The Victorian government gave its citizens hours to return, without providing the necessary information or infrastructure to support them through 14 days of isolation. Then they faced a total lack of sympathy from fellow Victorians. — A month ago, I was looking forward to enjoying Christmas with my family in Sydney — after a pretty tough year that was mostly spent in strict lockdown in Melbourne. With a border closure between Victoria and NSW that lasted for months, I hadn’t seen my mother, siblings, nieces, or…

In an absolute s***storm of a year, it’s encouraging to see democracy in action. — It’s an understatement to say that 2020 has been a very strange year — for everyone. In my case, it’s not only a pandemic that has turned my life around, but a dog. A year ago, my partner and I were talking about fostering a dog from the largest animal…

Amid the ongoing culture wars, a “for or against” mentality has removed all nuance from political discussions. —

A lack of data is allowing killing to happen behind closed doors — unreported, unaccounted for, and largely unknown by the public. — Earlier this year, before our lives were upended by a global pandemic, our little household suffered its own personal tragedy. Our foster greyhound Dash was killed by a so-called animal welfare organisation after completing his foster placement with us — becoming another statistic in the broken animal shelter system.

More women are choosing not to have children — but you wouldn’t know it from watching film and TV. — When I think about how women are portrayed on-screen, the final image in the 1999 romantic comedy Notting Hill comes to mind. In a montage laden with sentimentality, we are whisked through Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts’ romantic life — culminating in a scene on a park bench. He is…

Seeing my old school in the news has resurfaced anger from the 13 years I spent there. — No matter how hard you try, it seems you can’t escape your childhood. Even if you unfriend everyone you went to school with, leave the WhatsApp chat group, ignore invitations to your 5, 10, and 15 year reunions, and move interstate — you can still turn on the news and…

Isolation has forced us to re-think our relationship with time. — Today is Monday. I know because I checked my diary and not because it is any different to yesterday, when I had two work meetings on what was apparently a Sunday. People keep asking me how long we’ve been in lockdown now in Melbourne and the answer is truthfully, I…

On #ChallengeAccepted and how female empowerment has been co-opted by capitalism (and the Kardashians). — What does the word “empowered” mean? If you were believe the hashtag on Instagram, it would seem to denote being female-identifying, having a camera, and a black-and-white filter. The most recent trend circulating on the social media app, renowned as a platform for pretty people to post flattering photos of…

The endless culture wars are as exhausting as the confinement. — During this pandemic, my routine — and that of everyone in my city of Melbourne — looks something like this. Spend all morning waiting for the time of the Premier’s press conference to be announced. Wait for the press conference where today’s number of new cases is delivered. Anxiously hope…