May 2005 

Leading Issues Journal      

WORLD FOCUS

A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsiblity

Indo-Australian Tectonic Plate at Risk

NATIONAL FOCUS

2005 Pamela Denoon Lecture by Professor Judith Whitworth

The Natasha Factor: Politics, Media and Betrayal by Alison Rogers

A History of International Women's Day in words and images

CURRENT RESEARCH

On the Battlefield of Women's Bodies: An Overview of the Harm of War to Women

FEATURE STORY

Indian Democracy and Public Reasoning

 Amartya Sen

NOBEL Laureate and economist-philosopher Amartya Sen's rigorous and meticulous analysis of Indian economic situation has invariably led to a critical engagement with a number of political problems and public policy issues.

In this exclusive interview published in Frontline Professor Amartya Sen speaks to John M. Alexander about the role and importance of public reasoning in approaching the issues of democracy, secularism and social justice in contemporary India. "Democracy," says Sen, "is integrally linked with public reasoning."

Three essential features of public reasoning especially receive continuous attention in this discussion. First, public reasoning involves respect for pluralism and an attitude of tolerance for different points of view and lifestyles. Second, public reasoning demands an open public discussion of issues of common concern. Third, public reasoning encourages political commitment and participation of people in public action for the transformation of society.

The seeds of democracy and the practice of public reasoning, Sen reminds, are deeply embedded in Indian history and tradition for a very long time.

However, the achievements at present in India are still far short of these ideals. Sen advocates that, among others, school education, basic health care, land reforms, micro-credit facilities, the protection of minorities and the promotion of human rights require the immediate attention of governments, political leaders, the media, non-governmental organisations and the public at large. Also, Sen relates his theoretical insights to practical issues such as reservation policies, "identity politics", liberalisation and globalisation.

Amartya Sen is currently Lamont University Professor, and Professor of Economics and Philosophy, at Harvard University, Cambridge, United States.

See: Interview with Amartya Sen

Source:  Frontline Volume 22 - Issue 4, Feb 12 - Feb 25, 2005 & GSN

world 

A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility

The above is the title of the Report of the United Nations High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change. 

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan  gave strong support to this Report saying in a letter transmitting the report,

"I wholly endorse its core arguments for a broader, more comprehensive system of collective security: one that tackles both new and old threats, and addresses the security concerns of all States - rich and poor, weak and strong,"

"The report offers the United Nations a unique opportunity to refashion and renew our institutions," he says in the letter, and promises to quickly consider and implement specific recommendations that fall within his purview. He urges other UN bodies to do the same.

In particular, the Secretary-General pledges to take a lead in promoting a new comprehensive strategy against terrorism, and to articulate his vision for consideration by governments in the new year.

The panel of 16 former heads of state, foreign ministers, security, military, diplomatic and development officials reaffirms the right of states to defend themselves, including pre-emptively when an attack is imminent, and says that in the case of "nightmare scenarios" - for instance those combining terrorists and weapons of mass destruction - the UN Security Council may have to act earlier, more proactively and more decisively than in the past.

On issues such as the rules governing use of force, "that go to the heart of who we are as the United Nations and what we stand for", the Secretary-General says that decisions should be taken by world leaders at a special UN summit scheduled for next September. "I cannot over-emphasize how important a new consensus on this issue is for a renewed system of collective security," he adds.

To view an Executive Summary of this Report, see:

The geological forces behind the Sumatran quake and tsunami of December

2004 may have even more destruction in store, warns a team of researchers led by Mike Sandiford at the University of Melbourne’s School of Earth Sciences.

“The Indian Ocean quakes are, in effect, leading to the active rupture of the Indo-Australian plate into separate Indian and Australian plates," says Sandiford. "This new research provides us with important information about the stresses that are driving this drawn-out tectonic plate divorce.”

The Indo-Australian plate is one of the eight major plates upon which all the continents and oceans lie. These plates “float” on the currents of the earth's upper mantle, whose movements are the driving force behind plate motion and earthquake activity.

Sandiford and his colleagues studied stresses generated along two tectonic segments between the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plate borders. They found that about 90% of the energy released when the plates rub up against each other is dissipated deep within the earth’s mantle; the remaining 10% of the energy thrusts back into the Indo-Australian plate, generating potentially destructive seismic activity that could lead to its breakup.

Source: Futurist Update

national

2005 Pamela Denoon Lecture by Professor Judith Whitworth

Professor Judith Whitworth is Director of the John Curtin School of Medical Research and Howard Florey Professor of Medical Research at The Australian National University. She is Chair of the World Health Organization Advisory Committee on Health Research — the first woman to hold the post. She has practiced medicine and research extensively in Australia and overseas. She was made a Companion in the Order of Australia in 2001 for service to the advancement of academic medicine and as a major contributor to research policy and medical research administration in Australia and internationally. She was ACT Australian of the Year for 2004. 

The theme for the 2005 Pamela Denoon Lecture was Women, Health, Medicine and Science. Pamela Denoon was herself a science graduate and biochemist whose life was tragically cut short by leukaemia.

