http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/james-arvanitakis/ Dr James Arvanitakis is a lecturer in the Humanities at the University of Western Sydney and is a member of the University’s Institute for Culture and Society. A former banker, James has worked as a human rights activist throughout the Pacific, Indonesia and Europe. He is currently working with the Whitlam Institute looking at issues confronting Australia’s democracy. James researches a broad range of areas including hope, trust, globalisation and political theatre. His latest book, Contemporary Society: A sociological analysis of everyday life, is an Australian sociology textbook and was launched in February 2009, which has given rise to a weekly radio spot on FBI Radio in Sydney (94.5 fm). James has worked extensively with a number of non-government organizations, including Oxfam Australia and Aid/Watch, and is a fellow at the Centre for Policy Development. He blogs at JamesArvanitakis.net. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-budget-speech-wayne-swan-could-never-deliver/ If nothing else, the upcoming budget week shows us the priorities of the government. We all know by now that this government is increasingly laying its political fortunes at the feet of a budget surplus and hoping that this will continue to drive down interest rates. It is one way that are attempting to deal with the feeling that the cost of living is continuing to rise. There are rarely any major surprises on budget night: sure, the occasional announcement captures us off guard but after weeks of leaks and warnings about ‘tough decisions’, we all know what to expect. Then the sales job begins and we continue on our merry way. The problem is, however, that a treasurer will never look us in the eye and tell us unpleasant truths. Sure, we are told that it is time we tighten out belts, but never will one admit to the limitations of both their projections or the very flawed models they are working with. feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Arvanitakis) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-budget-speech-wayne-swan-could-never-deliver/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-budget-speech-wayne-swan-could-never-deliver/#item8420 Sun, 06 May 2012 19:40:00 +0000 James Arvanitakis | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/even-in-politics-it-has-always-been-a-matter-of-trust/ It is hard to argue against the fact that Australian politics is currently in disarray. What we have are two major parties that spend more time formulating insults to hurl at each other than negotiating decent policy outcomes. While Australian politics has always been adversarial – a direct result of our Westminster system – good policy outcomes have often risen above party politics. There are many examples that highlight this: from the opening up of the Australian economy in the 1980s, to John Howard’s gun reforms in the 1990s, and the joint response to the HIV/AIDS crisis as a health issue rather than a moral panic. Each one of these went beyond party politics as the two major parties ‘trusted’ each other’s intentions. feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Arvanitakis) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/even-in-politics-it-has-always-been-a-matter-of-trust/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/even-in-politics-it-has-always-been-a-matter-of-trust/#item8195 Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:40:04 +0000 James Arvanitakis | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/its-a-bit-rich-to-just-dismiss-the-occupy-movements/ The Occupy movement has certainly been grabbing the headlines over the last week. Apart from the protests that simultaneously occurred in capital cities around Australia, there was also the controversial police evictions of both the Melbourne and Sydney sites. In the latest news, it was reported that there are concerns that Occupy Melbourne will be targeting a protest towards the Queen when she visits the city later today. feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Arvanitakis) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/its-a-bit-rich-to-just-dismiss-the-occupy-movements/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/its-a-bit-rich-to-just-dismiss-the-occupy-movements/#item7000 Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:00:52 +0000 James Arvanitakis | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillard-can-win-the-next-election-in-three-easy-steps/ I was sitting with some friends and students in the outer western suburbs of Sydney the other day. We were chatting about the High Court’s decision on the Malaysia Solution and offshore processing of refugees. The general feeling was that it was about time someone demanded that Australia meet its international obligations and stop dumping them onto other countries. While there was not much sympathy for Gillard, nor was there any support for Tony Abbott’s posturing. Someone actually quoted their Greek grandmother, who compares Greeks and Italians - saying, “they are the same, but different”. My question: “Would you vote for Tony Abbott if an election was held tomorrow?” was met with a resounding ‘no’. So is Gillard finished? feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Arvanitakis) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillard-can-win-the-next-election-in-three-easy-steps/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillard-can-win-the-next-election-in-three-easy-steps/#item6716 Wed, 14 Sep 2011 19:35:47 +0000 James Arvanitakis | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-moral-of-this-story-politicians-immoral/ I have a regular segment on a community radio station in Sydney that often takes its subject matter from listeners’ email requests. Unsurprisingly, this week I received a number asking me to explain the causes of the London riots. My initial response was that the causes are complex, and we should ignore the many knee-jerk reactions emerging. feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Arvanitakis) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-moral-of-this-story-politicians-immoral/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-moral-of-this-story-politicians-immoral/#item6497 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:40:56 +0000 James Arvanitakis | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-I-feel-Green/ The world as we know it will end on July 1, this year. That