Latest news with #Blak
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Noble savage' and ‘ritual spearings': Melbourne University race row re-ignites
Melbourne University has offered counselling to staff and students after a racially charged email from an academic at the prestigious institution went public. University officials say the material written by law school academic Eric Descheemaeker in 2023 was leaked and posted around the Parkville campus this week, and that it may have upset or offended people who read it. The law professor wrote to his boss, Matthew Harding, who was then dean of the law school, in August 2023 in response to news of an Indigenous cultural safety review, which Descheemaeker described as 'an ideological re-education camp'. 'Celebrating the 'noble savage' is already the main, if not exclusive, thing [Melbourne Law School] appears to exist for – with just a bit of space to spare for every possible sexual or gendered minority vying for claims to victimhood,' Descheemaeker wrote. The cultural safety review at Melbourne Law School was ordered after a series of resignations of Indigenous academics, culminating in the high-profile departure of former Northern Territory discrimination commissioner Eddie Cubillo from his role as associate dean of the nation's top-ranked law school, which he described as 'the most culturally unsafe place I've worked'. Loading Descheemaeker, who is also a visiting research fellow at Oxford University, claimed in his email to Harding that it was 'Blak activists' who were dictating the direction of the school. 'They have made us start every meeting with ritual prayers,' Descheemaeker wrote. 'Their (non-existing) claims to land are now 'acknowledged' about every 10 feet in our corridors. They want me to teach that Australian law is only 'settler law' and that there exists a rich body of 'indigenous law' alongside (what are indigenous private-law remedies, I wonder. Ritual spearings?).'
The Age
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
‘Noble savage' and ‘ritual spearings': Melbourne University race row re-ignites
Melbourne University has offered counselling to staff and students after a racially charged email from an academic at the prestigious institution went public. University officials say the material written by law school academic Eric Descheemaeker in 2023 was leaked and posted around the Parkville campus this week, and that it may have upset or offended people who read it. The law professor wrote to his boss, Matthew Harding, who was then dean of the law school, in August 2023 in response to news of an Indigenous cultural safety review, which Descheemaeker described as 'an ideological re-education camp'. 'Celebrating the 'noble savage' is already the main, if not exclusive, thing [Melbourne Law School] appears to exist for – with just a bit of space to spare for every possible sexual or gendered minority vying for claims to victimhood,' Descheemaeker wrote. The cultural safety review at Melbourne Law School was ordered after a series of resignations of Indigenous academics, culminating in the high-profile departure of former Northern Territory discrimination commissioner Eddie Cubillo from his role as associate dean of the nation's top-ranked law school, which he described as 'the most culturally unsafe place I've worked'. Loading Descheemaeker, who is also a visiting research fellow at Oxford University, claimed in his email to Harding that it was 'Blak activists' who were dictating the direction of the school. 'They have made us start every meeting with ritual prayers,' Descheemaeker wrote. 'Their (non-existing) claims to land are now 'acknowledged' about every 10 feet in our corridors. They want me to teach that Australian law is only 'settler law' and that there exists a rich body of 'indigenous law' alongside (what are indigenous private-law remedies, I wonder. Ritual spearings?).'