At Federation, life expectancy in Australia was over 20 years lower than it is now. Health and medical research accounts for half of those life years gained and Australian women have been at the forefront of medical research in Australia. According to Access Economics, ‘investment in health R&D surpasses every other source of rising living standards in our time’. The evidence is overwhelming that investments in health pay off in controlling disease, improving productivity, speeding economic growth and fostering social and political stability.

To view Professor Judith Whitworth's lecture see: 

Women in Health: Not Drowning but Waving

Signposts to Welfare Reform

The McClure Report’s framework for welfare reform which was released in 2000 and took two years to formulate directions which gained general concensus and advocated "the use of penalties as a last resort only." 

With the upcoming Federal Budget in mind, Andrew McCallum, President of ACOSS says, "If the Government builds on this framework, it will announce five things in the budget..."

McCallum's speech: Signposts to Welfare Reform

The Natasha Factor: Politics, Media and Betrayal by Alison Rogers

During her rise to the leadership of the Australian Democrats party in 2001, and her subsequent highly publicised demise, Natasha Stott Despoja struggled to maintain the unity of the Democrats. Alison Rogers provides a revealing behind-the-scenes viewpoint as Stott Despoja’s chief media advisor, documenting her rise and fall amidst intense media scrutiny and public speculation.  

"Stott Despoja’s treatment by media carries negative messages for aspiring female leaders. Women parliamentarians are still treated differently to male colleagues, and the experiences of other females provide a daunting history. Perhaps the media do not give females a chance because they have stepped into a masculine world, and so in attempting to fit male-constructed leadership paradigms, female parliamentarians are exposed to greater scrutiny, criticism, and judgment." (Tony Smith Australian Review of Public Affairs)

Alison Rogers The Natasha Factor: Politics, Media and Betrayal, Lothian, 2004  Source: Lothian

A History of International Women's Day in words and images

The Cyber Edition of this book which was written twelve years ago by Joyce Stevens, an activist for many years in the left, union and feminist movements,  is at:

A History of International Women's Day in words and images

Susanne Martain, Founder of ISIS continues to publish 'herstoricals' where Joyce left off.

Source: ISIS

Research 

On the Battlefield of Women’s Bodies: An Overview of the Harm of War to Women  

Dr H. Patricia Hynes is Professor of Environmental Health at the Boston University School of Public Health and Director of the Urban Environmental Health Initiative is author of the Research Paper: On the Battlefield of Women’s Bodies: An Overview of the Harm of War to Women in which she writes:
"A unique harm of war for women is the trauma inflicted in military brothels, rape camps, and the growing sex trafficking for prostitution and by increased domestic violence, all of which is fuelled by the culture of war, male aggression, and the social and economic ruin left in the wake of war.  

Widows of war, women victims of landmines, and women refugees of war are particularly vulnerable to poverty, prostitution, the extortion of sex for food by post-war peacekeepers, and higher illness and death in the post-conflict period. While problems exist with definitions and methods of measurement, a full accounting of the harm of war to civilian women is needed in the debate over whether war is justified."

Dr Hynes' Paper can be viewed at The Feminist Peace Network website at the following link: 

On the Battlefield of Women’s Bodies: An Overview of the Harm of War to Women  

LEADING aRGUMENTS  

“AIRC’s setting of minimum wage levels, along with the Government’s family payments, has kept many low-paid workers and their families out of poverty,” said McCallum.

Conversely, high rates of child poverty are found in countries where political leaders have introduced policies to promote low rates of pay. UNICEF figures indicate that in the US, 25% of workers are low paid and 25% of children are living in poverty. In the UK, 18% of workers are low paid and 18% of children are living in poverty.

“To reduce unemployment by cutting minimum wages the cuts would have to be dramatic. In the US, a low skilled worker works 5 days a week to earn the same wage as an Australian worker on a minimum wage earns in 3 days,” said McCallum. “You can imagine what such a change would do to our national poverty levels – they would be shameful.” ACOSS President Andrew McCallum

NEWS fLASH

YWCA's WomenSpeak Network is currently working on a research project called 'Young Women’s Recruitment, Retention and Leadership: lessons learned from the women's movement.' The overall aim of the policy research is:

To establish broadly young women's involvement and perceptions of their involvement in women's organisations; To find out whether organisations are actively involved in the recruitment, retention and promotion of young women’s into leadership positions; Reflect on how effective young women's participation, networking and diversity is within the organisations  

Two surveys have been developed

1)   to ask young women about their involvement and perceptions of that involvement in community organisations especially women’s organisations

 Survey at: 

Young Women’s Survey

2)   to ask women’s and community organisations about their current experiences  with young women’s recruitment, retention and leadership  

Survey at:  

Women & Community Organisations Survey

The results of the research will be published later in the year and made freely available through the WomenSpeak Network

Any questions contact Erica Lewis, on ygals@ywca.org.au or 02 6230 5150.