| Issue 18: January 2006 (Final Issue) |
 | Before the Gallows
[Law] A death in vain? After the execution of Nguyen Truong Van, will the campaigning continue?
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| | Crash
[Media & Culture] In a movie review of Crash, we find that American racial schisms are actually not so far from home.
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| | Postcard from North East Thailand – May 2005
[Health] A first-hand child sponsorship experience. Camy takes a trip to rural Thailand to meet her sponsor child.
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| | The Productivity of My Real Life
[Domestic Politics] The Federal Government's call for productivity isn't all that productive.
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| | The Young, the Spendthrift
[Generation Y] International university students still know nothing about managing their finances, especially when it comes from mummy and daddy.
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| | This is the Final Issue of The Backbench
[Media & Culture] Sadly, this is the final issue of The Backbench!
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| | What Lurks Beneath Featured Article
[Media & Culture] So we're multicultural, but that doesn't mean everything is hunky-dory. Living side-by-side comes with a boatload of issues.
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| Issue 17: October 2005 (October 2005) |
| | Howard’s 1995 promise on political advertising Featured Article
[Domestic Politics] It turns out that John Howard hasn’t always been such a big fan of taxpayer funded political advertising.
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| | National security legislation: It's not just the policy, it’s also the policymakers.
[Domestic Politics] While the standards of politicians are in rapid decline, unprecedented power is being handed to them.
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| | PM blames fuel prices on Cross City Tunnel
[Domestic Politics] Differing views on the price of oil.
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| | Ten reasons why young people should forget about organised politics
[Domestic Politics] Mark Latham's speech at the University of Melbourne. Scrape away the bile, and there are some good points made.
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| | The Malaysian Chinese racial prism
[International Affairs] In order to progress, the Malaysian Chinese racial prism has to be smashed.
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| | The new softer, more pliable Australia
[Sport] With all the highlights in their hair, modelling contracts and jewellery endorsements, is the era of the gritty sporting hero over?
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| | The US-China relationship: A train wreck waiting to happen?
[International Affairs] "These days Americans make a living selling each other's houses funded by the Chinese". Just one of the many complexities of the US-China relationship.
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| | We envy you now, but one day things may change Featured Article
[Generation Y] It's an issue that many of us ponder - escaping the rat race to pursue our own dreams. Jack recently walked away from the glamours of corporate law. Here are his initial thoughts and the reactions of those around him.
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| Issue 16: August 2005 (London) |
| | A Day in Ramallah
[International Affairs] I was in the lobby of a hotel in Ramallah when I learned that a bomb had been detonated at the Qalandiyah checkpoint at the northern entrance to Jerusalem. This article was originally published on The Cud.
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| | America and the Middle-East: From stability to democracy
[International Affairs] The official goal of American foreign policy toward the Middle-East has recently shifted from stability to democracy. In light of this change in strategy, just what can the imposition of democracy achieve in the region?
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| | Australians living in London, living in fear
[International Affairs] Feelings of a Greek Australian after the London bombings.
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| | Fear & loathing in London town Featured Article
[International Affairs] This article was originally going to be about Live8. The London terrorists changed that. This article has 1 comment.
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| | I'm in London still!
[Punter's Pulpit] Responses from young Aussies living in London after the latest round of craziness.
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| | Language politics in Malaysia
[Media & Culture] Why the choice of Malay over English as the national language of Malaysia was a backward step. This article has 3 comments.
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| | Sex education in Rupunini
[International Affairs] An Aussie volunteer teaching sex education in Guyana.
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| | The Backbench World Problem Index
[World Problem Index] How is the world faring in Australia's media? Not too good at the moment. Introducing The Backbench World Problem Index.
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| | The National ID Card ?A necessary evil?
[Domestic Politics] Nearly two decades ago, Australia was divided by a small piece of plastic – the Australia Card. In 2005, history appears to be repeating itself. This article has 3 comments.
