Australians are lucky to have one of the world’s best-functioning liberal democracies.   However, our government processes have lost efficacy, being too focused on political power instead of helping the community understand complex issues and committing themselves to “common-good” solutions that often have both “givers” and “recipients”.   A classic challenge is the expectation of some in the community for more government services than revenues can sustain and rising individual spending power without increased taxes and productivity improvements. Our governments are not courageous or trusted enough to resolve such dilemmas.   A community-wide dialogue is required, using trustworthy and transparent processes.

Troy Emery works with textiles in a sculptural practice to produce figurative forms and imagery. His artwork examines the discourse surrounding our natural world. Emery is interested in the boundaries between fine art, museums, natural history, craft, and the domestic space, seeing his works as blurring between each of these thresholds. Emery’s works function as both decorative motifs and tokens of ecological ruination and alienation. His work’s obscure forms under lurid colour and textures, exploring a materiality through the use of mass-produced decorative craft components. These function as a point of opposition to the traditions of hard figurative sculpture. https://troyemery.net/

Smarter Drafter is an online document automation platform that uses technology to automate complex legal drafting. Smarter Drafter have recently released their new product feature -  'Matter Intake Forms’. This product creates a smooth and streamlined client experience for the 1000 plus lawyers that use the Smarter Drafter platform across Australia.  It enables lawyers to spend the first meeting with their client building a trusted relationship and allows them to focus more closely on strategy and providing legal advice to their client.  Head here to learn how Smarter Drafter takes the ‘pain’ out of drafting legal documents -  https://smarterdrafter.com.au

Using large-scale projection in a remarkable new space, David Hockney takes us on a personal journey through sixty years of his ar

Our politicians fail to effectively address the growing problem of delivering affordable and appropriately located housing for the community.   The initial discussion focused on how to help young families commence home ownership. Focus is growing on affordable properties (either to purchase or rent) for low-income earners, people on social benefits and front-line service providers who should live near their work.   Given that all three levels of government impact the housing supply and that our constitution does not provide a mechanism to bring about a harmonised approach to the issue, a Royal Commission seems the best option for breaking the inertia.