Opus Magazine, Vol. 63 No 1. - Peak Australiana by Opus Magazine

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Volume 63 / Issue 1 True student-led media Peak Australiana

Australiana (n.) / ɔˈstreɪljɑnə / a form of kitsch art that relies on the often ironic reappropriation of Australian culture, language, media, entertainment and politics. Simultaneously a celebration of nostalgia and a condemnation of the problematic aspects of Australian culture that perpatuate oppression and social injustices.

Opus Magazine

Volume 63 / Issue 1 © 2017 Newcastle University Students' Association (NUSA) NUSA Building, University of Newcastle, CALLAGHAN NSW 2308 Opinions expressed are those of student contributors and not necessarily those of NUSA.

NUSA acknowledges the Pambalong clan of the Awabakal people, upon whose land Opus is published. NUSA pays respect to their elders past, present and future, and stands alongside them in their struggle for self-determination, land rights and social justice. This land was never ceded - it is and always will be Aboriginal land. Editor: Barrie Shannon Contributors: Michael Labone, Barrie Shannon, Peter Lang, Meghan Richardson, Grace Worthington, Jace Blunden, Sarah Thurgood, Christy Mullen, Hannah Stretton, Brooke Tunbridge, Lucinda Iacono, Hayden Nichols. Special thanks: NUSA Media Collective http://www.opus.org.au/ Opus Magazine

@OpusMagazine

EDITORIAL 6 PRESIDENT'S REPORT 7 AN HONEST GUIDE TO ON-CAMPUS SUSTAINANCE 8 IT’S BETTER AND YOU’LL LIKE IT 12 NIPPERS 16 FUN 18 END OF YEAR ESSAY COMPETITION 21 (BARRIERS TO CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY: PARLIAMENT, MEDIA AND THE PUBLIC 22 WORKING WITH MEN 27 FREE-MARKET SYSTEMS: WHO’S GOVERNING WHO? 32) MORE THAN STEEL AND COAL 40 ON THIS DAY 42 HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR SSAF 44 TOP TEN MOVIES TO SEE IN 2017 46 #WOMENSMARCH 50 WHY IS MY BOSS MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT I DO WITH MY UTERUS THAN THE HOW WELL I CAN PULL A BEER? 52 IT’S TIME TO END THE BAN ON GAY BLOOD 54

Newcastle University Students’ Association (NUSA) is your student union, run by and for students. This means that our accountability is to our student members - we work for you. NUSA provides: • Free breakfast, tea, coffee and juice all day, every day • Free Food Fridays with OzHarvest • Free barbecues and pancake breakfasts • Free safe sex supplies, sunscreen and mosquito repellent • Free hire of sport supplies - table tennis, basketball, AFL, league and more • Free activities and events all year round • Cheap First Aid, RSA and RCG courses • $20 veggie boxes - packed full of fresh produce • Autonomous spaces for women and LGBTIQ+ students • Support for clubs and societies • Student advocacy Come and visit us in the NUSA Building, next to Bar on the Hill! Newcastle University Students Association - NUSA

NUSA COUNCIL 2017 Executive President

president@nusa.org.au

Madelaine Knight

Welfare Officer

welfare@nusa.org.au

Barrie Shannon

Media Officer

media@nusa.org.au

Education Officer

education@nusa.org.au

Lucinda Iacono

Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Convener

women@nusa.org.au

Hayden Nichols

Queer Convener

queer@nusa.org.au

Ashlea Brumby

Disabilities and Carers Convener (Equity)

equity@nusa.org.au

Indigenous Convener

indigenous@nusa.org.au

Tim Bucnanan

Environment Convener

environment@nusa.org.au

Bobbie Antonic

Transport Convener

transport@nusa.org.au

International Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Convener

international@nusa.org.au

Activities Convener

activities@nusa.org.au

Michael Labone

Rhiannon Fennell Collective Conveners

Taylah Gray

Ruih Jer (Jerry) Chow Eduardo Carvajal Faculty Representatives Christy Mullen

Business and Law

Naomi De Hoogh

Business and Law

Lucinda Iacono

Business and Law

Rhiannon Fennell

Education and Arts

Madelon Gillham

Education and Arts

Cristian Hayes

Education and Arts

Ruih Jer (Jerry) Chow

Health and Medicine

Vacancies exist on the NUSA Council. For more details, see www.nusa.org.au/nusac

-EDITORIAL-

elcome back to another year at the University of Newcastle! At NUSA, we are already hard at work trying to build on the success of last year. We were lucky to have the leadership of our previous President, Phill Johnson, who, for all intents and purposes, pulled NUSA back from the brink. I firmly believe that the University was well and truly ready to pull the plug on us after years of sub-par performance brought on partly by the Great Post-VSU Depression that has severely impacted student unions across the country. This year, we have a solid foundation from which to launch some great welfare initiatives, and to continue building Opus Magazine. On this note, I’d like to acknowledge that student media has faced a significant funding cut this year.

projects as academic journals global relationships redefining with student content. traditional notions of what it means to be Australian. On the face of it, this is a great idea. However, caution Our discussions about White should be taken in reallocating colonisation, human rights and funding that provides services immigration are more open ‘by-students-for-students’. Opus and public than ever - in both and Yak both contribute to our inspirational ways and dubious campus culture and we believe ones. it would be irresponsible to put that in jeopardy by starving I invite you to reconsider these the organisations of relevant notions yourself as you read funding. submissions from a diverse range of your fellow students. The NUSA Women’s Collective’s What are we? Who are we? magazine Lunacy is back in What can we do better? 2017, and we strongly encourage you to check it our for some I hope you enjoy this issue, and sharp feminist content. The good luck for your studies this cover art is shown below. semester! We have chosen the theme ‘Peak Australiana’ for this issue for a few reasons. Firstly, who doesn’t love Aussie nostalgia? Who hasn’t been in trouble in primary school for telling a mate that they are “the Weakest Link, goodbye”? Who hasn’t broken a rib swinging on a Hills Hoist? Who hasn’t cracked out the footy franks and Tia Maria to celebrate your bitch of a best mate’s mum’s engagement?

Both NUSA and Yak Media will be receiving significantly less money this year under the student media SSAF category, as the University puts on the pressure for student media to move away from print. Okay, maybe not everyone. The University is interested in using the SSAF funding currently allocated to student media in new ways; these include such

We also chose this issue because we are in an important place in our history. Our current political discourse and our

-- Barrie Shannon NUSA Media Officer February 2017

president’s report

o, it’s a new year and with a new year comes a new NUSA President. My name is Michael Labone and I am in the job for 2017. Some of you may remember me from being the Education Officer at NUSA last year; others might have listened to my Electronic Noise solo project. Most of you probably don’t know who I am though. I’m currently in my 3rdish year of a

Teaching Degree focussing on High School teaching, English and History. Exciting stuff. Most importantly for you though is what I plan to do in my role as NUSA President this year. This year I will have a personal focus on running active campaigns on campus based on what students want me to do. A few things I am looking to focus on are: 1. Helping the NTEU negotiate a strong EBA so that University staff have job security. Good job

security means good teaching, good teaching means good learning, and good learning means good future prospects. 2. Making sure that there is strong independent student media on our campus. With all the dang fake news going around it would be good to have some truth about the University out there. 3. Putting the obligation of student safety and well-being back on the University. No space can ever be 100% safe for anyone, we know

this to be the case. We should always be working to make sure that spaces are safer; if you don’t think the University feels unsafe try walking from the NUSA building to the bus stop after night fall along the paths. I only listed three things above because I don’t believe it is my job to decide what campaigns I should be running, it is the job of the members of NUSA. So if you have an issue that you think needs more attention, please let me know. We are stronger together. This year I want to make it clear that NUSA is Your Student Union.

-- Michael Labone 2017 NUSA President

an honest guide to on-campus sustainance Mamaduke Shortland Hub

Coffee Cart CT Building (Shortland)

Gloria Jean’s Shortland Hub

Perhaps the campus’ best-known cafe. It’s conveniently located and reasonably priced. Coffee is hit-and-miss. Mornings are super busy, though. Expect upwards of a five minute wait during peak times.

The popular Coffee Cart makes great coffee. They also sell three sizes, but they tend to be more expensive. They also have vegan cakes and slices for those who want to avoid animal products. Mornings can be busy.

Gloria Jeans and Subway are the only two big chains on campus. The coffee is fine, and it never seems too busy. The company has had ties to the anti-gay Australian Christian Lobby, though. So if you’re an ethical consumer...

Quality

Price

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Bar on the Hill Adjacent to Hunter Hub

AIC Coffee Shop Auchmuty Library (AIC)

Huxley Coffee Shop Huxley Library

Bar on the Hill’s coffee is hitand-miss, and sometimes very sloooooow. Most staff on the Hunter side go here, so it’s pretty much impossible to get a quick coffee in the morning. But you can’t beat the balcony for some swampy scenery.

The coffee shop in the Auchmuty Library, which is the big library near the Shortland Hub, won an internal award last year. The coffee is pretty good, quick, and the staff are usually very friendly.

If you’re on the Hunter side of campus, you should be going here. It can get a little busy in the morning, but the coffee is perhaps the best on campus. Staff are always friendly, and it’s in the nice, cool Huxley Library.

Quality Price Ambience Overall

Bar on the Hill Adjacent to Hunter Hub

Mamaduke Shortland Hub

Noodle Bar Shortland Hub Cafeteria

The Bar has a pretty decent menu, updated with new items for 2017. The burgers are good, and there is a semi-decent vego selection. Chips, wedges, pies and sweets are around too.

Mamaduke has a relatively new menu, but the food isn’t great for what you’re paying. Stick to coffee and a croissant to avoid being disappointed.

The Noodle Bar is an under-rated gem. You can watch your Pad Thai be cooked in front of you, and it’s ready in minutes. Huge serving size for what you pay, and the taste never disappoints.

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Alliance Cafeteria Shortland Hub Cafeteria

Delish Sushi and Crepes Auchmuty Library (AIC)

Veggie Club Stall Changes location

If you’re looking for a cheap and nasty snack in the form of chips or wedges, this is the place to go. The casseroles, curries and pasta bakes should generally be avoided unless it’s an emergency. They tend to be very heavy, very oily and plain tasting.

Delish is the token ‘healthy’ food provider on campus. They sell sushi, crepes and Boost Juice type smoothies. The smoothies are great, but the sushi rice can sometimes be on the mushy side. It’s kind of a lucky dip.

The Veggie Club returns in 2017 to deliver cheap (and sometimes free) vegetarian food to students. The serving sizes are generous, it’s healthy and it’s delicious. Check out their Facebook for their schedule: VegetarianClubUON.