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| Issue 15: July 2005 (International Students) |
| | Going nuclear
[Domestic Politics] The US government has re-opened a vital discourse by putting nuclear energy back on the agenda as a means of encouraging economic growth and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The time has come for a sober look at the prospects of going nuclear.
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| | Hey dude, it's like not all about the whales after all
[Punter's Pulpit] The only thing worse then having the wrong opinion, is to have no opinion at all. You will either absolutely love or hate these responses.
Sadhus being sadhus
Photo: Kevin Yeoh/Pashupatinath, Nepal
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| | International students: Is what you know about them myth or truth? Featured Article
[Education] An international student speaks out about the perceptions and misperceptions that local students have of them.
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| | Letter to Poppa
[Domestic Politics] "People talk about empty rain gauges Pop, but what really scares me is empty dreams."
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| | Three days after the tsunami
[International Affairs] Six months after the tsunami disaster, a helper recounts his tale.
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| | Wailing about Whaling
[International Affairs] Stephen Phillips argues it is hypocritical and ethnocentric that Australia presents as a self-evident fact that whaling, and by extension, Japan, is barbaric.
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| | Without You
[Media & Culture] And now for something completely different... a poem.
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| Issue 14: June 2005 (Detention) |
| | A day in Ramallah Featured Article
[International Affairs] I was in the lobby of a hotel in Ramallah when I learned that a bomb had been detonated at the Qalandiyah checkpoint at the northern entrance to Jerusalem. This article was originally published on The Cud.
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| | Mum, Dad, two kids and a welfare cheque
[Domestic Politics] Get clucky to get welfare.
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| | Now I'm 25
[Media & Culture] What do you do when you turn 25?
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| | Poll proves Fiji is Aussie’s most preferred deportation destination!
[Domestic Politics] Shock results from an exclusive poll reveal that the most preferred destination for Australian citizens is Fiji ... and not Afghanistan.
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| | Rivkin and depression
[Health] The media has focussed on the flamboyant life that Rene Rivkin led and glossed over the depression part.
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| | Schapelle
[International Affairs] There is no need for an introduction, just one word: Schapelle.
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| | Ten things to remember or do if you're detained by the Immigration Department on suspicion that you are not an Australian citizen
[Media & Culture] You can now be locked up for not having your passport while shopping at Woolies! But do not fear, this top 10 list will save you from detention.
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| | The old school mantoo or the old school tie?
[Punter's Pulpit] The only thing worse then having the wrong opinion, is to have no opinion at all.
You will either absolutely love or hate these responses.
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| Issue 13: May 2005 (The China Story) |
| | A modern death trilogy
[Media & Culture] Three big stories surrounding death have emerged to dominate mainstream media in recent days. What are we to make of it all?
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| | Dancing to forget in Djibouti City
[International Affairs] Djibouti imports lots of things. Lately, it's become the Saigon of the Iraq war.
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| | Fear and loathing in Westminster
[International Affairs] Does it really matter who wins government in the British election?
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| | Letters to the Editors
[Letters] Got something useful to add, or you just plain disagree with something written? We'd love to hear from you.
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| | Schools without walls
[Education] A funnel, a billionaire and the state of our schools.
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| | Ten new rules for the post Pope generation
[Media & Culture] A few rules to help you survive in a world without the Holy Father.
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| | The China story - The Northeast Asian chess game Featured Article
[International Affairs] Why we mustn’t get too carried away with the incredible rise of China.
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| | The country not present at the funeral
[International Affairs] The PRC didn’t send a representative to the “world’s biggest funeral”. What is the state of Catholicism in the world’s most populous nation?
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| Issue 12: March 2005 (A Postcard from Khartoum) |
| | A postcard from Khartoum Featured Article
[International Affairs] The high protein diet wasn't a Hollywood invention.
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| | A Right Royal f^$k up
[Media & Culture] Where does this worship come from for a person who has done nothing, made nothing, cured nothing, and provided nothing?