is the day the Greens take power in the Senate. James Arvanitakis explains. Not that long ago, I toyed with the idea of setting up my own doomsday cult. The problem is that I failed to find any of the basic ingredients that attract followers: charismatic leadership, the ability to ask for money from complete strangers, a doomsday message and a specific date to rally support. I have always been fascinated by doomsday cults. Every time I hear that a charismatic leader has picked a specific date for the end of the world – be it the arrival of extra terrestrials or the predicted Rapture – I get out my diary, mark the date and begin to make plans around it. As readers of The Punch would know, the most recent episode was the claim by the Harold Camping and the crew over at Family Radio predicted the world would end on 21 May 2011. Using the date to rally friends and family, a group of buddies went out for a farewell bonding session a few days beforehand. I also organised a weekend to enjoy time with loved ones just in case. To tie things up I also left a farewell message on my Facebook page and completed all my marking. feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Arvanitakis) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-I-feel-Green/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-I-feel-Green/#item6024 Wed, 08 Jun 2011 20:00:26 +0000 James Arvanitakis | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/manufacturings-fortunes/ It is not often that you wake up on a Saturday in Sydney and have a choice of rallies to attend – but this is exactly what happened last week. In case you missed it, the two rallies were organised in support and opposition to the proposed “price on carbon” strategy put forward by the Federal Government. Being excited by a bit of political expressionism in a city where Saturday morning priorities are usually shopping and cappuccinos, I decided to attend not just one but both. feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Arvanitakis) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/manufacturings-fortunes/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/manufacturings-fortunes/#item5600 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 19:40:20 +0000 James Arvanitakis | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-stupidity-of-getting-mad-about-political-correctness/ A radio host the other day was discussing the iPod-full of Australian artists that our Prime Minister gave to Barack Obama. Reviewing the collection of songs - which included Midnight Oil - he claimed it proved “political correctness has gone mad’. (Glenn Beck on political correctness gone mad) These sentiments were echoed in The Punch the other morning when Kevin Donnelly warned us that the proposed national curriculum was much too ‘politically correct’. The entire curriculum, Donnelly argued, is overwhelmed by politically correct messages and ignores Christianity. Feeling under siege by political correctness I decided to do something about it: I called a Muslim friend and made some jokes about her cultural background. I figured it was OK, because some of my best friends are Muslim. feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Arvanitakis) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-stupidity-of-getting-mad-about-political-correctness/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-stupidity-of-getting-mad-about-political-correctness/#item5389 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:35:40 +0000 James Arvanitakis | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/were-only-as-racist-as-our-pollies-make-us-out-to-be/ I have just returned from spending five weeks in India. The purpose of the trip was to deliver a number of papers and lectures, attending various conferences including the Indian Association for the Study of Australia – a three-day conference looking at the cultural interactions between the two nations. Leading up to the World Cup, there were obviously discussions about cricket, but the history is a lot more complicated than that, as our nations are intertwined in ways that most of us are ignorant of. For example, Professor Deb Narayan Bandyopadhyay is researching the way our two countries collaborated during the World Fair in the nineteenth century. Researcher Amit Ranjan presented a personal account of his research into the grave of Australian Alice Garden who died of cholera in Calcutta in 1882: Why was she there? What kind of interactions did she represent? Another issue that is often raised is the experience of Indian students in Australia - not only the attacks of last year, but the more general encounters between Australians and Indians. In the context of a history that includes the mistreatment of indigenous Australians and the infamous ‘White Australia Policy’, I am asked: ‘Is Australia a racist country?’ feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Arvanitakis) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/were-only-as-racist-as-our-pollies-make-us-out-to-be/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/were-only-as-racist-as-our-pollies-make-us-out-to-be/#item5004 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 19:35:34 +0000 James Arvanitakis | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillard-runs-the-country-the-way-ponting-captains-tests/ There was a moment during the English first innings in the Perth test when, just before the batting collapse, Andrew Strauss responded to a full ball by one of Australia’s four quicks by undertaking a casual pull shot. With a mere flick of the wrist, Strauss guided the ball down to the boundary – one bounce over the rope. The Channel 9 camera gave us a close up of Ricky Ponting, who seemed surprised that such a thing could happen. After briefly consulting his bowler, Ponting reacted by removing one of his in-close fieldsmen and placing him down to the onside boundary. The next three balls where delivered wide of the off-stump – leaving Strauss, the moved fieldsman and the rest of us wondering what exactly the captain and the bowler had discussed. feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Arvanitakis) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillard-runs-the-country-the-way-ponting-captains-tests/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillard-runs-the-country-the-way-ponting-captains-tests/#item4747 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:00:15 +0000 James Arvanitakis | Author bios | The Punch