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Quality Price Ambience Overall

THE NUSA BUILDING HAS FREE CEREAL, BREAD, FRUIT, JUICE, TEA AND COFFEE EVERY DAY. WE ALSO HAVE MICROWAVE FACILITIES AND BARBECUES FOR HIRE! 9

Godfrey Tanner Bar Shortland Hub

Bar on the Hill Adjacent to Hunter Hub

The GT Bar is named after Godfrey Tanner, somewhat of a local celebrity at the University. The eccentric, unashamedly queer professor was well-known for his involvement in campus culture, and was often found riding around campus in full academic attire on his faithful pushbike, ‘Charlotte the Harlot’. The bar itself is a small, intimate venue ideal for student events - you can book it for free. Beer and cider are relatively cheap, there’s pool, and there’s a good balcony area for viewing the swamp. GT Bar is probably not the best for evening and night events - it’s right in the middle of the campus and it tends to close pretty early.

Bar on the Hill has traditionally hosted some pretty big bands - and the walls are decorated with signed band posters to prove it. Nothing much happens at Bar on the Hill nowdays, though. It appears that, as an entertainment venue, the University doesn’t really know what to do with it. Beer and cider are cheap, and there are frequent specials. The food choices here are much better than at GT Bar, and there’s heaps more space. Bar on the Hill also has two private rooms that clubs can book for free; The Glasshouse and The Clubhouse. The latter has full kitchen facilities and private bathrooms. Overall, this venue would be better for large groups, gigs or festivals.

Quality

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Pinkies Shortland Hub, Hunter Hub

NUSA NUSA Building, next to Bar on the Hill

Pinkies is the University of Newcastle equivalent of a tuck shop. There’s one in the Shortland Hub, next to the bank, and one in the Hunter Hub, next to the Huxley Library. They sell all the sugar you will ever need, and most of the random objects that you left at home and desperately need. The prices however, leave much to be desired, especially when you are trying to buy a single USB, a toothbrush or pack of hygeine products and you are sent broke. There is an ancient proverb etched in a mossy stone between Shortland and Hunter; TWO IN THE PINK (in reference to the two Pinkies stores), ONE IN THE STINK (you, having been ripped off).

Yes, we’re doing a shameless plug of our own building. It does at least deserve an honourable mention, though. NUSA offers a variety of free semi-healthy food all day, every day. NUSA is especially useful for students living on campus who need their fill at breakfast time - we offer free cereal and toast, tea and coffee. You can get your fill of free apples at the desk, and there’s always free juice and milk (soy, too!) in the fridge. NUSA also co-operates with OzHarvest and offers Free Food Friday; you can come and fill a shopping bag with soups, meat, vegetables, dairy, snacks and more, all for free. Come and visit us in the NUSA Building to see our full range of services.

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Artwork:

Meghan

Richardson

Image: ‘old_man’ by Taichi Nishida/ty_photo on Flickr.

it’s better -

and you’ll like it Opinion

Peter Lang

r else.

There’s the standard trope - usually attributed to John Ruskin - “There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person’s lawful prey”. I was reminded of this when I went to get a parking permit the other day. The process is touted as new and improved, faster and more reliable. I’m not so sure. The old process involved me walking into the student hub, giving the relevant amount of cash to the lass behind the counter, and walking out with a parking permit. As far as I could see, the process was unimprovable. The new process is hoop-jumpingly convoluted. I walk into the student hub, and rather than give the money to the lass, I have to login to the uni network, then login to another system as guest, or some damn thing (not the Thai site that sells mobile phones, which you’ll get if you type in the address on the slip of paper they give you). Then I must provide a credit card number, and the system sends an auto-email or runs a realtime update to the underlying database… or something. It then goes to the young lass who logs on to her system where the email is lost amongst a thousand others, but the database update hasn’t got back from being copied to the Russian fraud botnet. Essentially, I’m doing their job for them, as well as potentially compromising my credit card and facilitating my own identity theft; and yet there’s no reduction in the price of the permit. Only after all this do I finally walk out with a permit.

So it’s a stretch to see how this qualifies as an improvement. However, it does mean that the University doesn’t necessarily have to employ trustworthy staff, as the “cash” is electronic. It doesn’t have to employ reliable staff, as the cash is deposited automatically into the right bank account. Nor does the University have to employ knowledgeable staff, as the process is completely automated. so that they can save on staff and administration costs. As the TV series The Games (Series 2 Episode 7 “Immigration”) put it: “They’ll be ropeable!” “The level of their anger will have no effect on our bottom line.” Except it will. And as the cost to the University – damage to its reputation, the conversion of collegiate ‘students’ into transactional ‘customers’, the disinclination to engage, the loss of good will – won’t be felt for years down the track. Well, that’s a problem for later. The people who come up with this sort of caper are typically the same people who demand respect. Demand, rather than command. How can I respect them when they so obviously have no respect for me? Their motivation is transparent and self-serving, yet questioning it is forbidden. The services that the University provides exist so they can be ticked off a checklist. The services don’t actually have to be delivered – not in any meaningful sense – they just have to exist in a minimum passing way, so the PR flacks can then (truthfully) say that the University of Newcastle

does have a student welfare capacity/academic advisory service/whatever it is.

ditches and opening doors – are all gone and replaced by cars and backhoes and infra-red sensors.

And as neither the management team or the flacks actually use the service, it doesn’t have to be funded to do its job well. You could save even more money by abolishing the service altogether, but that would affect the rankings that determine the pay of the people who come up with these penny-pinching service simulacra.

The parking permit process is an example of automation which is putting people out of jobs. Trustworthy, reliable and knowledgeable staff are expensive, and robots are cheap. Robots that end up as software are even cheaper.

The problem is invidious. If you do your job well, it seems like you’re doing nothing at all, and can be sacked without consequence. If you do your job badly, you annoy management and ‘customers’ and increase management’s motivation to replace you so they don’t have to deal with you. In either case, you get sacked, replaced by a computer, and everybody’s happy. Well, management is. One out of three ain’t bad. Bob Ellis posed the question “...what do you do with the dumb blokes?”. His argument was that the jobs dumb blokes used to do – cleaning up after horses and digging

The trick is to get “...a huddle of clerks that function just like a computer”. Once they behave like a computer, they can be replaced by a computer. All the edge cases – where insight, discretion and the ability to make a decision are needed – fall to the ground. Anything not on the menu is not allowed. Do not confuse the robots.

Peter Lang is a reactionary square, who fondly remembers the good old days of full employment, free education, and Collingwood not winning a Grand Final since 1958. He believes that everything went to hell in 1990, and has got worse since 2010.

Get your free mosquito repellant from the NUSA Building before it’s too late.

Image source: ‘ShitAdelaide’ Facebook page.

ERS

Fiction

Meghan Richardson

’m going to drown. My body sinks again and I have sea water burning in my throat and up my nose. The waves crash just above me and I’m sent spinning like a ragdoll within the surf.

My legs kick wildly and my arms drag through the water and as my head breaches the surface I inhale a gasp of air. Another wave crashes on top of me while my mouth is open and gasping and I get a stomach full of sea water for my efforts. My body is plunged back down into the water and I’m drowning again. I fight my way back to the surface, the ocean dumps me back down. The waves are so forceful that I hit the sea bed on a number of occasions. Around my leg is a black rubber tube connected to a board that pulls me back with every wave making the entire experience more frustrating and confusing. Something grabs my sea shirt and drags me back on to my foam paddle board. “Are you okay?” asks a greying middle aged man with no shirt on. I splutter and cough up a litre of sea water. Apparently this response is an adequate ‘yes’ and he swims away to check on the other children. There is a small army of

us out here on our paddle boards during this particularly turbulent sea expedition. We wear matching red and blue rash shirts and little caps. My cap’s white strings, the ones designed to keep the cap attached to your head, is currently wrapped tightly around my neck. My rash shirt is askew and my swimmer bottoms are full of sand. There is a short lull between waves and I assess that I am the far behind in my group, but this is nothing unusual. My eleven-year-old self was not made for Nippers. Nippers, the training life guard program that my mother signed me up for after observing my ballooning tummy and fear of the ocean, it hasn’t been the easiest time in my life. I love nibbling entire hazelnut chocolate bars while reading Stephen King novels and I hate swimming out into the ocean on paddle boards and having sea water in my nose. The rest of the children are lean and tanned and I’m rotund, freckled, and prone to burning in the sun. When given the choice though between going to church or Nippers I still chose drowning. Eleven-year-old priorities. Another wave is coming toward me and I can see my

fellow kids expertly ducking beneath the waves with their boards. My heart starts to flutter about as I centre myself, cup my fingers and paddle forward toward the wave. I take a deep breath and try to push the nose of my board beneath the water as it begins to break on top of me but I’m unsuccessful and I’m tossed about again into the water. This time my board rips me backwards and I’m left disorientated and winded, desperate to get to the surface. Fear ripples through my brain as I think again that I’m drowning. I feel another wave hit above and carry my board back again. Fortunately, this drags me upwards and my head pops out of the water. I pull myself back onto the board and scrub my eyes quickly to make sure no more waves are coming; thankfully there aren’t. The heat is beating down; it feels as though the sun is hanging 10 centimetres away from my face, it’s muggy, heavy, and oppressive, and any other adjective I can think of. I rest my face along the cool, smooth nose of the board and watch the gentle sparkling and shimmering ocean. It is blindingly blue. I place the palm of my hand along the edge of the water and it is cool and forgiving, lapping along my fingers. It’s so beautiful and inviting you could almost forget how violent and forlorn the ocean can be.

to devour the whole earth, before your kind were even invertebrates. I hide the most dangerous and monstrous of creature in my depths. Humans cannot tame me, not even God can tame me. But I don’t say anything in response to the sea says because I cannot hear it. It groans from the tectonic plates beneath. “I am fluid, in state and temperament. I adapt, and I cannot be stopped. Are you listening to me? I cannot be stopped. I was here billions of year before you and I will be here long after you. You are so small. You are so inconsequential. I will be forever. Can you hear me?” Says the ocean. I don’t say anything. I lie patiently on top of the water. The ocean growls. Another wave comes and dumps me back down.

Meghan Richardson is a student. Bit of a damp squib.

Communications

Story image: ‘Beach at Newcastle’ by Will Keightley/feverblue on Flickr.

“I’m calm,” whispered the sea. “But in a second I can splinter into a roaring and hungry beast. I have swallowed ships whole, killed thousands indiscriminately. I used

fun

su.do.ku easy

* hard

* Fun may or may not actually be had. Participate in these activities at your own peril.

