good for Australia no matter how fast others acted. They were right to turn Australia's economy outward, and the establishment they challenged was wrong. Today the generation that was right on trade liberalisation has much of it wrong on climate change. They now wear the establishment mantle, and it is their turn to be challenged.' Guy Pearse, Quarry VisionThis issue contains correspondence relating to American Revolution by Kate Jennings from Gavin Kitching, and Christina Thompson
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