Think Again

Jacques and Jennifer look at the inequities in our health and overall system and how the most disadvantaged people and groups bear the brunt of the coronavirus. At the same time they support the Victorian government's precautionary approach to keep us all safe from the virus, and they finish with some good news for people living alone.

 The bHive Cooperative in Bendigo: one example of creating sustainable social and ecological change at the 'bottom'; Jacques has a conversation with Ian McBurney, one of the initiators of Bendigo's bHive Cooperative. Their website: www.bhive.coopLeadership and Change Blog Series: http://ianmcburney.com/blog/2019/2/4/where-leadership-began-the-campfire-blog-series-part-1 Talking ecoLogical Card set...

Jacques and Jennifer talk about what is happening with the economy and the climate under COVID-19, and what we can learn to create a sustainable future. Liegey, Vincent & Nelson, Anitra (2020) Exploring Degrowth: An introduction to the Degrowth Movement London: Pluto PressNew Economics Foundation (2020) Beyond the Gig Economy: empowering the self-employed workforce www.neweconomics.orgBollier, Dav...

In the midst of the COVID pandemic, the local media have been waging a strident campaign against the Victorian premier and his government. Certainly, the likes of Murdoch's press, the Herald Sun, and Nine Entertainment's Age have not let the truth get in the way of their stories. Jacques and Jennifer discuss some of the low points, and the problematic concentration of Australia's media in a few (r...

Jacques and Jennifer look at how are society is created on a day to day basis, how everyone is involved in this, and how everything in the universe is interconnected - including us with the surrounding ecology. They suggest it is important to think about this so we can best direct our efforts toward beneficial social change. Ref: Bohm, D. (1980) Wholeness and the implicate order. London: Routledge...

Homelessness can happen to anyone, as explained by Gavin O'Dee. He describes how he found himself homeless after a long career and many years in private rental. Gavin also tells how he found his way back into secure housing and who helped along the way. Jacques and Gavin agree that we need to build much more public and social housing.

Jacques and Jennifer explore the idea of a world divided into 'goodies and baddies' - whether this describes the world we live in, and whether this thinking is useful for social change.

Jacques and Jennifer revisit the concept of relationality from their first program, and the idea that we only exist as interdependent beings. They look at current events with COVID-19 through this lens and discuss the implications for doing things better for a healthy and sustainable world. Ref. Godbout, Jacques with Caillé, Alain (1998) The World of the Gift Montréal & Kingston: McGill-Queens Uni...

Jacques talks to Kate Wheller, Executive Officer of Community Information and Support Victoria, or CISVic for short. CISVic is the peak body for community information and support services in Victoria. The discussion centres on the need to raise Centrelink payments like Jobseeker permanently.

Jacques and Jennifer discuss how local governments answer to higher levels of government rather than communities, and operate like factories delivering products in the market place. They first talk about universities and proposed defunding of the humanities. The program finishes with a look at the long-term winding back of preventative public health that works with local communities, (which has ha...

Jacques and Jennifer talk about proposed changes to university funding, with attacks on the humanities, arts and social sciences to make people ‘job-ready’ and create docile citizens. Meanwhile, having lost the 'lucrative' international trade in students, things can only get worse... especially as it seems that it's all directed to privatisation of what needs to remain a public 'duty' to educate (...

Jacques and Jennifer wonder why certain media outlets are focusing so much on branch stacking in the Victorian Labor party, but ignoring all the other serious things that are happening – like the federal government’s outrageous rorting of various community funds for its own electoral advantage.

Jacques and Jennifer talk about the treatment of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in Australia comparing some of the past policies andpractices, from disaenfranchising the locals, rejecting non-whites, accepting 'other' Europeans, then the breakthrough of the Vietnamese to the present terrible treatment of asylum seekers.... And the story is rather abysmal...      

Jacques and Jennifer talk about political discourses and polices in Australia over the last few decades, providing some context to the current Black Lives Matter protests. They finish with the Aboriginal ‘Uluru Statement from the Heart’, proposed as a way forward in 2017.

Jacques and Jennifer talk about biased public discourse and the current focus on China as a diversion from failings in our own system. These failings are substantial and are economic, social and ecological. As a case study, Jacques talks about the deterioration in journalism from The Age newspaper, since being taken over by Nine Entertainment with its right wing Board.

Jennifer asks Tim Kennedy, National Secretary of the United Workers Union, to share some of his ideas about the future of work and what directions it could and should take. Amongst other things, Tim talks about fairer sharing of our country’s wealth, having a universal basic income, public ownership of essential services, and worker-owned businesses. Jennifer and Tim agree that union membership is...

Jacques interviews Michael Hamel Green about the online Australian Living Peace Museum, and his experience with peace activism from the Vietnam war to the present. Michael tells us how we can visit the museum online and make submissions for peace exhibits to be included. New exhibits on the Museum webaite:Doris Blackburn, by Carolyn RasmussenAustralian Conscientious Objectors to War, by Geoffrey S...

Jacques interviews David Hall about community development in the 70s and what we can learn from it for today. In particular, David talks about the Australian Assistance Plan introduced by the Whitlam government 50 years ago.

Jacques and Jennifer talk about the directions we are taking as a society, and where we need to re-direct ourselves and our systems to create healthy places where we can all live, work and thrive. Social and Solidarity Economy Is There a New Economy in the Making? Peter Utting, Nadine van Dijk and Marie-Adélaïde Matheïfile:///G:/various%20materials/UNRISD_Occasional_Paper_Social_and_Solid.pdf

This May Day, Jacques and Jennifer discuss the nature of work, its history and possible future directions of work in Australia and internationally, bringing us to the current time of the coronavirus and associated 'work-less-ness'....They wonder whether 'work' is indeed the solution for all welfare problems...? and why would the conservatives be so adamant about 'creating' jobs and suggesting the...

Jacques and Jennifer talk about the shifting of financial risk in our system in a variety of ways, from those at the top to those at the bottom. They discuss examples of this including recent proposals for the tax payer to rescue airline Virgin Australia and to wear the financial risk that has come to fruit with the coronavirus.

Jennifer interviews Marcella Brassett from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre about the desperate situation of asylum seekers living in the community in the time of the coronavirus. Many have no income at all from the government and have lost the casual work they were dependent on just to survive. Marcella tells us what the ASRC is doing to support asylum seekers, and how we can support its work an...

Jacques and Jennifer talk about the coronavirus pandemic and the western bias in the way it’s being reported. They look at the devastating effects of disease introduced by Europeans on Aboriginal people in Australia and on First Nation people elsewhere.  Why is no one talking about this?  They also discuss the anti-Chinese bias in media reporting of the coronavirus, and the excesses of capitalism...

Jacques and Jennifer talk about what’s happening with the coronavirus and how public policies and discourse have suddenly changed, as well as people’s everyday lives.  They begin a discussion about possibilities for lasting change.

In this program Jacques interviews Kate Wheller, Executive Officer of Community Information & Support Victoria (CISVic) about the effect of the coronavirus on the community welfare sector. CISVic is the peak body for community information and support services in Victoria, including emergency relief. Kate talks about the effect of the coronavirus on volunteering, especially as many volunteers are o...