In early 1999 Victorian premier Jeff Kennett addressed a conference of the Victorian Council of Social Services. Having made his mark on the slashing of services and privatisation of government owned assets this may seem an odd place to find him. Still, after the Liberal premier set out his government’s achievements in fixing Labor’s economic …
Work adjacent Nowra’s narrowest, darkest alley Little Literature provided the opportunity for writers, poets and anyone interested in playing with words to participate in Micro Galleries – held in the Nowra CBD from 8-24 May 2015. Micro Galleries reclaims disused and forgotten spaces and reactivates them as tiny galleries that are free and …
Back in March I posted about a local youth mentoring project that I was following. The project is now past the half way mark and I have recently written about it – sort of a progress report. The South Coast Register published the story on May 13, as “Magic mentoring influences youths”. I’m planning a more …
“Participation in public life is a fundamentally good thing,” said George Bernard Shaw – or at least it was something very similar to this. It follows then, in my mind, that civil and informed participation is an even better “fundamentally good thing”. And if that participation in public life is entertaining, convivial and provides opportunities …
Writing about place The Nature Conservancy Australia holds a biennial nature writing competition with a focus on place/ landscape. I didn’t make the shortlist but my entry, based on travels in western NSW is here. SOLACE For people from the coast, and that’s most Australians, it takes time to know the wide spaces of the …
While this piece unpacks the actions of one local council, it’s my contention that these sorts of actions are widespread in local government. This is the level closest to the people, but also the level that receives the least scrutiny. * It’s often said that failing to learn the lessons of history condemns us to …
Lessons from history for council (or, how to win friends) Read More »
Little literature provides an opportunity for writers, poets and anyone interested in playing with words to participate in Micro Galleries – being held in the Nowra CBD from 8-24 May. Micro Galleries reclaims disused and forgotten spaces and reactivates them as tiny galleries that are free and accessible to the local community. Bringing together international …
A local community services organisation, Bay and Basin Community Resources, is running a youth mentoring program over a few months. The focus of the program is on leadership development. I’m sitting in on many of the sessions and while the focus is on youth I’m finding the impact on the adult mentors quite fascinating. It’s …
Citizen journalism is based upon citizens taking a lead role in collecting, analyzing and reporting news and information. Sometimes known as participatory journalism or democratic journalism it operates outside mainstream media but aims to use conventional journalistic practices. With the rise of the internet, citizen journalism is a growing world-wide phenomenon, but, it’s not without …
Many years ago when working on a civics and citizenship program for the federal government I became fascinated by how much people don’t know about the political system and their political representatives – real and hopeful. I wondered why someone would throw themselves into what, for many, is an extraordinarily difficult if not insurmountable challenge. …
Fiona Phillips – candidate for seat of South Coast Read More »