Political uprisings and bloody conflict are reshaping the world and Australia’s place in it. On Q+A, a panel of big thinkers with deep connections to help you make sense of it.
The Middle East and Ukraine are locked in protracted wars. Indigenous New Caledonians are violently protesting France’s imposition of voting reforms. The US is a powder keg in an election year pitting an unpopular president against a populist plagued by legal challengers – and both vowing to crack down on migration. Record numbers of forcibly displaced people – not just from war but by environmental disasters and rapid climate change – have created a global refugee crisis. The wounds of colonialism – the loss of life, culture, history and sovereignty – remain painful for many. The cohesion of communities – in Australia, too – is fraying.
Abdulrazak Gurnah is a Tanzanian-born novelist and academic with a Nobel Prize and a fascinating personal story as a refugee to Britain. Julian Borger is a Washington-based correspondent with experience reporting across the US, Europe and the Middle East. Professor Deborah Cheetham Fraillon is an internationally renowned opera composer and performer with her own story of colonialism and displacement as a member of the Stolen Generation. And Maher Mughrabi is a senior editor of Palestinian heritage who’s written extensively and personally on the Middle East.
Discuss the Questions
GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT
{01:25)
Dusan Milojevic asked: Should Australia seriously consider leaving such bodies such as the UN and International Criminal Court when decisions that do not favour us are made?
THE HAMAS NARRATIVE
(07:55)
Scott Clarke asked: Is it fair to say Hamas’s actions on the 7th October has positively changed the narrative of how their cause is viewed by governments around the world – including Australia?
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
(17:29)
Patrick Quinn asked: Given that the phrase “from the river to the sea” has been deemed anti-Semitic, and any criticism of Israel (The state not the Jewish religion) is called out as anti-Semitic. Can we trust our legislators not to use the proposed laws? Especially given what has recently happened to whistleblowers in Australia!
TRUMP & THE WORLD
(28:26)
Nipun Agarwal asked: If Donald Trump gets elected this year. Is there gonna be a war between the east and the west?
AFTER THE VOICE
(34:13)
Sophia Maniaci asked: After the negative result from the voice referendum, how can Australians move forward in terms of reconciliation?
SUBJECT AND PORTRAIT
(41:32)
Scott Cochrane asked: In the past week we’ve seen Australia’s richest person take exception to an indigenous artist’s portrait of her appearing, amongst others, in the National Gallery of Australia. To Deborah, as someone who melds colonial artforms with First Nations stories, what do you make of the controversy and what do you make of the controversy and what it says about Australia post-Voice referendum?
UKRAINE SUPPORT
(47:05)
Paul Huy Nguyen asked: Do you think we have provided enough financial support to Ukraine? Should Australia do more to offer financial aid to Ukraine?
ART & HUMANITY
(55:27)
Sherin Al Shallah asked: I would like to ask the panel how they separate the cultural from the personal when ‘writing’ about community. For example are you writing only about yourself or as a representative of your community?