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| | A tactical withdrawal from the war on drugs
[Domestic Politics] Why legalisation is not a declaration of defeat, but a tactical withdrawal long overdue.
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| | Anwar's back - Against the odds Featured Article
[International Affairs] Recently released from a questionable incarceration and excluded from Malaysian politics until 2008, Anwar Ibhrahim has nonetheless been active on the road, giving a series of lectures throughout the world. Find out what he had to say when he visited Sydney.
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| | Can we afford to fight?
[Domestic Politics] Accountants wanted - to fix up Australia's defence capabilities.
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| | Desperately seeking irrational
[Domestic Politics] A rational government creating an ultra-rational, morally bereft country.
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| | Letters to the Editors
[Letters] Got something useful to add, or you just plain disagree with something written? We'd love to hear from you.
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| | The party is not for turning: Why Taiwan is important
[International Affairs] The new anti-secession legislation has turned up the temperature in this regional flashpoint.
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| Issue 11: December 2004 (China's Children) |
| | Farewell to the Donkey Vote, the End of Compulsory Voting in Australia
[Domestic Politics] With a majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate, nothing is preventing the Coalition from abolishing compulsory voting. And that is a disturbing prospect.
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| | Honesty in Politics? Tell him he’s dreamin’!
[Domestic Politics] We often complain of how shifty and dishonest politicians can be, but do we only have ourselves to blame for that?
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| | Joe Cinque's Consolation
[Law] BOOK REVIEW — On a book detailing the trial of Anu Singh, a killer whose convinction was mitigated to manslaughter.
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| | Letters to the Editors
[Letters] Got something useful to add, or you just plain disagree with something written? We'd love to hear from you.
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| | Pressure Cooker China Featured Article
[International Affairs] In the pressure cooker of modern China, China’s elderly outshine its youth.
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| | Sex and Another Country Featured Article
[International Affairs] 9 months away from the corporate rat race has allowed Camy Wong plenty of time to ponder the fate of the Middle Kingdom’s fairer sex.
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| | Survivor vs Sex and the City
[Media & Culture] Reality TV: those on their high horse need to trade in for a donkey, while the rest of us should stand tall.
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| | The Catholic Vision of Democracy
[Media & Culture] Cardinal Pell has extolled the virtues of “democratic personalism” as opposed to the secular democracy we enjoy today. Here is one Catholic who disagrees with this vision.
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| | The Decision Makers and the Debate about Abortion
[Health] Why is it that the Abortion Debate is deaf to the voices that matter the most?
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| | The Hidden Economy of Love: Part 2
[Media & Culture] Further explorations into love and its impact on the human condition.
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| | Three Despots
[International Affairs] When the end of the world is approaching, a large and healthy dose of rhetoric is appropriate.
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| Issue 10: October 2004 (Federal Election) |
| | Armchair Politics
[Domestic Politics] Democracy doesn’t provide the optimal outcome, but is that really a problem?
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| | Bush the Bad
[Domestic Politics] With all the money handouts and domestic promises being thrown around by the politicians at this time of year, don't forget the international issues.
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| | Don't Take that Vote for Granted
[Domestic Politics] A postcard from China. "Freedom" is a relative term - the upcoming Australian election gives us the chance to appreciate that fact.
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| | Letters to the Editors
[Letters] Got something useful to add, or you just plain disagree with something written? We'd love to hear from you.
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| | Right versus Self-Righteous
[Domestic Politics] It's instinctive to be disparaging about those who vote differently to us. It's also worth considering that different votes reflect different realities.
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| | The Hidden Economy of Love
[Media & Culture] An insight into how accounting and social relations are not as mutually exclusive as they might seem.
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| | You Can't Teach an Old Campaigner New Tricks
[Domestic Politics] Insights into the election campaign antics of Philip Ruddock, Attorney-General.
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| Issue 9: August 2004 (Israeli Drafting) |
| | Hedda Gabler: the tyranny of choice
[Media & Culture] Life for many is one long compromise and we constantly find ourselves in places we never intended to be.