PEAK AUSTRALIANA

B F G I J M N O Q S V W X

Platypus and echidnas are these Larger of the libraries Australian version of the yeti Popular cask wine variety, fruity ----Kim’s second-best friend Famous missing children from Adelaide Traditional owners of Port Stephens land The less successful Minogue Tenth Prime Minister Offshore UON campus Lyn Collingwood in Home and Away Typical Australian hat

B C D E H K L M P R T U

Toni Collette film, -----’s Wedding Kylie Mole catchphrase, “So ---------” Suburb in which The Castle takes place Famous Aboriginal resistance fighter Last state to decriminalise homosexuality Surname of first woman elected to an Australian Parliament Oldest Australian university Surname of Neighbours’ Harold Prisoner was set here Disastrous initial name for Vegemite Cheesybite Central position in AFL Prime Minister responsible for contemporary gun control

Anthony Albanese’s electorate

the great university newcastle wordof search

MOSQUITO MAMADUKE DEPRESSION EVATT EDWARDS ESSAY HUNTER

ROSS RIVER FEVER SHORTLAND MEDIOCRITY REGRET ASSIGNMENT MALARIA SWAMP

CASUAL SEX WOLLOTUKA EXAMS NUSA POVERTY SNAKES PARKING

Couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find parking? Get used to it!

word list

OPUS MAGAZINE END-OF-YEAR ESSAY COMPETITION Barriers to Climate Change Policy: Parliament, the Media and the Public 22 Grace Worthington Working with Men 27 Jace Blunden Free-Market Systems: Who’s Governing Who? 32 Sarah Thurgood Disclaimer: (1) These essays are the winning entries in the Opus Magazine 2016 Essay Competition. These essays were written as credit towards the respective authors’ courses of study at the University of Newcastle. Copying any of these essas or resubmitting it as your own work is plagiarism, and harsh penalties apply. More information about academic integrity can be found on the University of Newcastle website. (2) These essays has been subject to stylistic and semantic edits by the editor(s) of Opus Magazine. Care has been taken not to obscure the original tone or content of the essay. (3) The opinions and academic judgments expressed are solely those of the author. Opus Magazine and the Newcastle University Students’ Association (NUSA) take no responsibility for the rigour or accuracy in this essay. Concerns or disputes about this essay can be sent to the NUSA Media Officer at media@nusa.org.au.

Barriers to Climate Change Policies:

PARLIAMENT, MEDIA AND THE PUBLIC Grace Worthington

“President Bush has a plan. He says that if we need to, we can lower the temperature dramatically just by switching from Fahrenheit to Celsius.”

- Jimmy Kimmel, on fighting global warming.

hile this witticism is amusing, to the observant cynic it is not so far from the truth. It is well known by now, that climate change is happening. Despite this, many governments have failed to implement effective climate mitigation initiatives. Australia is no exception. This essay seeks to discern the barriers to effective climate mitigation policies. It will begin by briefly summarising some of the evidence that climate change is rapidly approaching before establishing Australia’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. It will then go on to explore three different initiatives made to counter climate change that occurred during the past ten years: the Kyoto Protocol, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) and the carbon tax. Finally, the essay will explore the barriers that challenged such initiatives. Global warming is a grave threat facing the world today, identifying the factors that foiled positive environmental policies may allow policy makers to alleviate such barriers in the future.

number of points: that the human lifestyle is accelerating climate change, that humans must act quickly in order to reverse climate change and that the effects of climate change (if left unaddressed) are likely to be disastrous (IPCC, 2014). The IPCC (n.d.b) has continued to release comprehensive, scientific, considered information about climate change and policy regarding climate change. Yet somehow, despite the abundance of information, in many countries few policies have been introduced to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The significance of Australia’s carbon footprint is contested (Spash & Lo, 2012). It constitutes approximately 1.5% of global carbon emissions (Christoff, 2013). This figure increases when Australia’s prominent coal exports are taken into account. Australia’s coal exports are responsible for another 2.2% of global carbon emissions (Christoff, 2013). These figures do not include natural gas emissions.

In modern society, it is largely accepted by the vast majority of scientists, academics and citizens that global warming is well under way. It was 1988 when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to “provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socioeconomic effects” (IPCC, n.d.a).

While 3.7% of the world’s carbon emissions may not sound impressive, when considering domestic and exported carbon emissions, Australia ranks 6th worldwide (Christoff, 2013). This figure is especially astounding when one notes that in 2014 Australia’s population was roughly 22.5 million—56th in the world in terms of population size. In 2005, Australia was the largest contributor to greenhouse emissions, per capita, of all industrialised states (Christoff, 2005). It ranks fifteenth in the world for domestic carbon dioxide emissions and has the highest growth rate of emissions per capita (Olivier et al., 2011).

Two years later the IPCC (1990) released its First Assessment Report about global warming, the greenhouse effect and the sinister nature of the potential consequences (IPCC, n.d.b). The IPCC’s most recent publication, the Synthesis Report (SYR) emphasises a

It is evident that Australia is a substantial contributor to climate change and has a moral imperative to actively reduce carbon emissions, not merely as a tokenistic gesture as is sometimes suggested (e.g. Atker & Bennett, 2011).

Over the last ten years the Australian Federal Government has made multiple attempts to address global warming. Regrettably, not all were successful. This essay will explore three attempts by the Australian federal government to address climate change: the Kyoto Protocol, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) and the Carbon Pricing Scheme. It should be noted that there were other initiatives on both international, national and state levels. These particular policies were chosen because each policy was strongly advocated at some point by the government, and strongly opposed at another point. If the shift in attitudes can be identified, it will hopefully provide some insight as to what the barriers of climate mitigation policies are. The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC, 2014). The parties who ratified (that is, gave formal consent to) the first agreement of the Protocol agreed to limit the growth of domestic greenhouse gas emissions against 1990 levels (UNFCCC, 2014). Prime Minister John Howard signed the Kyoto Protocol in 1998 on behalf of Australia but refused to ratify. It was not until 2007, following the election of Kevin Rudd that Australia ratified the Kyoto Protocol (Newman & Head, 2015). Australia succeeded in meeting its first period of objectives in the Kyoto Protocol (Newman & Head, 2015). However, it was with certain conditions. Rudd agreed to ensure carbon emissions did not grow to 8% above 1990 levels in the 2008-2012 period—a lower level than other countries. The Kyoto Protocol also allowed that the emissions rate of growth included the slowing of deforestation, despite the fact the slowing of deforestation had been intended for years by the Australian government—this concession is now commonly referred to as the ‘Australia clause’ (Newman & Head, 2015; Christoff, 2005). The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) was a Bill introduced to parliament by the Labor Government in 2009. The CPRS was an emissions trading scheme intended to be the main element in Australia’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint (Commonwealth of Australia, 2010). The Bill relied upon the Greens Party support; however it did not receive it as the Greens wanted higher targets met (Curran, 2011). Consequently, the Bill failed to pass the Senate a number of times and is no longer being pursued. While the Bill never passed Senate, it played a key role in Australia’s political history as the public controversy

surrounding the Bill essentially resulted in Kevin Rudd losing his leadership to his Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard in 2010 (Curran, 2011). The carbon pricing scheme, or carbon tax was introduced in 2012 under Julia Gillard’s leadership. The carbon tax aimed to reduce carbon emissions by encouraging large energy consumers to modify to more sustainable energies and practices. The tax was the first of its kind and led the world in attacking greenhouse gas emissions. The Abbott government repealed the tax after it gained leadership in 2014 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2014). It is clear from even a brief overview of three attempts to introduce climate mitigation policy that Australia’s current political system can be a barrier. Australia’s government is dominated by two political groups: the Labor party and the Coalition—primarily made up of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Coalition is more conservative than the Labor Party, although both groups are relatively close to the centre of the political spectrum. In the last ten years there have been five political leaders in Australia: John Howard of the Liberal Party (1996-2007), Kevin Rudd of the Labor Party (2007-2010, 2013), Julia Gillard of the Labor Party (20102013), Tony Abbott of the Liberal Party (2013-2015) and most recently Malcolm Turnbull of the Liberal Party (2015). In the climate mitigation policies discussed, the Labor governments were typically initiating or supporting climate mitigation policies while the Liberal governments were more likely to repeal or oppose such policie This is all part of having an adversarial political system, parties have increased power to intercept one another’s proposals. As a result governments are often reliant upon an obstructionist opposition to pass a bill (Curran, 2011). While there are benefits to such a political system it is clear that some of the disadvantages include its effect on law and policy making.

“...Labor governments were typically initiating or supporting climate mitigation policies while the Liberal governments were more likely to repeal or oppose such policies” The inconsistency of Prime Ministers and leading political parties over the last decade has also resulted in unsteady

Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd congratulate each other on the passing of the carbon pricing legislation in October 2011. (Source: ABC)

and at times, tumultuous eras of policy. This occurs in two ways. Policies such as the carbon tax, can be repealed shortly after being implemented, interrupting any progress they may have made, given the time. Alternatively, policies such as the CPRS are never implemented due to aggressive, political tactics such as obstruction of bills. However, it would be naïve to say the system of government is exclusively to blame. The media substantially influences public thought around climate change—studies show individuals who have read an article about climate change are considerably more likely to adapt to more environmentally friendly habits (Atker & Bennett, 2011). However, the Australian media (television, print and radio) has a history of being particularly skewed when reporting on climate change and political issues. In fact the Australian media barely acknowledged the scientific evidence supporting climate change until 2006 (Christoff, 2013). This lack of coverage on mainstream media meant that a significant portion of the Australian public were unaware of the realities of climate change, and consequently were inclined towards scepticism when exposed to information about global warming (Christoff, 2013). Conversely individuals who have been exposed to media that acknowledges climate change as fact are more likely to back policies supporting climate mitigation (Atker & Bennett, 2011). However even when individuals are concerned about climate change (and believe it is caused by human behaviour) they will not necessarily support climate mitigation policies such as the Carbon Pollutions Reduction Scheme (Atker & Bennett, 2011). Atker and Bennett (2011) found this was strongly related to economic concerns. Economic concerns can be divided into three areas: the national economy, the direct cost to the individual and the indirect cost to the individual.

“...individuals who have been exposed to media that acknowledges climate change as fact are more likely to back policies supporting climate mitigation” The Howard government for example, strongly emphasised the importance of the national economy. This was done by stressing the immediate costs of climate mitigation policies and the comparative economic benefits of continuing to exploit Australia’s natural coal resources (Christoff, 2013). This approach thrived on the

‘speculative’ nature of global warming and suggestions that ‘clean coal’ would be achieved through technological advances (Christoff, 2013). The public understood the coal industry to be crucial to the Australian economy and as a result were hesitant to support policies that would hinder profits. These fears were nurtured by Howard’s regime, when the economy was valued above all else. Although there was considerable support for climate mitigation policies in 2007, it is clear that concern has dropped (Curran, 2011). Of particular concern to citizens is the idea of paying more, thus as the potential cost citizens pay increases, the support drops (Atker & Bennett, 2011). This translates to both when citizens must directly pay higher taxes, and when they expect to pay more for products of companies that must pay higher taxes. These fears are targeted by the media, with sensationalised, panic-mongering articles. For this reason environmental policies surrounding tax typically prove controversial at best (Spash & Lo, 2012). The overarching theme of each of these barriers is ‘public attitude’. Ultimately, within a democracy, where governments can theoretically see quite a quick turnover, public support is crucial. Public attitude is influenced by many things. Climate mitigation policies will not succeed if the public is ignorant about climate change, or doubt the effectiveness of climate mitigation policies (Atker & Bennett, 2011). Studies suggest that many Australians are ignorant of the statistics that have been projected regarding climate change, and that Australians believe the temperature increase will not occur as quickly as predicted (Atker & Bennett, 2011). A recurring theme according to Atker and Bennet (2011) is that many individuals doubt the effectiveness of initiatives such as the CPRS. However, this doubt decreases in the circumstance that other industrialised countries (such as the USA) follow suit. When individuals are feeling overwhelmed over complex political issues, they often resort to choosing the stance of their chosen political party (Tranter, 2013). For example, supporters of the coalition are far less likely to support climate mitigation policies or to believe in the seriousness of climate change than Labor or Greens supporters (Tranter, 2013). This means that as a remedy to ignorance, some individuals are simply choosing the stance of their chosen political party instead of seeking

out facts.

