This special season is a time for hope, so I begin my newsletter with the hope that the significant campaigns and achievements during 2017 that have built on the decades of work of activists and feminists across the world will lead to real continuing cultural change. The silence breakers who have raised awareness about sexual harassment and assault on women and men, the Royal Commission Report on the Abuse of Children, Undeniable, just released, the triumph of fairness and equal rights of marriage for all Australians, the equal participation of women in political decision making in Rwanda, Canada, France, Iceland, Queensland and the Northern Territory, and the advances towards equality for women and men in sport, are just a few of the milestones. We have still much to do in relation to justice for refugees, our first peoples given parliament’s failure to accept the Uluru recommendations, homeless people, and then beyond Australia to addressing some of the great inequalities between nations. The new year should dawn with renewed commitment to making progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals across the globe.
As usual, at the end of this Christmas newsletter, I have included short paragraphs from my four children about their families, with an outline of my own activities, both in Australia and during a recent visit with speaking engagements in Hong Kong. Continue reading “Newsletter – Sydney December 2017”