By Dr George Venturini* Testing the thesis (continued) 11 (Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts) As Bernard Smith, well known academic and art critic, wrote just after the second world war, “support of rich industrialists, post-war chaos, world depression, rising resentment and radicalism, capitalist crisis were present in Australia as in other countries…
By Dr George Venturini* Testing the thesis . . . A controlled mass media (continued) Most of the other newspapers are controlled by Fairfax Media Limited, which is one of the largest media companies in Australia and New Zealand, with investment in newspaper, magazines, radio and internet. There is a sizeable foreign participation. Fairfax has…
By Dr George Venturini* Testing the thesis . . . Rampant sexism (continued) Of all Australian women aged 18 to 24, 23,584 reported they had experienced sexual assault in the 12 months prior to the survey. Twice as many women in this 18 to 24 age bracket experienced sexual assault, compared to all women. (‘Violence…
By Dr George Venturini* Testing the thesis (continued) 4 (The supremacy of the military/avid militarism) The military remains supreme. Australia’s defence expenditure increased by 50 per cent between 1989 and 2007. The Government allocated $22 billion to the Australian Defence Organisation in the 2007-08 financial year. In the 2006-07 budget the Howard Government announced that…
By Dr George Venturini* Testing the thesis . . . Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause (continued) In a Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, prepared by Juan E. Méndez, formerly Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Civil and Human Rights…
By Dr George Venturini* Testing the thesis . . . Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause (continued) Signs were all contradictory. Someone wrote: “Leave now before we behead your mother and bury you all with pigs.” “Your [sic] next whore” posted another, with an image of a decapitated pig attached. These were two of…
By Dr George Venturini* Testing the thesis . . . Disdain for the importance of human rights (continued) The Report provided unprecedented direct evidence of the negative effect of immigration detention on children. Prolonged detention was clearly and unequivocally shown to have serious negative effects on the mental and emotional health, as well as the…
By Dr George Venturini* Testing the thesis (continued) 2 (Disdain for the importance of human rights) Demonisation and marginalisation of those who are ‘different’ – ‘difference’ being an important concept which has a particular meaning in everyday’s language as spoken in Australia – may lead to the acceptance in war and even in peace that…
Pezullo denies it but Australia’s xenophobia and extravagant security spending have succeeded in the militarisation of our border, writes Kellie Tranter.
Source: Dutton, Payne and Pezullo: The truth about Australia’s militarised border
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