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| | In Google we trust
[Science & IT] It's now a common phrase heard around the office - "Just Google it"
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| | Israeli teenagers resist the draft: Conscience vs the State Featured Article
[International Affairs] The 'refusal movement' is a small but growing number of Israeli reserve soldiers and draft teenagers refusing to serve in the Palestinian territories or refusing to perform any military service at all.
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| | Letters to the Editors
[Letters] Got something useful to add, or you just plain disagree with something written? We'd love to hear from you.
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| | National security funding: Facts and fiction
[Domestic Politics] "Strengthening Australia's border protection." The devil is in the detail.
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| | PowerUp Australia
[Media & Culture] An advertisement for a new non-profit organisation that is dedicated to encouraging people to become involved in politics.
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| | The misguided “War on Drugs”
[Domestic Politics] Governments need to abandon old-fashioned value judgements about illegal drugs and invest money into research and delivering regular, impartial, detailed information.
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| | The sleeping dragon has awakened
[International Affairs] 1.3 billion people. If only I could sell one widget to all of them, I'd be a billionaire.
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| | What is all this talk of wedges?
[Domestic Politics] Wedge, reverse wedge. Underpants action in federal politics.
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| Issue 8: July 2004 (Fast Food) |
| | A "moving" anecdote
[Media & Culture] Of bridges, burnouts and "booners".
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| | ATSIC: Where to from here?
[Domestic Politics] So ATSIC is gone. What to do now is perhaps one of the most difficult questions Australia will have to answer in the next ten years.
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| | Dragon Lore: Further study required Featured Article
[International Affairs] Singapore. Thailand. The United States. FTA. FTA. FTA. Now Malaysia wants a piece and Australia has been invited to the holy grail of ASEAN + 3. But not everything is so rosy. Especially when Asian studies make up less than 5% of undergraduate load in Australia.
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| | Letters to the Editors
[Letters] Got something useful to add, or you just plain disagree with something written? We'd love to hear from you.
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| | Reality television, is not reality...
[Media & Culture] At first glance, it looks like a playful new form of reality tv. Vote for Me is a segment on Channel Seven's Sunrise program where Channel Seven will choose six independent candidates from each of the states and endorse them to stand in the Senate. However looking deeper, Vote for Me is not about people power, but actually about a large media company becoming a hands on player in the Australian electoral system.
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| | The problem is getting obese
[Health] Who is at fault in the obesity epidemic - the individual or the fast food companies?
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| | The smell of an election is in the air
[Domestic Politics] We've seen a lot of personal stuff of late, but not much policy.
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| | Yes, I'd like fries with that Featured Article
[Media & Culture] Despite the gut-wrenching effect of the documentary Super Size Me, McDonald's food is not inherently an evil thing. The real problem lies with us.
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| Issue 7: June 2004 (Politics, Politics, Politics) |
| | A National Disgrace Featured Article
[Domestic Politics] Next time you hear a tourist tell you “How great Aussies are,” or feel a lump in the back of your throat when you hear the national anthem, think of the kid we locked up for five years, five months and 20 days so we didn’t send the wrong message to people smugglers.
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| | East Timor: Cutting through the emotion and rhetoric
[International Affairs] Australia looks like a big bully in this impasse over black gold. What should be done to save face and save sovereignty?
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| | Hey Mr Costello, Where are You?
[Domestic Politics] Could this be the end for our dear Treasurer, killed by a thousand promises from a leader who proved too power hungry to deliver to his ready-made successor?
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| | Letters to the Editors
[Letters] Got something useful to add, or you just plain disagree with something written? We'd love to hear from you.
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| | Oh Dear Lord Downer ... Not again
[Domestic Politics] The wise and generous Lord Downer of Baghdad strikes again.
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| | Peter Garrett Poker: Latham raises the stakes
[Domestic Politics] Is pursuing Garrett a risky move by Latham?