References Atker, S & Bennett, J 2011, ‘Household perceptions of climate change

In the last decade, the Australian governments have attempted a number of different approaches to mitigate climate change on both international and national levels. It is clear from a brief summary of the Kyoto Protocol, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, and the carbon tax that these initiatives often face controversy in both the public and political arenas.

and preferences for mitigation action: the case of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme in Australia’, Climatic Change, 109: 417-436. Christoff, P 2005, ‘Policy autism or double-edged dismissiveness? Australia’s climate policy under the Howard government’, Global Change, Peace and Security, 17(1): 29-44. Christoff, P 2013, ‘Climate discourse complexes, national climate regimes and Australian climate policy’, Australian Journal of Politics and History, 59(3): 349-367.

The Australian political system, the media, economic concerns and public attitudes are all barriers to climate mitigation policies. While it can seem bleak, it is important to remember that all these ‘barriers’ have at some point fostered support for climate mitigation and potentially will again.

Commonwealth of Australia 2010, Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, accessed

September

2015,

http://www.aph.gov.au/About_

Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Browse_ by_Topic/ClimateChange/Governance/Domestic/national/cprs Commonwealth of Australia 2014, Repealing the Carbon Tax, accessed 12 September 2015, http://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/ repealing-carbon-tax Curran, G 2011, ‘Modernising climate policy in Australia: climate narratives

Grace Worthington is a Law and Social Science with a passion for social justice, environmental issues and Rick & Morty.

and the undoing of a Prime Minister’, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 29: 1004-1017. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) n.d.A, Organization, accessed http://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization.shtml. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) n.d.B, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, accessed 12 September 2015, http://www.ipcc.ch/index.htm Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1990, First Assessment Report Overview Chapter, accessed 12 September 2015, http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data_ reports.shtml Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2014, Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 151 pp. Newman, J & Head, BW 2015, ‘Categories of failure in climate change mitigation policy in Australia’, Public Policy and Administration, 30( 3-4): 342-358. Olivier, JGJ, Janssens-Maehout, G, Peters, JAHW & Wilson, J. ‘Long-term trend in global CO² emissions 2011 Report’, 2011, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, The Netherlands. Spash, CL & Lo, AY 2012, ‘Australia’s carbon tax: a sheep in wolf’s clothing?’, The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 23(1): 67-86. Tranter, B 2013, ‘The great divide: political candidate and voter polarisation over global warming in Australia’, Australian Journal of Politics and History, 59(3): 397-413. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 2010, Summary of GHG Emissions for Australia, accessed 13 September 2015,

https://unfccc.int/ghg_data/ghg_data_unfccc/ghg_profiles/

items/4625.php United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 2014, Kyoto Protocol, accessed 12 September 2015, http://unfccc.int/ kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php

working with men.

jace blunden.

orking with men, more specifically men who adhere to traditional Western masculinity, can pose significant challenges to the human service worker. This essay will examine what is meant by ‘traditional masculinity’, with a focus on its associated traits. It will explain how these traits, which give men the social and economic benefits of a patriarchal society, have, in turn, a negative consequence for men’s health. Men, through their socialisation into the dominant masculine paradigm, lose access to the wide spectrum of emotions needed for vulnerable expression and growth. This limited emotional vocabulary leads men to not only have difficulty seeking help, but difficulty expressing their problems once they do. A stunted emotional spectrum also forces men into maladaptive bottleneck of frustration, anger and substance abuse, further impacting their emotional, physical and social wellbeing. In closing, this essay will discuss ways in which a health practitioner can approach men, whose entire sense of self may feel threatened simply asking for assistance, and not only help them understand their socialisation into masculinity but also use it as a tool for their emotional development. Gender, as defined by Judith Butler (1990), is a set of acts, repeated within a rigid and regulatory framework, which, over time, solidify into cultural norms - these socialised behaviours and ideals then become ‘truths’. Masculinity, then, is a socially constricted belief system - a series of guideposts and constrictions as to what

male identity is and is not (Genuchi & Valdez, 2015). Masculinity is the cultural representation of what men are, who they ought to be and how, socially, this is made to happen (Connell, 2005). Although masculinities are never fixed (Miller, 2014), many traits define traditional, Western masculinity, such as dominance over women and family, risk-taking, self-reliance, pursuit of status, primacy of work ethic and achievement, neglect of physical and mental health, aggression, stoicism, emotional repression and subordination of the feminine (Genuchi & Valdez, 2015; James, 2001; Keddie, 2006; Miller, et al 2014). Although masculinities are plural, changing and exhibit multiple patterns (Connell, 2002; Whitehead & Barrett, 2001), and understanding that masculine belief systems may vary along lines of race, class, sexual orientation, a dominant discourse still prevails (Miller, et al 2014). While not all men feel obligated to align with masculine norms, the dominant masculine paradigm not only subjugates femininity but also alternate masculinities (Creighton, et al 2016). As Connell suggests (2001), masculinity only exists in contrast to femininity. It is this binary opposition that defines maleness as opposite to femaleness (James, 2001). This can be seen in the early stages of socialisation, acted out within the school playground (Connell, 2002). Boys who do not conform to traditional male behaviours and abilities may run, or throw, “like a girl”. Even touching a girl leads you to catch ‘girl germs’ or ‘cootees’.

Feminine traits are identified with a pathogenic quality and exhibiting them causes social dishonour (ibid). One of the major issues facing men within a masculine paradigm is this fear and aversion to anything feminine (James, 2001), as these masculine traits actively limit and prevent men’s ability to seek and accept help when required. Despite men benefiting from what Connell (2002) refers to as the ‘Patriarchal Dividend’, the economic and social benefits men gain over women, men’s acceptance and complicity inside a traditional masculinity, has direct negative consequences to their physical and mental health (Genuchi and Valdez, 2015). The masculine sense of self can be very fragile, forming a double edged sword, whereby men suffer deep insecurities regarding their masculinity, yet this same masculine ideal prevents them openly discussing these issues (James, 2001). As discussed, one of the key aspects of traditional masculinity is the subordination of feminine - not just women in general but their associated traits (Keddie, 2006). Expression of a wide range of emotions is considered feminine, as such, men are socialised to repress emotions and, even when they do, these expressions are rarely validated, often ridiculed or ignored (Novack, et al, 2013). During childhood, parents deny a boy’s dependency, withhold comfort and encourage the denial of vulnerability. The striving for a sufficiently masculine son may lead parents to even deny affection. This socialises men into one of the hallmarks of traditional masculinity: the alienation from their emotional selves (James, 2001). Men, taught to restrict thoughts, feeling and behaviours in order to appear stereotypically masculine may experience feelings of weakness, inner turmoil and emotional dissonance in a situation where they are required to share a range of emotions (Cohn et al, 2009; Keddie, 2006). Opening up to these vulnerabilities threatens his view of himself as a man (James, 2001). The traditionally masculine need for agency, control and power are also paradoxical to the requirement to ask for help and submit to vulnerability (Keddie, 2006).

Many men also experience alexithymia, a problem recognising, naming and expressing emotions (Novack, et al, 2013). Not only are men who ask for help directly contravening their socialisation but when they finally take that step they can experience trouble expressing, accessing or discussing vulnerable emotions as this feels like an admittance of weakness and may lead to feelings of guilt and shame (Novack, et al, 2013). Many men believe that in accessing treatment for their issues they must exhibit female traits and deny their own male identity (Whitehead & Barrett, 2001; Novack, 2013). In order to seek help, men feel they must embrace something that defies the ideal image of manhood. Men experience a wide range of physical and psychological issues directly relating to their position within traditional masculinities. Observance of traditionally masculine values not only makes men less likely to accept physical and emotional assistance but also lowers relationship satisfaction for both men and their partners, provides smaller social networks, lowers self esteem, increases emotional distress, loneliness, anxiety, depression and neuroticism (James, 2001; Genuchi & Mitsunaga, 2015).

“In order to seek help, men feel they must embrace something that defies the ideal image of manhood.” Men suffer an increased incidence of heart disease and a lower life expectancy as compared to women, as well as higher rates of injury and death from accidents, especially those related to vehicles and the workplace (Connell, 2000; Zeglin, 2016). Men are diagnosed with mood disorders at a much lower rate than women, yet experience substance abuse and suicide at a considerably higher rate (Genuchi, 2015). Depression and serious emotional trauma can often go unrecognised or untreated in men as the externalised behaviours exhibited sit within accepted masculine norms (Novack, et al, 2013). As discussed, men have difficulty recognising a wide

spectrum of emotions, therefore unfamiliar emotions are externalised as anger, aggressive behaviour, risk taking and substance abuse (Genuchi, 2015). It is through violence that men find the one emotional outlet allowed their gender, as anger is not only allowed, but encouraged (Zeglin, 2016). Men find the complex emotional spectrum bottlenecked into expressions of frustration, aggression and rage (Novack, et al, 2013). One of the central aspects of traditional masculinity, the under-development and restriction of emotional expression and coping strategies, leads to, and finds a dangerous partner in, the acceptance of anger, as vulnerable emotions are transformed into aggression (Cohn, et al, 2009). Men are not only conditioned to accept anger as their primary emotional response (Novack, et al, 2013), but masculinity is routinely asserted and defended with violence (Miller, et al, 2014). Men are pressured to show toughness and stoicism even their employment reflects this, men are directed towards industries where uses of force are required: law enforcement, the military, contact sports, industrial and high-risk occupations; while women, conversely, gravitate to exist to repair the damage such as nursing, psychology and social services (Connell, 2002). While anger is the key feature of men’s depressive experience (Novack, et al, 2013), another outlet, supported and promoted by dominant masculine values is substance abuse, especially abuse involving alcohol consumption. It is common for men to engage in ‘self medication’ - substance abuse as a way of coping with emotions and situations they have been socialised not to experience (Creighton, et al, 2016). Men do not only use alcohol as a coping mechanism but to reinforce their masculinity - experiencing positive social consequences from heavy drinking (Miller, et al, 2014). The ability to consume alcohol in large quantities acts as a social marker (ibid). If a man can ‘hold his liquor’ well he will receive feelings of pride, as well as attention and approval from spectators and peers. In this case, alcohol consumption confers a ‘social honour’ (ibid), that ties in with masculine values of stoicism, control and risk-taking. Binge drinking, a badge of male prestige that allows men to cope with emotions in a way that is acceptable to other men, can intersect with male violence and risk-taking, often ending in episodes of violence, injury, vehicular accidents and incarceration (Creighton, et al, 2016).