Time Out
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Big Girls Don't Cry
Friendship is at the heart of Big Girls Don't Cry, a gorgeous slice-of-life drama that takes us back to 1960s Redfern, where three young Aboriginal women are gearing up for the biggest night of the year – the Deb Ball. Playwright and star Dalara Williams balances the bitter and the sweet in this engaging rom-com-inflected drama. As Cheryl (Williams), Queenie (Megan Wilding) and Lulu (Stephanie Somerville) navigate life's ups and downs, audiences at Belvoir St Theatre are gifted with an all-too-rarely seen window into Blak sisterhood. While for these women, injustice may tarnish everything from going to work to walking the streets, where racist cops roam – nothing in the world can shake the sacred joy of a trio of girlfriends gathered in a bedroom and getting ready for a night out, tearing through outfit options and gossiping. Not even Cheryl's concern for her beloved Michael (Mathew Cooper), who's serving in Vietnam. However, could the distracting pull of the charming Milo (Nic English) be strong enough to tear her away from re-reading the same old love letters? Inspired by her grandmothers' stories and snapshots of history found in family photo albums, Williams has crafted an uplifting and entertaining drama that also doesn't shy away from the violence and injustices of our all-too-recent history, and prompts us to question how much has really changed. Big Girls is not necessarily ground-breaking in its form, and it needn't be, especially with a cast this good. Dalara Williams balances the bitter and the sweet in this engaging rom-com-inflected drama... an all-too-rarely seen window into Blak sisterhood In particular, Megan Wilding cements her place as one of the most charismatic presences on the Sydney stage as Queenie – she can convey more with a twitch of her eyebrow or a tilt of her head than any spoken dialogue could ever hope to. In a moment of tremendous vulnerability, she delivers a tearful confession about her fear of letting in the one man who could love her fully – a speech that will strike a chord with any misfit woman who has been told that she is both 'too much' and 'not enough'. Queenie's humour, her outgoingness, and her love of an attention-grabbing dress are all part of the armour she wears to survive a cruel world. But this script also doesn't do her the disservice of stripping away her unique qualities in order to allow her to grow. Meanwhile, Guy Simon deserves an honourable mention for his performance as Cheryl's outspoken brother Ernie, it's an interesting contrast to his recent turn on the Belvoir stage as the star of Jacky, and his evolving dynamic with Wilding's Queenie is particularly delightful. Heartbreak High star Bryn Chapman Parish also holds his own as a detestable police officer; and Nic English gives us an "other man" that we can root for in Milo, also convincingly holding space for the precarious line he walks as a second-generation Italian immigrant in 1960s Australia. The production does crave a little more polish. For example, the revolving stage makes for some interesting movement and smooth transitions, but at times, it can be difficult to hear the actors' voices over the rumble of its operation. Director Ian Michael is certainly not taking as many big swings as he did with his recent reimagining of Picnic at Hanging Rock for STC, and perhaps that's a good thing – getting too experimental here would only distract from the deeply human drama of it all. However, for a debut presentation, Big Girls is a deeply charming and hopeful story that harnesses the great empathy machine of theatre to achieve one of the greatest things it can do – which is to understand ourselves, others, and our society more deeply. It is an accessible entry point to learn more about the Indigenous rights movement in this country, the empowering legacy of Aboriginal debutante balls, and also, it's bloody good drama that we need to see more of.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Simple message in nationwide rally: stop killing women
Protesters across Australia have a simple yet powerful message to share at the weekend: stop killing women. Violence has resulted in the deaths of 117 women since January 2024, including 14 killed since the start of 2025. "The women who have been killed are not statistics. They're individual lives," organiser Sherele Moody told AAP. "Tens of thousands of women experience abuse in Australia every day." ❤️LIDIA THORPE TO SPEAK AT MELBOURNE SHE MATTERS RALLY❤️Independent Senator, proud Blak woman and amazing warrior Senator Lidia Thorpe will speak her truth at the She Matters rally in Melbourne on rally has been moved to Treasury Gardens, near Spring St, due to the… — Sherele Moody (Femicide Researcher) 🌈 (@ShereleMoody) March 13, 2025 Rallies will take place in 14 cities on Saturday, organised and funded by Australian Femicide Watch and the Red Heart Campaign. They are intended to be memorials for the women lost, and a call for politicians to take more decisive action to combat violence against women. "These rallies are also about giving voice to people impacted by femicide and a giant memorial for the 117 women killed," Ms Moody said. "We will commemorate these women and show that their lives mattered. "We are doing everything we can to wake Australia up." Greens senator Dorinda Cox will attend the Perth rally and give a speech, intending to urge MPs to rise above politics to tackle the national emergency of femicide. "We expect the prime minister to fix this and for him not to attend one of the rallies is telling, because this should be a national priority," she said. "This is a state of emergency." While Australian Femicide Watch documents the number of female deaths to violence, advocates say a national register is needed to track the extent of the issue. "We don't have any good nationally harmonised data - we count the road toll but not the number of women who die in this country," Senator Cox said. Rally organisers hope the demonstrations will put pressure on all political parties ahead of the upcoming federal election. Men are encouraged to attend and be part of a supportive solution to the problem. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14