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| | To Live and Die in Melbourne Town
[Domestic Politics] This is not happening in the slums of Brasilia, it's not a tale of Chicago in the roaring 20s, this is here and now in old Melbourne town.
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| Issue 6: May 2004 (Focus on Iraq) |
| | An Australia in two minds
[International Affairs] Both parties are offering opposing policies appealing to either one side or the other, but both fail to recognise that for the Australian public it's not that black and white.
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| | Iraq, Iraq and More Iraq Featured Article
[International Affairs] Why "sending the wrong message" and "staying till the job is done" are not valid reasons for our troops remaining in Iraq.
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| | Iraq: "Staying the Course" Featured Article
[International Affairs] So we have been told by President Bush that he is "staying the course". That would be good, if only the course was leading somewhere beneficial.
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| | Letters to the Editors
[Letters] Got something useful to add, or you just plain disagree with something written? We'd love to hear from you.
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| | Of Bulldogs and Other Animals
[Sport] Bringing professional sports players back down from their rarerified existences would be a practical first step in addressing their behavioural problems.
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| | The Budget
[Domestic Politics] It's that time of the year again, when every special interest group complains that their funding isn't enough.
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| | The Google Buzz
[Science & IT] Google is going to float in a US$2.7bn IPO and the industry is abuzz. Find out why Google has been creating such a stir.
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| | The War on Iraq
[International Affairs] Why it was important to be involved in Iraq, and why it's important that we shouldn't turn and run now.
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| | Weblogs
[Media & Culture] The blog phenomenon — a view from the "outside".
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| | What's Done in Our Name
[Domestic Politics] We've always prided ourselves on our humanity as a nation. Yet, where was it when the asylum seekers needed help? New Zealand had the heart. Why didn't we?
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| Issue 5: February 2004 (Australian National Security) |
| | Australia’s Identity Crisis
[Domestic Politics] Australia Day once again provokes questions about Australia's confusing sense of national identity
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| | Bush’s Space Program
[Science & IT] Going to the moon and Mars in a bid to reach for the stars will prove to be tremendously expensive. But is it worth it?
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| | Howard’s National Security Strategy: Deny, Blame and Cover Up Featured Article
[Domestic Politics] The government claims to be tough on terrorism. But it seems this is for business hours only.
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| | Letters to the Editors
[Letters] Got something useful to add, or you just plain disagree with something written? We'd love to hear from you.
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| | Nothing more than a Drop in the Ocean?
[Health] How one person is making an enormous difference to Cambodia, where 95% of people cannot afford healthcare.
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| | Swallow and Win
[Sport] The choice between performance enhancing drugs for athletes will one day resemble the choice between Nike and Reebok, and it will include the sponsorship agreement.
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| | The Truth About Asylum
[Domestic Politics] In an election year, it's worthwhile to reflect on past and present government spin.
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| Issue 4: November 2003 (Rebuilding Iraq) |
| | Ethical Investments?
[Finance & Business] Like "Emerging Markets" (that is, 3rd World Economies), the term "Ethical Investing" is perhaps another piece of financial marketing spin. Conversely, socially irresponsible funds, which blatantly champion sin stocks, do not try to hide behind anything.
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| | He's "not the marrying kind"
[Media & Culture] Really... what's all the fuss about gay marriage?
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| | Hicks and Habib
[Law] What happens when the politicians do the judging, and all under the supposed moral imperative of anti-terrorism.
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| | Letters to the Editors
[Letters] Got something useful to add, or you just plain disagree with something written? We'd love to hear from you.
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| | Mediaset: the farce that is Italian television
[Media & Culture] Each program is composed of its share of young, female co-presenters, whose selection criteria are all the same: beautiful, tall, possibly foreign to allow for limited speaking time, and dancing ability to counter an inevitable drop in audience figures.
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| | Remember "WMD"? Featured Article
[International Affairs] Let us not forget why we were told "we had to" invade Iraq.