Heavy drinking also allows men who would otherwise not be able to access, or were not otherwise invested in, dominant male traits, to consume some ‘Dutch courage’ to engage in risk taking, competitiveness and aggression (Creighton, et al, 2016). Paradoxically, men who are tied to masculine values are able to consume alcohol and open up to vulnerabilities not generally available to them, enabling men to commit what Peralta (2008) refers to as “gender blunders” without compromising their masculinity (Creighton, et al, 2016). Given that men’s inability to properly experience and articulate emotion not only prevents help seeking but leads to anger, violence and substance abuse, how do we convince men that asking for help, then doing the work required, is not a sign of weakness or feminisation? Counselling requires much of the client: a willingness to initially ask for, or admit that they need, help; to be vulnerable; and to be reliant (Reed, 2014). As discussed, many men, especially those operating within a dominant masculine paradigm, are unwilling, or unable, to meet the emotional conditions that traditional counselling requires (Wong & Rochlen, 2005). To integrate aspects of themselves that have long been alienated can be an enormous challenge and lead to resistance (James, 2001). Asking for help may already leave a man feeling threatened, further intrusion upon his sense of self may be perceived as an attack on his very personhood (Pease, 2000; 2001; Cohn, et al, 2009). It is important to problematise the concept of masculinity early (James, 2001), explaining that masculine ideals are a socialised and constructed phenomenon, rather than biological truths (Whitehead & Barrett, 2001) - that anger can be transcended and more primary emotions can be exposed, without him becoming ‘feminised’ (Novack, et al, 2013). Here, it is important to recognise that generalisations of traditional masculinity do not reflect the diversity of men’s lives (James, 2001) and, as such, a one-sizefits-all approach to counselling men is doomed to fail. Masculinity is not a stable property, therefore, men’s emotional behaviour is equally multidimensional (Wong & Rochlen, 2005).

“It is important to problematise the concept of masculinity early”

Pictured: An approach to male-oriented therapy that appeals to masculinity. (Source: beyondblue)

An individual working with men must also realise that masculinity, although a construction, is the client’s lived reality (James, 2001). Recognising this, men may benefit from a more structured, goal oriented form of counselling (Wong & Rochlen, 2005). Men tend to seek help, not for personal growth, or mental wellness for it’s own sake, but with specific problems in mind (McKelley, 2007). Structured, problem solving therapies, with an emphasis on task completion, where broader issues are unpacked, and growth encouraged within those tasks, may be beneficial (ibid; Wong & Rochlen, 2005). By validating an individual’s narrative and relationship with their own masculinity it is helpful to assert that their engagement and enactment of masculine norms is not necessarily maladaptive (Englar-Carlson & Kiselica, 2013). Indeed, socialised masculine traits can, in some contexts, be beneficial to their counselling. By applying a strength-based approach, that views their masculinity from a positive standpoint (Reed, 2014), a counsellor can encourage a client to use tools already in their possession, rather than focus on ones that they lack (Englar-Carlson & Kiselica, 2013). Rather than viewing traits such as risk-taking, dominance, primacy of work or pursuit of status through a maladaptive lens, a strength-based approach would see positive dimensions such as courage, autonomy, endurance and resilience (although it is important to recognise that these qualities are hardly gender specific) (Englar-Carlson & Kiselica, 2013). Encouraging men to use their masculinity to work for them, instead of against them - to build skills,

rather than despair at their deficits - enables counselling to occur within the masculine paradigm. Strength-based therapies enable the councillor to view, and the client to feel, their masculinity and potential positive traits, such as self-reliance, self-sufficiency and responsibility (McKelley, 2007), are the keys to achieving mental health goals, rather than obstacles in the way. This essay has discussed the facets of the dominant masculine paradigm and how these traits can become damaging to men’s emotional well being. Although not inherently toxic, it can be seen that socialisation into traditionally masculine ways of being can impact men’s emotional vocabulary and this, in turn can prevent them seeking support when needed. It has been noted that limited access to a rich emotional spectrum can leave men feeling confused as to their emotional state and rely on anger and substance abuse to express themselves. A skilled health practitioner can not only let men into the ‘secret’ of their socialisation but that their masculine traits are only contextually maladaptive – and that positive aspects of their personhood can be used in such ways as to heal and grow.

Jace Blunden is a first-year student stuck in a mature-aged student’s body. He likes cooking, maps and sitting on his hands during tutorial so he doesn’t become ‘that guy’.

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Are you a postgraduate student enrolled at the University of Newcastle? Then NUPSA is your student association!

Open 8:30am to 4:30pm weekdays University of Newcastle HA-150, Hunter Building Callaghan NSW 2308 Australia T +61 2 49218894 F +61 2 49218895 nupsa@newcastle.edu.au We are also on Twitter, Facebook and Blackboard.

www.nupsa.edu.au

How do I become a member? By being enrolled, you are a member of NUPSA. Honours students are encouraged to attend our events and seminars and we can assist you at any time. Is there a membership fee? Nope - there is no charge! What does NUPSA do? • Supports postgraduate students with issues of concern • Represents postgraduate students on a number of University committees and working parties • Conducts seminars and workshops during semesters • Holds social activities each semester at most campuses • Distributes a regular newsletter

FREE MARKET SYSTEMS: WHOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GOVERNING WHO? Sarah Thurgood

cholars contest whether or not financial markets should operate unregulated by the state. This essay will examine why the state should not allow the market ultimate freedom to operate, independent of the state or regulation, based on the determination that the market is not a neutral phenomenon. When the market is given unfettered freedoms, policy is shaped not by the will of citizens or consumers, but by preceptoral politics. Ultimately, this relegates the responsibilities that should be held by the state, who have been elected to govern, to privileged business people. Liberal democracies balance the tenuous and somewhat competing values of liberalism with a decision-making process, which best represents the majority opinion of a group of people (Baradat 2003: 65; Heywood 2013: 39-40). Liberal democracies require regular and free competitive elections; constitutional protections for individual rights; and free media which supports a healthy, pluralist and informed civil society (Heywood 2013: 39-40). In this way, institutional mechanisms protect the individual rights of its citizens, while the society is governed in such a way that it best reflects the wishes of the majority (Baradat 2003: 65). This essay will show that democratic outcomes are undermined when governments allow financial markets unrestrained freedoms, in that wealthy citizens and business owners are privileged over the less wealthy or disadvantaged citizen. Classical liberalism stressed individualism or the idea that people are rational, self-interested and self-reliant and, as such, should be left to determine their own outcomes (Heywood 2013: 43). Key thinker, John Locke argued that a person’s ‘natural rights’ to life, liberty and property are premised on the idea that people are inherently good and capable of selfdeterminacy (Heywood 2013: 45). Locke and other early liberal thinkers could tolerate minimal interference from the government or state apparatus only insofar that it served the people by: providing the state with military protection from external threats, ensuring domestic order through the police force and legal institutions, and pragmatically ensuring that civil liberties and property ownership rights were upheld (Heywood 2013: 43-4). Neoliberalism or neo-classical liberalism, emerged in the 1970s to reinvent classical liberal ideology in an attempt to reverse the reliance on ‘big government’, or ‘the welfare state’ (Heywood 2013: 49). Neoliberalism is committed to individualism, protection of freedoms, civil society, small government, free-market economy and the privatisation of public goods (Thompson and Coghlan 2015: 60; Stanford

2008: 34-5). Capitalism, or the free-market economy, is interested in increasing the privatisation of publicly-owned companies in the hope of maximising profits for private shareholders (Stanford 2008: 34). Neoliberalism typically advocates for deregulation in the market unless there is extensive market failure (Fligstein 2005: 184). Neoliberalism subscribes to economic liberalism, a classical economic theory largely credited to the work of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations ([1776] 1976) (Heywood 2013: 47). Smith’s work was revolutionary because he challenged his contemporaries’ ontology that a nation’s wealth should be quantified according to the how much gold they had, with the idea that it should be measured according to the citizens’ level of productivity (Baradat 2003: 87). This emphasis on productivity lends itself readily to capitalist ideals espoused in contemporary neoliberal societies. As such, Smith promoted the idea of ‘laissez-faire’ which argued that it is not for government to determine economic policy but for these matters to be determined according to free-market competition (Baradat 2003: 87). A current ideal also shared by neoliberalists. In this way, Smith’s idea of the ‘invisible hand’ of the market or, the market’s self-regulating capabilities, are understood to be enabled through the government’s lack of involvement and influence (Heywood 2013: 17). The ‘invisible hand’ of the market is the basis for which the economic liberalism advocates that a free-market economy is, “morally and practically superior to government and any form of political control” (Heywood 2013: 49). It is also this alleged neutrality of the market, which forms the basic premise as to why neoliberals argue that the state should allow the market maximum freedom to operate (Seldon 1990: 105; Stanford 2008; Xing 2009: 90). Further explanation of how a free-market capitalist system operates will explore why the state cannot allow economic markets unfettered freedoms. Seldon (1990: 4) explains that capitalist economies are comprised of various markets, decentralised power, and an emphasis on individual liberty - both to privately own property and to be responsible for ones’ own behaviour. Lindblom (1977: 37) delineates between three different types of markets: labour, consumer and business markets. People no longer exchange their services directly for food or goods, instead they exchange their labour for money in the labour market (Lindblom 1977: 37). They then exchange their money with businesses for goods and services in the consumer market. In business markets, businesses engage with each other in the sale and purchase of goods and services (Lindblom 1977: 37). It is the second and third type of market

for which the scope of this paper will be focused. Robbins (2014: 2) discerns that capitalism has been fuelled by the contemporary redesign of persons as ‘consumers’ and by resituating these consumers in a “society of perpetual growth”. This Smithian ideal for growth provides the mechanism to satiate consumer appetites and advances the capitalist argument: unfettered free-market systems provide the most efficient way to deliver economic outcomes (Seldon 1990; Vaizey 1971). Capitalists argue that because people are primarily interested in material gain and attaining the highest standard of living possible, they need an economic environment that reflects this interest (Butler, Jones and Stilwell: 2009; Seldon 1990; Lindblom 1977). They contend that the most efficient way to grow the economy is through free economic markets (Butler, Jones and Stilwell 2009: 104; Stanford 2008; Vaizey 1971:51). Fligstein (2005: 185) explains that this is because businesses have to compete more tenuously with each other in a free market, which drives them to, “allocate their capital more efficiently”.

...capitalism has been “ fuelled by the contemporary redesign of persons as ‘consumers’...

