Welcome to issue 2 of the New Economy Journal!
We are very pleased to present another excellent series of articles. Within them, we discover what New Economy Network Australia members have been up to; we hear from political parties, movement participants (including the School Strike 4 Climate group), nomads and historians; we also find deep thinking on social and political philosophy, pointing to a paradigm shift in progressive thinking.
Once again, we hope you disagree with some, take hope from others, and learn from all about how we can build a new, just and sustainable economy.
Table of Contents
How Heritage Laws Saved Melbourne’s Premier Civic Space, Federation Square
The April 2019 decision by Heritage Victoria to reject plans for the demolition of the Yarra building at Federation Square to make way for a flagship Apple store will be remembered as one of the great victories of heritage conservation in Victoria.When the National Trust nominated Federation Square to the...
Melbourne’s Federation Square was Corporatised Fourteen Years Ago
Heritage Victoria’s decision to save Federation Square’s Yarra Building from demolition is no doubt a great victory for the heritage movement, and the people of Melbourne. Launched soon after the announcement in November 2016 that the Yarra building was to be replaced with a flagship Apple store, the strong grass...
NENA Symposium: NENA Hub for East Gippsland Launched
From the 10th-11th of April, local and interstate guests came together for a New Economy Symposium in East Gippsland, one of Australia's most beautiful regions. East Gippsland is rich in natural heritage, featuring Alpine High Country, the Snowy River, ancient lakes including Lake Tyers, lush forests and a spectacular coastal...
Permaculture Pedals Part 2: Personal Doubts and My Changing Political Outlook
This is the second in a 4-part series (read part 1 and part 3) telling the story of Mick Crear’s decision to leave his job, and all the baggage that came with it, to pursue a simpler, richer life as a permaculturist cycling around Australia. I left on the morning...
Pay the Rent Part 2: The Indigenous Self-Determination Movement and where Pay the Rent Came From
This is the second (read part 1 and part 3) in a series of articles exploring the history and context of the Pay the Rent idea. The same week I attended the Uluru Statement event, the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne hosted a public discussion with Professor Gary Foley, whom they...
Reaching out: Impressions from the 2019 Marxism Conference, Melbourne
What did you do over the Easter long weekend? We hope you managed to enjoy a peaceful and relaxing break. We on the other hand could not be bothered to join the queues at any of the more conventional Easter destinations and decided instead to take a short break at...
Unemployment is an Underlying Goal of Our Economic Policy: The Pirate Party View
If there's one thing we can all agree on, it is that unemployment is a problem. It is expensive. It steals the health and income of its victims. It narrows their opportunities. It subjects them to a host of dehumanising demands. It seems unimaginable that any country would purposefully force...
Reflecting on Four Years of Nomad Activism
In 2013, my partner Steven and I walked away from the security of our 40-hour work week and took a leap of faith to launch PolisPlan – a town planning and strategic engineering partnership. We exchanged our regular paychecks for the unsettling world of being consultants, partly because we wanted...
What Key Quality Should Australia’s Next PM Have?
Strength, courage, wisdom, vision, judgment, responsiveness: all characteristics as desirable in political leaders as they are elusive. These traits are difficult to describe in the abstract, and historic examples of their demonstration by leaders turn on the social context of that leadership.In this article, I explore how some of these...
Exploitation in the gig economy: Lee Lin Chin is having Uber Eats, why shouldn’t I?
The ‘gig economy’ describes a recently developed industry of ‘on demand’ workers engaged to complete work through smartphone apps. Download an app, select a service or product, and it’s at your door. The work and services provided vary, and include the delivery of food and alcohol, transportation, trades and accommodation....
Dating an accountant – Taking Account of Love
How do you measure love? What is the value of mess? When can you count on it? Accounting exists as a social practice and is increasingly present in our everyday lives. Accountants exude palpable levels of loyalty, trustworthiness and conservatism. They safeguard our profitable interests and hold us to account,...
World Economy and Rudolf Steiner’s Social Threefold
I recently watched a TED talk featuring Yanis Varoufakis, the former Greek finance minister and prominent commentator on economic and political affairs in Europe. He said that within the largely independent economic sphere, corporate power has become unconscionably great. This excessive power, gained especially through withholding vast amounts of capital...
School Strikes for Climate: At the Coal Face
A funny thing is happening in the lead-up to the 2019 federal election: young people, a traditionally apathetic mix of first-time voters and too-young-to-be-voters, are disrupting the conventional narrative. The youth enrolment rate is at an all-time high of 88.8%, and evidence shows that in contrast to earlier generations, millennials...