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| | The Sydney Peace Prize
[Domestic Politics] Another year gone by and another Sydney Peace Prize not so peacefully awarded.
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| Issue 3: October 2003 (Trough Dynamics) |
| | Alston’s Broadband Legacy
[Science & IT] Retiring Senator Alston hasn't had a very good track record. His poor grasp of the potential of broadband technology has seen Australia's access to this valuable infrastructure severely hampered.
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| | Australia's options post Cancun
[International Affairs] In a climate of increasing unilateralism, bilateralism and regionalism, what are Australia’s options?
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| | I’ll Take the Train Thanks
[Domestic Politics] Fast trains are expensive. Are they worth it?
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| | Letters to the Editors
[Letters] Got something useful to add, or you just plain disagree with something written? We'd love to hear from you.
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| | Public policy: A casualty of the war on terror
[Domestic Politics] Removing the veil (or should that be hijab?) of terrorism manipulation politics and what has the Coalition achieved for Australia in its third term?
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| | Saddam and Gomorra
[International Affairs] How Clinton would rescue Bush’s war on terrorism by breaking the evil spell of the neocons.
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| | Trough Dynamics Featured Article
[Health] An inquest into the excretory dystopia that is the men's room.
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| Issue 2: September 2003 - 2nd Release (The Property Market) |
| | Australia's 100 New Tank Buy
[Domestic Politics] The army wants a sizeable sum of moolah to buy a bunch of tanks. The wisdom of this request is questionable, given that this sizeable sum is in the region of $300m, and that the new tanks may not really be so "new".
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| | Giving Students a Fair Go
[Education] Proposed reforms to higher education have raised the prospect of university courses being half-filled with full-fee paying students. What happened to giving everyone a fair go?
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| | Is Arnie Leadership Material?
[International Affairs] His comical accent and oft repeated one-liners, not to mention admitted steroid use, provide many with the excuse to ridicule the man and political process he now enters. This is Ronald Reagan all over again they say, except this time we need subtitles.
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| | Letters to the Editors
[Letters] All letters welcome, be they of contempt and disdain, or support and encouragement, be they a few sentences, or a few pages.
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| | The Property Market: What goes up... Featured Article
[Finance & Business] House prices. It’s the true Australian sport. Everyone has their opinion of where they’re headed. We can’t seem to get enough of them.
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| | Urban Planning: Tunnels, Tolls or New Tactics?
[Domestic Politics] There are large machines digging tunnels under Sydney again. No, it's not to store all Iraq's WMD (Johnny says we'll find them soon). It's the cross-city tunnel.
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| Issue 1: September 2003 (Homosexual Clergy) |
| | Australia's Image Problem
[International Affairs] Despite the success of the greatest Olympics ever in 2000 and Australia’s stellar economy, it might surprise many Australians that our country is still viewed as an insignificant cultural backwater.
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| | East Asian Economic Grouping
[International Affairs] Dr Mahathir revives talk of an East Asian Economic Grouping. Will Australia be part of it?
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| | FIFA the Indian Giver
[Sport] FIFA performs a serious backflip and snatches back the precious world cup
qualifying place it had only just given to Oceania. Australian soccer cries
foul, but is it really such a bad thing?
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| | Letters to the Editors
[Letters] Got something useful to add, or you just plain disagree with something written? We'd love to hear from you.
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| | More Old White Lawyers
[Domestic Politics] In an awe inspiring display of complete lack of vision, the Attorney General has refused to reappoint an Indigenous Member of the National Native Title Tribunal and instead appointed two resource company lawyers to positions as full time members.
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| | Redefining Security
[International Affairs] Imagine you were a young graduate at DFAT or the Department of Defence and you were asked to submit a report identifying the key challenges for the future of Australia’s security. What do you think you would write?
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| | The Oxymoron of Homosexual Clergy Featured Article
[Media & Culture] Homosexuals amongst the clergy - why religion and secular morals are sometimes necessarily incompatible.
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