”

Free markets rely on wage-labour being divided according to the skill of the labourer (Vaizey 1971:51). The division of labour is thought to enhance workers’ skills which then leads to the development of specialist occupations, this in turn promotes innovation and technological developments, all of which facilitates the growth of specialist markets (Seldon 1990: 50; Vaizey 1971: 51). This wage-labour generates a surplus for the capitalist to reinvest back into the market, which is argued to create more markets, thus creating more jobs which increases the Gross National Profit (GDP) (Vaizey 1971: 50). Capitalists would argue that the idea of surplus – what is left over after workers have been paid and the costs of production accounted for – that drives market economies to be most efficient and therefore best able to meet societies desire to attain a highest standard of living (Seldon 1990: 51). For through the continued investment of surplus and growth in markets, jobs are created, which finances personal spending (Stanford 2008). Unlike when the means of production are publicly owned, Capitalists argue that private ownership

promotes the most efficient business practices (Stanford 2008; Vaizey 1971: 50). This is because profits incentivise capitalists to innovate and provide goods and services more efficiently (Fligstein 2005: 185; Vaizey 1971: 50). Through efficiency, society benefits when there is more money for personal spending, and for capital investment because that creates jobs. Seldon (1990: 105) describes market systems as superior to political processes and disputes scholars like Marquand who he believes to be under the, “misapprehension that the market excludes preceptoral relationships”. Preceptoral relationships consider three types of relationships: exchange relationships as seen in the market, authority relationships between the citizen and the state, and relationships premised on persuasion like the teacher to the student, or an advertiser to a consumer (Lindblom 1977: 52-62; Seldon 1990: 106). He explains that Marquand is critical of socialism and capitalism on the basis of preceptoral politics - a form of politicking based on persuasive preceptoral relations that is used by politicians to confuse the middle class for either socialist or capitalist gain (Seldon 1990: 105). Seldon (1990: 105) counters Marquand’s concerns on two accounts. Firstly, he argues that it is the markets freedom from political forces or, the “invisible hand” as it were, that ensures that the market is above any negative effects of persuasive preceptoral politics. Secondly, he describes how the market empowers citizens by affording them a level of participation and self-determination that the political arena does not (Seldon 1990: 104-6). This is his justification for why the market should be left to determine policy matters that were once the responsibility of the state (Seldon 1990). He argues that citizens can exercise power by spending or not spending in any way that they chose, and they can still participate in charitable or persuasive type relationship, however he argues that most people prefer to operate in the arena of the market (Seldon 1990: 106). In the first part of Seldon’s (1990) rebuttal he fails to account for the argument that, markets are not neutral based on preceptoral relations and therefore, should not be completely unregulated (Lindblom 1977; Xing 2009: 90). The second part of Seldon’s argument - that the market has a democratising effect on the economy and is a way of extending democracy past the political arena and into people’s everyday lives - is flawed because it accounts for how citizens can engage in persuasive preceptoral relations, but it fails to address how they are affected by them as consumers (Jones 2003: 44; Lindblom 1977). The next section will address the impact of

the market’s lack of neutrality. It will be followed by an analysis that explores why it is imperative that it be understood how citizens as consumers are negatively affected by persuasive preceptoral politics. These findings will prove the importance of the role of states as regulators of the market, and why it is for the state to determine policy matters, not free market enterprise. In order to argue that the market reflects the desires of citizens without bias would rely on the market to be able to substantiate a claim of neutrality. Scholars are critical of the neutrality of the market (Butler, Jones and Stilwell 2009: 106-9; Leech 2012; Lindblom 1977; Xing 2009: 90). The capitalist argument, advanced by Milton Friedman in Australia in the 1970s onwards, was that the market was selfcorrecting and that the central banks involvement was not just redundant but that it was, “also dysfunctional” (Butler, Jones and Stilwell 2009: 106-9). While Smith’s ‘invisible hand’ may idealistically prescribe a market that is devoid of external influence, Charles Lindblom’s (1977) conceptualisation of preceptoral systems refutes that the market could ever be a free or neutral phenomenon. Lindblom (1977: 31) refers to the idea of, “reciprocal obligation among authorities” to describe how power is manifested through the exchange of favours. This is demonstrated by the way in which wealthy businesses can influence electoral outcomes by making political donations (Swift 2002, 74-5). Upon getting successfully voted into office, officials are positioned to pass legislation which suits the interests of their benefactors (Swift 2002: 64-5). While this opposes the neoliberal illusion of sustaining neutrality in a free-market system, which relies on no interference from the political arena, political donations from businesses are legal in many neoliberal democracies such as the United States (US) and Australia (Swift 2002: 65). Robert Michels’ (1959) theory, the ‘iron law of oligarchy’, is similar to Lindblom’s (1977: 31) idea of reciprocal obligation among authorities. The ‘iron law of oligarchy’ supposes that officials will do whatever they need to in order to maintain power, even if that pursuit of power disables them from fulfilling their mandate to represent their constituents (Michels 1959). Lindblom (1977: 50) refers to this as the costliness of control, in that sometimes it is costly not to exercise authority because “authority can only be maintained by using it”. The neoliberal claim that the market is most neutral when government is small justifies the states withdrawal from directing state policy matters (Baradat 2003: 87; Jones 2003: 42; Seldon 1990; Stanford 2008: 34; Thompson and Coghlan

2015: 60). If the neoliberal argument follows, citizens ‘vote’ with where they spend or do not spend their money and so policy should reflect this (Seldon 1990: 105). An example of this would be the education system. In Australia, the neoliberal argument is for deregulation and privatisation in schools as: it takes the pressure off public schools and the public purse- which enables the citizens to pay less tax and the government to stay small; those that can afford to carry the burden of paying for their children’s education take on that responsibility- this is a classical liberal value of individualism and responsibility as discussed earlier; and, those that can afford a better quality of education for their children, are not disadvantaged by negative freedoms- wherein individual liberties are restricted by the government who infringe on the choices made available to individuals through competition, and in failing to protect citizens individual liberties and advantages that come with wealth (Butler, Jones and Stilwell: 2009; Heywood 2012: 31; Preston 1984; Seldon 1990; Stretton 2005: 155-77; Lindblom 1977). In this way, competition in the market would determine, by way of how many families can or cannot choose to use private schooling, how much the state should invest into public schools (Fligstein 2005; Preston 1984). This idea of competition is meant to be empowering for consumers but only achieves this outcome for a wealthy minority (Standford 2008: 38). However, this thinking does not account for the fact that politicians are making policy decisions under immense pressure of their benefactors and policy stakeholders such as business and their lobby groups; specifically, in this case, the big business of Catholic and Independent Schools (Jones 2003: 44; Warhurst 2008: 218). To assume that these decisions are made in an objective and neutral way which reflects the values of all Australians, not just those that might vote in a liberally aligned government, can be contested according to Lindblom’s (1977) idea that power is really negotiated through the reciprocal obligation of authority in exchanging favours.

“ This idea of competition is meant to be empowering for consumers but only achieves this outcome for a wealthy minority

”

Warhurst (2008: 215) describes how in claiming 20% of themarket, the Catholic Church in Australia is the leading private organisation in education. When combining the Church’s assets in both education and health, the Catholic Church’s revenue was $15 billion in 2005 making them a powerful and wealthy policy stakeholder (Fergusson 2005: 47 cited in Warhurst 2008: 215). So the Catholic lobby are financially equipped to shape the narrative on resources regarding public versus private schools much more than those advocating for public schools (Warhurst 2008: 217). This pressures Government to write policy that privileges business and their stakeholders (Jones 2003: 44; Warhurst 2008: 217). In this way, the market is in no way neutral, and policy outcomes are not just being determined according to how people choose to or not to spend their money (Butler, Jones and Stilwell 2009: 106-9; Jones 2003: 44; Leech 2012; Swift 2002; Xing 2009: 90). The market is being subjected to the preceptoral politicking of lobbyists to effect particular outcomes that benefits businesses with profits, and wealthy citizens with better educational outcomes, at the expense of less wealthy or disadvantaged Australians (Jones 2003: 44; Lindblom 1977 52-62; Preston 1984; Xing 2009: 90). As previously stated, Seldon (1990) failed to conceive how consumers are affected by preceptoral relations. Where the market may have previously held a degree of neutrality premised on the idea of ‘consumer sovereignty’ or choice, consumers are now subjected to the whim of ‘producer sovereignty’ wherein producers steer consumer ‘choice’ (Nell 2003: 192; Lindblom 1977; Xing 2009: 90). The literature on how consumers’ tastes are shaped by advertising is not a new one; there is plenty of literature to attest to this (Beder 2003: 218; Gintis 1972: 267; Lindblom 1977: 73-4; Schor 2007: 25). Which raises the greater question – do competitive and free markets profit consumers with the freedom to choose? Whilst this may have originally been the case, business now shapes consumers into choosing according to how the market would have them choose (Beder 2003: 218; Gintis 1972: 270; Lindblom 1977: 73-4; Nell 2003: 192; Schor 2007: 25). This further negates the claims that the market has legitimacy to reign because it is neutral, and provides a further case as to why consumer choice should not shape policy matters (Beder 2003: 218; Gintis 1972; Nell 2003: 192; Xing 2009: 90). On the contrary, democratically elected governments should shape policy – because consumers are incapable of ‘voting’ according to how they spend their money when they choice is shaped by the privileged power of business (Lindblom 1977; Xing 2009: 90-3). Furthermore, citizens are unable to vote

in board members or directors of the businesses from whom they make their purchases, in the way that they do vote for political representation. Even shareholders have decreased discretionary power when it comes to decision-making for larger businesses (Schwartz 1983: 56). Despite governments being vulnerable to preceptoral politics by way of pressure from business and their lobby groups, at least citizens can engage in democratic elections when it comes to choosing their representation, according to the social contract which legitimises governments to rule citizens in neoliberal democracies such as the US and Australia (Xing 2009: 93). The market simply cannot offer this level of participation to consumers when giving them the façade of choice when it comes to ‘voting’ with their money. This paper has demonstrated the inadequacy of the market to remain neutral and therefore negated any grounds by which markets would be justified to operate independently of state regulation. An analysis of how preceptoral politics operates has determined that while states are vulnerable to being influenced by business, they are in the very least democratically elected and subsequently mandated to deliver policy outcomes to citizens. This responsibility cannot simply be handed over to the privileged position of business.

Sarah Thurgood is a third-year Political Science student, who is passionate about her family and friends, social justice, and what will become of a post-neoliberal, post-capitalist society.

The authors of the winning entries each won a prize for their participation in the inaugural Opus Magazine Essay Competition.

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Runner-up: Grace Worthington $50 ASOS Voucher Like us on Facebook (Opus Magazine) for more competitions and prize draws throughout the year!

