Writer
Gregory Andrews
Gregory is a D’harawal man from NSW. He worked at SES levels in the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Environment, Climate Change, and Indigenous Affairs. He represented Australia as an Ambassador and High Commissioner in West Africa, and negotiated for Australia in the United Nations Climate Change negotiations. Gregory was Australia’s first-appointed Threatened Species Commissioner. He led development and implementation of Australia’s first Threatened Species Strategy and first Threatened Species Prospectus. In the NGO sector, he led, grew and reformed a national Indigenous charity. Gregory speaks French and Mandarin. He has an Honours Degree in Economics and a Masters in Foreign Affairs and Trade.
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Heatwaves and blackouts: Australia’s climate crisis is now
As Western Australia endures another extreme heatwave, with temperatures soaring up to 47 degrees Celsius in the Pilbara, the reality of the impacts of climate change is becoming impossible for Australia to ignore. Escalating and unprecedented heat is harming our communities, ecosystems, and economy. Last week Victoria was battered by fires and storms that destroyed Continue reading »
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Time for Australia to admit it’s a petrostate
The first step in fixing any problem is acknowledging it. And for Australia on climate change, that means admitting we are a petrostate. Continue reading »
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Restoring democracy to avoid climate collapse
17 November 2023 will go down in history as the day when planet Earth reached its first two degree plus temperature anomaly relative to the preindustrial baseline. It was also the day that I was carted off to hospital in an ambulance after spending over two weeks on a climate hunger strike on the lawns Continue reading »
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Australia has shown itself to be a selfish nation that lacks empathy
As an Australian with First Nations and coloniser blood running through my veins, I’ve always believed in the promise of a fair and just Australia, one that can celebrate our 65,000 years of history, reconcile our colonial past and build a better future for all. But the Voice referendum has cast a shadow on that Continue reading »
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Pezzullo, like Campbell, has brought shame on the Public Service
Mike Pezzullo must be removed to restore integrity and protect our democracy. Continue reading »
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“Yes” will say “No” to Trumpism and US-like social disintegration
I’m voting “Yes” as a proud Australian of Aboriginal, European and Middle-eastern ancestry. Australia’s Constitution needs to catch up with the nation we are today. We’re a multicultural superpower and Asia-Pacific democracy, founded on 65,000 years of heritage and culture. Our Constitution needs to reflect that. Continue reading »
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Insulating foreign policy from domestic politics: The legacy of Marise Payne
Marise Payne’s tenure as Australia’s Foreign Minister was rightly marked with criticism. Australia’s international and strategic interests went backwards during her time. But was she really Australia’s worst Foreign Minister as some commentators assert? It’s important to consider the root cause of the damage done to Australia’s national interests: the belligerent interference and harm done Continue reading »
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LGBTIQ+ persecution in Africa: Australia’s responsibility to protect
Atrocities don’t happen overnight. They ramp up over time. The Nazi death camps, were preceded by at least a decade of smaller, selective and escalating removals of human rights for Jewish and LGBTIQ+ peoples. Similar patterns allowed for the genocides in Rwanda and Cambodia – incremental and selective removals of minority rights built momentum and Continue reading »
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Election opportunity to move from boofhead to smart diplomacy
Recent foreign policy experience shows bullying and belligerence don’t work. Prime Minister Scott Morrison cares little about Australia’s foreign policy outcomes. Neither does he care for Australia’s international reputation. He cares least of all about our national interests. Indeed, he consistently damages them for his own political gain. The federal election offers Australia an opportunity Continue reading »
