I am the sacred pool,
Take your shoes off
Wade in..
Rumi, TBRB, p. 31
Latest Papers
The working papers collection comprises historical papers as well as current ideas and works in progress on some of the major issues and topics of our times.
Hansonism is sweeping Australia. It threatens to smash the Liberal National conservative consensus and to challenge the Labor party’s political rule in Canberra and in every State and region of the country. Make no mistake the revolution is real. The fire is out of control and the thought that a Trump like change cannot happen in Australia needs to be firmly rejected.
A think piece by Dan Swinney and Peter Botsman, April 2026
Getting More Young People Into Industrial Career Pathways: The Chicago Experience, Austin Polytech &
Lessons Learned
Is it still relevant? The 2011–2012 report Learning from Chicago explicitly identifies the Goulburn Valley / Shepparton region as one of the highest-potential sites in Australia for adapting Chicago’s poly-technical education model. It highlights the Yorta Yorta leadership (Paul Briggs, Kaiela Institute), the iconic local manufacturing heritage of J Furphy & Sons, and the need to connect young Aboriginal people to “the ongoing tradition of manufacturing in the Goulburn Valley” (pages 9–10). The report argues that a “Manufacturing Renaissance Council” model—linking industry skill gaps, schools, and community leadership—could create sustainable, high-quality jobs in advanced manufacturing and food processing, mirroring Chicago’s success in serving African American communities.
“Advanced Manufacturing + World Class Education = Sustainable Communities”
Adapting the Chicago Austin Poly-Technical Model for Yorta Yorta and Goulburn Valley
A Short Backgrounder on First Nations Demography and Other Post Colonial Experiences to help frame discussions and engagement
Report of the 2011 ISX/University of Melbourne/CLCR Visit to Chicago
"The Hampden Bridge Report" (Updated 8 April, 2026)
The Whitlam government represented a new era of possibilities and long overdue reforms. It was time! In 2025, 50 years after the maverick dismissal of the Whitlam government that action is universally viewed as aberrant and mistaken. It is time to look beyond and to the future, as Gough implied, when he said ‘nothing will save the Governor General’.
A Mickey Bull had broken down the house yard fence and was snorting and bellowing
around the penned heifers. You could hear him a kilometre away. Magpie Geese was the meal for the night and everyone was gathered for the NRL Grand Final.