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Essay Competition finalists are being published on the Opus Magazine website: www.opus.org.au/articles/essay-series. We’re always looking for submissions - Opus Magazine relies on contributions from students to keep going. If you have an essay, a burning opinion piece, a review or a piece of art you’d like to see published, visit www.opus.org.au/submissions. If you’d like to get involved in the production and editing of Opus, look up the NUSA Media Collective on Facebook. 39

Arts + Culture Michael Labone More than Steel & Coal is a compilation that is meant to showcase the best music that the current Newcastle scene has to offer. It is a timely and ambitious effort. The influence of Newcastle’s scene on the national cultural climate ebbs and flows over time: think of Silverchair, Conation, and Jen Buxton (who appears on this compilation) as examples of how one great record from Newy can change the direction of the punk or alternative scenes nationally. A big part of this would be through Triple J exposure but more importantly, it’s the ethos behind the music; the statements that the music makes, the climate it comes from, the voices it speaks for. Before analysing the choice of tracks, it is important to take note of a few things. A compilation says as much about the person who put it together as it does about the music that it is composed of. What that means here is that this release is one person’s ideas about what can be considered representative of the Newcastle music scene, but with that comes bias and taste and all the other subjective synonyms that I shouldn’t mention, lest I be accused of being a pretentious pseudo left dilettante (see my Paper Thin review on the Opus website). Yet again, with everything Newcastle-related, there is a gender problem here. A clear majority of performers on the record being male or male-presenting. I can’t speak to the gender of every performer as I don’t know every performer personally. I guess that is representative of the scene though, so who knows. Another point is that this compilation seems to primarily represent music made with guitars; a certain genre or genres are privileged. Language is defined by its usage, so I guess that calling this a mixtape in 2017 is a misnomer since that term has come to be integral to African American music and culture. But that’s no matter - if I don’t like it I guess I can just boo (see the response to Childish Gambino’s DJ set at the Cambridge Hotel in 2015).

is for comes to mind. I’m sure the rebuttal would be “what have you done for the scene” which I can respond with a resounding “nothing”, except give it my money, which in our capitalist system is the best I can do. I give the products of my labour to peoples’ artistic expression. Anyway, I digress. It is clear that a lot of thought has gone into the ordering of tracks here, creating a rolling sense that you are on a journey. The mood rises and falls, much like the feeling of driving along the F3 as the sun starts to set, following through past the Hunter River on your way into town, off to the Great Northern to watch a mate play an acoustic set. Have a beer, a cheeky dart, you exhale smoke and despair towards the Newcastle Ocean Baths where you remember having your first kiss on a hot summer night. Mum dropped you off even though it was late, skin salty before you got in the water. You wish that summer would be over, but knowing that with the end of summer you come closer to having to become responsible. There aren’t any jobs left in the works or in the pits. You don’t know what you are going to do but it doesn’t matter now; you are snapped back to the present, your mate has finished his set and now it’s time to head back to the bar, because this town must have more to offer than steel and coal, there must be more, there has to be. Michael Labone is an Education student and the current NUSA President. Story image: ‘More Than Steel and Coal’ Facebook.

The tracks here are representative of the Newcastle mates scene; if you go to the Lass O’Gowrie or the Hamilton Station Hotel, this is the kind of music that you will be exposed to. The tracks themselves are good, some of them so good it’s painful, but the further you get through the tracklist the question of who this compilation

On this day... Opus Magazine Thirty years ago 

Student media in the mid-eighties was still riding on the momentum of the Sexual Revolution, and it showed in their radical politics. Solidarity with LGBTIQ people was shown with frank and explicit discussions about sex, health and safety. What you see to the right is not only a picture of two men who are presumably about to go at it, but a powerful health promotion piece - the West was just emerging from the AIDS crisis with the grave knowledge of just how devastating the disease could be. As ‘liberated’ as we like to think we are, an ad like this would probably be unacceptable today. We won’t lie; this is half the reason we chose this particular page to feature. Also contained in this issue is a particular focus on the exploitation of early-career academics. The story ‘Exploiting the academic peons’ lists several examples of research higher degree (PhD and Masters) students being exploited for their research and labour by their supervisors. Unfortunately, we still hear rumblings about these sorts of scenarios playing out today. The “publish or perish” mentality prevails. The issue also features an impassioned case for land rights and treaty written by Galarrwuy Yunupingu - just as relevant and poignant today as it was then.

Bob Day

10 minutes ago  In retrospect, losing my position in the Senate was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I can now go back to doing what I truly love; being a severly weathered gargoyle atop a dilapidated church in Adelaide.

Penny Wong don’t fall off Like · Reply ·

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HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR SSAF* A GOODS AND SERVICES VALUE-BASED APPROACH Feature Article Christy Mullen

IF YOU WERE TO USE ONLY ONE SSAF-FUNDED SERVICE...

How many veggie lunches, barbecues and condoms do you have to use to get your $294 back?

HOW TO REALISTICALLY GET YOUR MONEY BACK IN TWO SEMESTERS

If you have 13 barbecues and veggie lunches, go to 10 university events and use 32 condoms, you can easily get your SSAF back.

*Student Services and Amenities Fee. You pay it every semester, either up-front or on HECS.

DON’T KNOW HOW TO ACCESS THESE SSAF-FUNDED SERVICES? The NUSA Building, located behind Bar on the Hill (on the Hunter side of campus) is your easy one-stop-shop to get your SSAF back. Every Thursday, a free barbecue and Vegetarian Club lunch is provided. NUSA also has free condoms and tampons located in the Women’s Room. Collectives and other clubs associated with NUSA regularly run free events on campus. Student Central also runs free barbecues and free student parties, as well as Tanner Tuesdays at the Godfrey Tanner Bar and comedy nights.

FOOD, CLUBS, EVENTS AND MORE

Source: University of Newcastle website. https://www.newcastle.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/.../SSAF_2016_Expenditure.pdf

The best way to get your SSAF back is to take advantage of the range of free food, events and club activities at the University. This allows you to fully engage with the ‘uni life’. SSAF also goes towards study and employment services such as PASS and the CareersHub. While the results and value of these vary between students, it’s worth checking out to get your money’s worth, and to form your own opinion. You may even be able to improve your resume and study skills in the process. As seen below, there are many other ways to make use of your SSAF. By going to a library, the new Park on the Hill or reading student media like Opus and Lunacy, you are getting value for your SSAF.

STILL DON’T THINK YOU CAN GET YOUR SSAF BACK? Then do something about it! Join a club or get involved and run things your way. Complete the annual SSAF survey and tell the University where you want your SSAF money going. Make sure you join your student union, too - together we can make a real difference on how our money is spent.

Arts + Culture Hannah Stretton

#1 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST It’s been a quarter of a century since the initial release of Beauty & the Beast in 1991, so this remake has a lot to live up to, but from what’s been seen so far Disney may have a winner on its hands. With a star-studded cast including the graceful Emma Watson (Belle), a dashing Dan Evans (The Beast/Prince Adam) alongside other big names, such an Sir Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson, we are expected to see a collection of beautiful performances in this film. From snippets of voice recordings and sneak peak trailers we can see that director Bill Condon and his team have really payed attention to the fine details, making this a reprisal that’s really a tribute to the original release we know and love so dearly, rather a typical Hollywood re-imagining.

#2 HIDDEN FIGURES We all know about NASA’s momentous launch of astronaut, John Glenn, into Earth’s orbit, but little is known about the masterminds behind its success. This movie is all about uncovering just that. The film follows Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), and Katherine G. Johnson’s (Taraji P. Henson) journey in an attempt to prove and showcase their talent to the world and create U.S history whilst overcoming gender, race and professional stereotypes of the 1960s. Not only is this a must see for women, but a must see for all people who believe in an equality that does not judge a book by its cover.

#3 STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII Following on from the mega-successful release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: Episode VIII is said to follow on from where they left off. The film will follow Rey (Daisy Ridley) as she continues her epic journey with Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac) & Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in the next instalment of the space saga. This episode will be a bittersweet moment for die-hard Star Wars fans as they farewell the beloved Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) in what can be regarded as a finale fit for a true royal.

#4 JUSTICE LEAGUE

Carrying on from the events of Batman v Superman, Justice League follows Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) and Diana Prince’s (Gal Gadot) attempt to assemble a team of metahumans to face the threat of Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) and the Parademons. The film is based off of the DC comic superhero team of the same name, which will feature well known comic characters, The Flash (Ezra Miller), Superman (Henry Cavill) , Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and others, making it the 5th instalment in the DC Extended Universe. Also upcoming this year will be the release of Wonder Woman in June, which will tell us more about the woman in the cape before Justice League ’s release.

#5 DUNKIRK Dunkirk is based on the true events of the Battle of Dunkirk which occurred during World War II, from May 1940 - June 1940. The film will showcase the bloody and brutal evacuation of the allied soldiers from Belgium, Britain and France who were cut off and surrounded by the German army from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the film features an award winning cast including Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance & Kenneth Branagh, with performances you will not want to miss. A film & history lesson that will teach us that hope is a weapon and survival is victory.

#6 LOGAN

In Hugh Jackman’s last performance as Wolverine (Logan) we are given the actiondrama, Logan. A film set in 2024 where mutant births are in decline, Logan’s healing abilities are fading and Professor X’s (Patrick Stewart) alzheimers is making him forgetful of his mutant past, leaving them with limited time to restore hope to Earth & protect who is left. Further complications arise when a government-type organisation run by Nathaniel Essex plan to make killing machines out of the remaining mutant children, one of whom has come into the care of Professor X and Logan. Much different from previous Wolverine films, this film has a more morbid and dark theme which tackles with grief and sadness first hand giving it a much more personal feel.

#7 THE CIRCLE An American sci-fi novel by Dave Eggers turned film, about a woman, Mae Holland (Emma Watson) who lands a job at a powerful tech company, The Circle. This film explores the wonderful, crazy and ultimately scary potential of the internet and technology in our modern society. Tom Hanks plays the founder and CEO of this mega company, where a future of total transparency is not out of reach. Sound familiar? Social-media dominated and eery in it’s delivery, this film will make us evaluate our online presence even further this year.

#8 GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 Any excuse to have Chris Pratt (Peter Quill) on the big screen again with the potential of another dance off will always be welcomed with open arms.

Following the mega-success of Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) this sequel continues the team’s adventure as they unravel more about Quill’s true parentage and save the cosmos from impending doom. Set to the backdrop of ‘Awesome Mixtape #2’ we expect to hear some pretty awesome 60s and 70s hits again, as promised by director James Gunn, which just adds a little novelty to this Marvel comic classic.

#9 BLADE RUNNER 2049

More than 30 years after the initial Blade Runner (1982) release, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), discovers a long-kept secret that could potentially plunge the rest of society into complete chaos. In a quest to stop society from collapsing, LAPD Officer K’s only hope is finding blade runner, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford, to find answers and help him on his operation. The question that still remains and will re-emerge in this film again is; who is human and who is not? A true delight for all sci-fi lovers.

