Think Again

Ex Member for Wills, Kelvin Thomson, talks about his passionate connection with nature dating back to childhood, and current projects he is leading and is involved in to protect local habitats and waterways.These include the Moonee Ponds Chain of Ponds collaboration, and the 'Adopt a Creek' initiative that involves community members keeping small patches of creek litter-free.Kelvin suggested community members can support this and similar local initiatives. On a broader policy level he suggested people camapign to reduce the huge and unsustainable level of litter we are producing as a society. LinksChain of Ponds - Adopt a CreekBoomerang Alliance - taking action against wasteAbout the UK Plastic Packaging TaxMore about the UK Plastic Packaging Tax

Jane Gardner from the Australian Conservation Foundation talks about a current ACF campaign 'Love letters to nature'.Already many Australians have put their love letters online, expressing how they feel about places that are precious to them. Jane and the presenters read some of the love letters on air that have touched and inspired them. Overall, the letters provide evidence that nature is important in the lives of many Australians, and is worth fighting for.Jane also provides information about other ACF campaigns listeners can support.LinksYou can read the love letters here and submit your own one: Love letters to natureOther ACF campaigns:Australia's biggest bush walkHelp stop deforestationJoin a local groupACF get involved

Jacques and Jennifer talk about the dismal state of democracy in Australia, especially with little space between the two main parties on things that urgently need to change (even before the current downward spiral of the Coalition).Cases in point are: lack of real action on climate change and environment, military and political/imperial entwinement with the US, our support for Israel's ongoing war on Gaza, and growing inequality embedded in our taxation, education and housing systems.Certainly, real change is needed and the presenters begin a conversation about this, to be continued in the next program.Omar El Akkad (2025) One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This Melbourne: Text PublishingTony Wright ‘Yes, Pauline Hanson is all smiles. But the question is – who will get the last laugh?’ Saturday Age 7th FebruaryAmy Remeikis Make no mistake, the Liberals are already history – and Labor should be worried… The New Daily 4th FebruaryRichard Dennis Left-right labels (which) make political commentary easy, and democracy hard The New Daily 10th February

After twenty years of working with and supporting the Womanjun Aboriginal communities in the Kimberley and a few years volunteering with communities in the Papua province of Indonesia, Robert reflects on what it all has come to mean for him.He talks about his deep spiritual learning and feeling of humility in the face of ongoing effects of colonialism and neo-colonialism and the arrogant assumption that Western knowledge and civilisation is 'progressive'.Robert also speaks of his admiration for the enduring hope, vitality and creativity of the local communities and indviduals he has collaborated with, providing the inspiration for his ongoing involvement .

If you've noticed people walking our streets and in public spaces, not looking where they're going while immersed on their mobile phones, it's not your imagination. It is happening everywhere! What is often referred to as 'distracted walking' has been well researched across the world, reducing people's safety and situational awareness, and leading to a variety of injuries and even death.Jacques and Jennifer talk about the implications of this, invoking Pierre Bourdieu's notion of 'habitus', describing how we unconsciously internalise societal ways of doing things and act them out. Thus the 'habitus' of safely navigating footpaths and roads is competing with the (normalised) habitus of being on mobile phones while walking. Most insidiously, our tech giants have evidently made direct inroads into our minds and our bodies on a regular basis.Jennifer and Jacques suggest some political resistance by disconnecting from mobile phones while out and about, at the same time increasing safety and improving mental health.ReferencesBourdieu P 2013, Outline of a theory of practice, UK, Cambridge University Press.Byington K W & Schwebel D C 2013, ‘Effects of mobile Internet use on college student pedestrian injury risk’, Accident Analysis and Prevention, vol.51.Marrapu A 2024, ‘Utilising Technology to Prevent Distracted Walking’, 2024 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference, IEEE.Mikusova, Miroslava; Wachnicka, Joanna; Zukowska, Joanna 2021, ‘Research on the Use of Mobile Devices and Headphones on Pedestrian Crossings--Pilot Case Study from Slovakia’, Safety, vol. 7, no. 1.Ming-I Brandon Lin, Yu-Ping Huang 2017, ‘The impact of walking while using a smartphone on pedestrians’ awareness of roadside events’, Accident Analysis & Prevention, vol. 101.Mingyu Hou, Jianchuan Cheng, Feng Xiao, Chenzhu Wan 2021, 'Distracted behavior of pedestrians while crossing street: A case study in China', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 18.Nasar J L. & Troyer D 2013, ‘Pedestrian injuries due to mobile phone use in public places’, Accident Analysis and Prevention, vol. 57. 4: 1372872.Nikolaou D, Typa D, Yannis G 2022, ‘Investigation of traffic and safety behaviour of pedestrians while talking on mobile phone ‘Advances in Transportation Studies an international Journal, Special issue, vol. 3.Oh C & LaPointe L 2017, ‘Changes in cognitive load and effects on parameters of gait’, Cogent PsychologyPiazza A J, Knowlden A P, Hibberd E, Leeper J, Paschal A M, Usdan S 2022, ‘Distracted mobile device use among street-crossing college student pedestrians: an observational approach’, Journal of American College Health, vol. 70, no. 7.Quon P, Lahey K, Grisdale M, Hagel B, Frost G, Belton K, Elliott A 2019, ‘Prevalence of distracted walking with mobile technology: an observational study of Calgary and Edmonton high school students’, Canadian Journal of Public Health, vol. 110.Ropaka M, Nikolaou D, Yannis G 2020, ‘Investigation of traffic and safety behavior of pedestrians while texting or web-surfing’, Traffic Injury Prevention, vol. 21, no. 6.Smith D C., Schreiber K M., Saltos A, Lichenstein S B, Lichenstein R 2013, ‘Ambulatory cell phone injuries in the United States: An emerging national concern’, Journal of Safety Research, vol. 47.Vamshi K K, Kapruwan R, Choudhary P 2024, ‘Understanding distracted pedestrians' risky behaviour: The role of walking and visual characteristics through a field study’, Transportation Research, vol. 101.

Tamar Hopkins from the Racial Profiling Data Monitoring Project talks about the latest data showing that Victoria Police target certain groups, with members much more likely to be searched than white people and have force used against them. These groups include people perceived by the police to be Aboriginal, African, Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Pacific Islander.Tamar proposes a range of alternative measures to policing, including the resourcing of communities, and a monitoring body to ensure accurate data collection relating to systemic racism.Linkshttps://www.racialprofilingresearch.org/https://imcl.org.au/police-racial-profiling-has-not-improved report