Electric Monaros and hotted-up skateboards : the ‘genius’ who wants to electrify our world

February 2022: It is late morning at the home of inventor, entrepreneur and CEO, Saul Griffith, in the coastal village of Austinmer, south of Sydney, and the scene is instantly familiar. Beach towels and children’s shoes are strewn by the front door; rogue socks and pieces of Lego line the stairwell; breakfast dishes are stacked … Continue reading Electric Monaros and hotted-up skateboards : the ‘genius’ who wants to electrify our world

Close to home for Katy Gallagher

October 2021: When news that the Australian Capital Territory had recorded its first COVID-19 case in over a year started whipping around the corridors of Parliament House on Thursday, August 12, Labor senator Katy Gallagher suspected – correctly – that a territory-wide lockdown was just hours away. It was the last sitting day of the … Continue reading Close to home for Katy Gallagher

Declaration of independents

December 2021 - January 2022: It’s mid afternoon on a humid, rain-punctuated day in early November when Dr Helen Haines swings her bright orange Mazda – affectionately known as the “Orange Rocket” – into the parking lot at Barnawartha Primary, a little school of 45 children in north-east Victoria. From the boot, Haines, the independent … Continue reading Declaration of independents

Rush to judgement

Inside Story, August 2017 Originally published in the Griffith Review Nowra showground is a ten-minute walk from the centre of town: past Best & Less, Jolly Olly’s Discount Variety Store, the Postman’s Tavern and the Bowling Club, along a wide, tree-lined residential street. The gateway is a towering, seven-metre-high sandstone structure with four entrance archways, … Continue reading Rush to judgement

Shadows of the Sheikh: how an Adelaide Imam with a mysterious past became a media star

ABC Radio National Background Briefing 25th June 2017 He warns we're facing an infestation of radical clerics, and he's called for Islamic schools to be shut down. But Mohammed Tawhidi has a mysterious history that sits awkwardly alongside his new image as reformer-in-chief of Islam in Australia. FULL PROGRAM

Housing affordability squeeze pushed down coast as city dwellers flee Sydney

ABC Online 28th February 2017 It's often prescribed as a solution for those struggling with the lack of affordable housing in cities like Sydney: just move to the country. However, those people living on low incomes in coastal regions of NSW are faring just as badly as city dwellers as they hunt for an affordable … Continue reading Housing affordability squeeze pushed down coast as city dwellers flee Sydney

No shelter at the showground

ABC Radio National ‘Background Briefing’ 26 February 2017 An Australian town rises up against homeless people who set up a tent shantytown at the local showground. Bronwyn Adcock reports on a big city problem that's come to Nowra on the NSW south coast. FULL PROGRAM

Sex workers fight against stigma for equal justice

The Saturday Paper November 26, 2016 It starts out like any other booking. A woman advertises her services as a sex worker – usually online – and a man either calls or texts. She tells him what she’s offering and for how much, and, after agreement, they meet in a small apartment or studio close … Continue reading Sex workers fight against stigma for equal justice

Indigenous fishing rights caught in the net

The Saturday Paper 26th September 2015 In late winter, when the coastal wattle blooms yellow, Wayne Carberry knows it’s time to collect lobster. His education in the ways of the sea began as a boy. Camping on the coast with his extended family from the Walbunga clan, the elders taught the young the indicator plants … Continue reading Indigenous fishing rights caught in the net

Has Pro Surfing Finally Realised Sexism is Bad Business?

Daily LifeApril 23rd 2014After watching the women surf at the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach in Victoria over the weekend, one commentator was so impressed he called it one of the “best rounds of women's surfing ever," and offered Australian Sally Fitzgibbons the ultimate compliment in this male-dominated sport; she was as good as … Continue reading Has Pro Surfing Finally Realised Sexism is Bad Business?

Is it hard to surf with boobs?

Griffith ReviewEdition 40: Women and PowerApril 2013JUST after dawn on a grey muggy morning in February 2012, some of the best surfers in the world, along with their sponsors and event officials, gathered on a beach in southern Queensland, all eyes on the ocean. It was the first day of the opening event in professional … Continue reading Is it hard to surf with boobs?

Iran: Not Tweeting, Hacking.

The Global Mail April 2nd 2012 In early February this year, in an online forum frequented by Western computer hackers and internet security buffs, an urgent call to arms was sent out: "This kind of help is not for the technically faint of heart but it's absolutely needed for people in Iran, right now." The … Continue reading Iran: Not Tweeting, Hacking.