#10 KONG: SKULL ISLAND From the producers that gave us Godzilla (2014) we are given the action-drama Kong: Skull Island. Set in the 70s, a team of explorers and soldiers are aligned together to explore an uncharted island in the Pacfic unbeknownst to them of the monsters that lie within. One of those being the infamous Kong, the “king” of the island. With CGI effects at their peak, we are revealed to a more real than ever Kong who will send chills up your spine as you watch him on the big screen. A timeless character has been brought back again after 37 years and with a starstudded cast to accompany him. You won’t want to miss this hair-raising return.

Opinion Brooke Tunbridge [their] voices heard”.

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, Many were waiting for Trump to acknowledge the protests, accept, and celebrate those although he was busy accusing the media for purposely differences.” downplaying crowd numbers at his inauguration (I’m sure ─ Audre Lorde you’ve seen the photo comparing Obama’s inauguration If you’re observing the political events occurring in the United States but questioning the effect it will have on Australia, let me make things clear. Issues in the USA are often echoed in Australia. Protestors at the Brisbane event of the Women’s March which took place January 21st seemed to agree. They marched chanting “Donald Trump go to hell. Take One Nation there as well”. One Nation Leader, Pauline Hanson, publicly supports the 45th President. Agreeing with his speeches and beliefs, boasting over Twitter that Trump’s victory “has been a triumph of people power and democracy”. Women’s marches took place all over the world on January 21st, an estimated 5 million people attending the peaceful protests, just one day after Trump’s inauguration. In Washington D.C. alone, it’s believed that over 1 million protestors showed their support at the Women’s march. These people came together to “march, speak and make

crowd size in 2009).

Acknowledging the Women’s march Trump poses the question of “why didn’t they vote?”. I’m almost certain that if these protestors went to the effort of attending these marches, many yielding with them homemade signs or apparel sporting slogans such as “respect our existence, expect our resistance”, that they would have made the effort to attend a voting booth. Keeping in mind that children who are obviously unable to vote were also marching. He later tweeted “Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don’t always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views”. The Women’s March on Washington (WMW) was described as an event for “any person regardless of gender or gender identity, who believes women’s rights are human rights”. Isn’t it alarming that in 2017 the President of the United States doesn’t agree with this statement as a reasonable motive behind a protest?

The hostility shown towards minority groups in the US by Trump has had a ripple effect in Australia. Pauline Hanson tweeted using the Women’s march hashtag: “I want you to ask yourself- where is the #womensmarch to protest the suffering of women in countries under the rule of Islamic extremists?”. Now, compare that tweet with these policies taken straight from the One Nation website: • “Stop further Muslim Immigration and the intake of Muslim refugees until we can assure the safety of Australians • Ban the Burqa and Niquab in public places” It seems that tweet was a desperate attempt at showing sympathy. Hanson, please explain. The Sydney Women’s March organisers showed that the demonstration was about much more than protesting Trump. They aimed to show solidarity with those marching in Washington, while also hoping to bring awareness to bigotry and marginalisation here in Australia.

Journalist and MC of the Sydney march, Tracey Spicer says “this action says to our daughters that they are of equal value to our sons, to women that they deserve to live without harassment and abuse, and to men that they can be our allies in this quest”. I urge you not to observe the news coming from the US and think that it doesn’t affect us here in Australia. Xenophobia is becoming such a regular occurrence in the US that it is starting to become normalised, with Australia closely following this pattern. If the words “I’m not racist/sexist but…” ever leave your mouth, or even cross your mind, you need to reconsider your values. If that statement was true, there would be no need for those words.

Brooke Tunbridge is a second-year Communication student with a passion for music and an obsession with Snapchatting the sky. Story image: Taken by Linda Dewan at the Philadelphia Women’s March.

Why is my boss more concerned with what I do with my uterus than the how well I can pull a beer? The paradox of the mutual exclusivity of children and work Opinion Lucinda Iacono

s more and more women enter the professional working spheres and the gender disparity lessens (however slight that may be), their reproductive choices seem to become the business of everyone around them. The choice to (or not to) procreate is suddenly a choice made not by themselves or with a partner, but rather by the consequences that may occur in the workplace, and the criticism that comes from not conforming to a typical gender narrative. This is a result of two main factors. First, the gender role hangover that is slowly being overcome in recent years is still subliminally influencing women’s choices and expectations. Second, there’s the idea that pregnant women and women with young children are a hindrance to business. The two opposing forms of structural violence create a “doomed if you do, doomed if you don’t” paradox that strengthens glass ceilings. When a friend of mine fell pregnant as a young woman with a low income, she sought employment at several hospitality venues. At interviews she would tell potential employers of her some 6 years experience in the industry and long list of accolades. She would also mention out of courtesy that she was three months pregnant. My friend was unable to gain successful employment until she asked advice from other mothers and ceased mentioning her pregnancy to employers. The idea that pregnancy is some sort of inconvenience to business is not new. In fact, the beloved POTUS Donald Trump used those exact words, verbatim, 13 years ago in an interview with NBC News (conveniently also 13 years before he signed agreements making it virtually impossible for American women and a lot harder for women internationally to get an abortion). He said he believed that one of his employers should have felt pressure to return to work three months post-partum for fear that she would be replaced. The inconvenience of pregnancy to businesses is a mere symptom of the deeper issue of structural gender violence and the traditional expectations that still exist for women. Why is it assumed that a pregnant woman will immediately drop every other responsibility to pursue motherhood? The notion is not even founded in statistics. A study from financial services company Morgan Stanley showed that stock prices go up and costs go down when pregnant employees are treated equally, and there is greater gender diversity in a work place. The fact that pregnancy is treated as some sort of bad omen on business can be put down to nothing but a reinforcement of restrictive, harmful gender roles frank sexism. Paradoxically, women who choose not to have children also come under fire. This Christmas when I was asked how long I would wait after entering professional legal practice to have a child my family were shocked and offended when they learnt I had every intention to remain childless until death. I explained (not that it was any of their business what I do with my uterus) that this was because not only do I dislike being around children for more than 10 minutes, but I also do not find a long term commitment

with a more expensive version of a dog all that attractive (with no disrespect to women who have children of course; it’s just not for me). “Oh, you’ll change your mind”, “It’s different when you’re older”, “you just have to find the right person!”. Firstly, the idea that one would know I would change my mind is downright absurd. Secondly, my age does not strip me of the right to make reproductive choice. Thirdly, even if I do think that Seth Rogan and I would have tiny little chubby cherub babies, I will never be compelled enough by any man to suddenly want to change my mind. How dare a woman not fulfil her purpose on this earth to procreate, right? And it’s not just me. So many women who choose not to have children for whatever reason are unnecessarily questioned about it. Just this month within an hour of becoming the premier of NSW, Gladys Berejeklian was questioned on her childlessness. A reporter suggested that she would be less relatable to families in NSW as she did not have any children of her own. The true inequality comes when one realises that politicians such as Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull were never questioned on their ability to relate to women when they cut funding to Domestic violence centres or planned to cut funding for pap-smears and paid parental leave. They weren’t questioned on their appeal to students and young people when they introduced fee deregulation and backed new lockout laws. They weren’t questioned on their likeness to indigenous peoples when they insisted that living in rural communities was “a lifestyle choice” and refuse to change the date of Australia Day. Gladys was not questioned out of actual concern that she would not relate to families. She was questioned because of the deeply ingrained societal myth that woman’s place is in the home, not in the Parliament, and if a woman disobeys this, there must be something wrong with her. The fibres of misogyny are so tightly woven around this child vs work paradox that women become trapped by employers and crushed by glass ceilings. If women choose to have a child, they become unemployable throughout their pregnancy and early motherhood. If women choose not to have a child, they are seen as selfish and greedy and not fit for a high powered position. This begs the question – It’s 2017. Why on earth is the world still more concerned with my uterus than my skills?

Lucinda Iacono is a second-year Communication student and the NUSA Women’s Convener. More information about the Women’s Collective can be found at www.nusa.org.au/women. Story image: ‘Emma’ by Anna Maria Liljestrand on Flickr.

it’s time to end the ban on gay blood. Opinion

Hayden Nichols

he campaign to allow men who have sex with men to donate blood has started to gain traction over the past few months; however, many people still do not know about this discriminatory law in Australia. While the move for marriage equality is important, it is necessary that the LGBTI community does not weaken its pressure on the Government to achieve equality in other areas. The campaign against a discriminatory blood donation system, is but one campaign that our community needs to not only be aware of, but to stand alongside.

Blood Service acknowledges the importance of safe sex to the prevention of HIV, but says that due to these practices not being 100% effective the ban is necessary and that the Blood Service guidelines on this matter are targeted at population groups that have higher rates of infection, i.e., the LGBTI community.

The Australian Red Cross Blood Service, responsible for collecting blood donations, explain on their website the eligibility of men who have sex with men. The page asks whether the potential donor has, within the last twelve months, had “oral or anal sex with another man, even ‘safer sex’ using a condom (if you are a man)”. If the potential donor answers ‘yes’ to this question they are advised that they are not eligible to donate blood. Whilst there are several other eligibility criteria on this page, this question is the focus of a campaign to stop the ban on men who have sex with men from donating blood.

A group called Homoglobin has been set up by Australians wanting to have their say on the current 12-month ban for men who have sex with men wanting to donate blood. This group claims that the Blood Service gives “no hope in Australia for a gay male [sic]” in donating blood, as it is seen as easier to ban all of a minority group without allowing for testing for HIV and other related conditions. The Blood Service clearly, in its complete ban, fails to recognise that safe gay men exist whether they be people living in long-term monogamous relationships. or individuals who always wear condoms when engaging in sexual activities and are 100 per cent HIV negative. The Homoglobin campaign “End the Gay Blood Ban” argues that people who are HIV-negative should be able to donate as much blood as they can because their blood does not contain any higher risk than any other person’s blood.

It should be said that not only does the above question discriminate against the LGBTI community, it completely undermines and dismisses the idea of ‘safe sex’. In another statement on their page, the

It is this campaign that the Queer Collective on campus should be getting behind and supporting to ensure that not only all members of society can donate blood but also to start raising more awareness

of HIV and AIDS and to break the stigma surrounding these conditions. This is made even more important for the Queer Collective considering the University of Newcastle sees the Blood Service collect blood on campus on a regular basis. This year it is vital that the Queer Collective comes together to discuss its stance on this issue. The Collective in the past, has remained relatively apolitical on many LGBTI issues that have arisen both nationally and locally on campus; this must stop. The only way for LGBTI students on campus to let University management know of our concerns is to be vocal, to stand in solidarity with our entire community and fight, not only for gay men’s rights, but for women’s rights, transgender and gender diverse people’s rights and for the rights of the entire LGBTI community. It is this that I, as Queer Convenor, must ensure for this year and I look forward to working with the Collective in ensuring that we have regular campaigns to support our entire community.

Hayden Nichols is a fourth-year Social Science student and the NUSA Queer Convener. More information about the Queer Collective can be found at www.nusa.org.au/

More information Australian Red Cross Blood Service http://www.donateblood.com.au/faq/sexual-activity Homoglobin Campaign http://www.homoglobin.com.au/about/

Artwork: Meghan Richardson