Paul McDonald
Paul McDonald is the Chair of the Home Stretch, a national alliance of more than 200 organisations who succeeded in committing every state and territory government in Australia to extend support to foster children to the age of 21 years. Paul is also the CEO of Anglicare Victoria.
Matthew Bowes
Matthew Bowes is a Senior Associate in Grattan’s Housing and Economic Security Program. He has previously worked at the Parliamentary Budget Office and Commonwealth Treasury in various roles analysing personal income tax, budgets, and social policy.
Matt’s research interests include housing policy, planning reform, and public trust in government. He holds a First Class Honours degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and a Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University.
Abang Anade Othow
Abang Anade Othow is a refugee advocate, educator, speaker, writer, and leader.
She is the founder of Buckets of Hope, an initiative that uses visualisation and mindfulness to help individuals and communities not only survive but thrive.
Abang serves as the Deputy Chair of the Asylum Seekers Centre and was named National Ambassador for the NSW Department of Education.
Her upcoming book, to be published by HarperCollins in 2026, draws on her life journey and introduces the Buckets of Hope method, offering a framework for resilience and hope.
Robert Cockburn
Robert Cockburn is a Sydney writer, journalist and program maker. He reported variously for BBC, The Observer, The Guardian and Financial Times in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq and Asia. He was Australia correspondent for BBC and London Times. He has contributed to The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, Daily Telegraph, SBS and ABC. His films are for National Geographic and Journeyman Pictures UK. He is an investigative reporter and a lead writer for the Public Library of Science Medicine. He is a drama writer fr NIDA and has worked for the Sydney Theatre Company. His work site is: tracproductions.com
Alan Kohler
Alan Kohler is finance presenter and columnist on ABC News and he also writes for Intelligent Investor.
Christopher M. Johnson
Chris is a retired specialist paediatric anaesthetist from Perth WA with a longstanding interest in renewable energy and electrification. He is an active member of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA). He and his partner regularly drive an electric vehicle across Australia to visit family.
Katrina Raynor
Dr Kate Raynor is a Research Associate at the University of Melbourne, where she is affiliated with the national ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course (the Life Course Centre). She is also the Director of Per Capita’s Centre for Equitable Housing. She has a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning and a career spanning academia, consulting, think tanks and tech start-ups.
Nikos Mohammadi
Nikos Mohammadi is a student at Columbia University, freelance writer and reporter, staff writer for the Columbia Political Review, and associate staff writer for the Columbia Sundial.
Andrew Scott
Dr Andrew Scott is Emeritus Professor of Politics and Policy at Deakin University. He is the author of five books including Northern Lights: The Positive Policy Example of Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway (2014); Running on Empty: ‘Modernising’ the British and Australian labour parties (2000); and Fading Loyalties: The Australian Labor Party and the Working Class (1991). His Northern Lights book has just been translated into Japanese. Andrew is also lead editor, and contributor to three chapters, of another book – The Nordic Edge: Policy Possibilities for Australia (2021).
Josh Roose
Dr Josh Roose is a political sociologist and Associate Professor of Politics at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation at Deakin University.
Tess Nikitenko
Tess Nikitenko is a registered psychologist, clinic director, and former cognitive neuroscience researcher. She has a peer-reviewed publication record, has presented nationally at neuroscience conferences, and is an award-winning science communicator and speaker. Tess has trained general practitioners in psychological trauma and previously taught into the psychology program at the University of Tasmania. A late-diagnosed ADHD woman, she brings lived experience to her work in trauma, neurodivergence, and health system reform. Tess is passionate about bridging the gap between frontline mental health practice and policy, and contributes regular commentary on regulation, burnout, and equity in healthcare.
Leonie Liveris
Dr Leonie Liveris retired, independent social historian, researcher and author. Research and writing with main Interest in death studies, politics, women and Eastern Orthodox churches. More recent obsession with gaining knowledge and history of Middle East.
Roger Markwick
Dr Roger Markwick is Honorary Professor of Modern European History, The University of Newcastle, Australia.This article is a condensed, updated version of a paper presented to ‘The second ‘BDS – Driving Global Justice for Palestine’ conference, The University of Sydney, July 2020.
Michael Cohen
Michael Cohen is a writer based in Sydney, Australia, who in the past has contributed extensively to international news outlets and now concentrates on issues of human rights, mental health, technology, and philosophy.Most recent published article: https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/what-it-means-to-be-a-leftist-jew,19791
Zhao Bochao
Zhao Bochao is a senior research fellow at Xinhua Institute, a think tank affiliated with the Xinhua News Agency, and a senior editor at International News Department of Xinhua News Agency. He used to work as a correspondent in Kuala Lumpur for two years.
kiji noh
K J Noh is a journalist, political analyst, writer, and teacher specializing in the geopolitics of the Asia-Pacific region.
Kiriloi M. Ingram
Kiriloi M. Ingram Lecturer in International Relations, The University of Queensland
Kevin Murray
Dr Kevin Murray is the editor of Garland Magazine. He is also Vice-President of World Crafts Council - International, coordinating editor of the Online Encyclopedia of Crafts in the Asia Pacific Region and the Encyclopedia of Crafts in Latin America (the next volume about African crafts is in development). He is the co-founder of the Knowledge House for Craft, Senior Industry Fellow at RMIT University and International Adviser for the Cheongju International Craft Biennale 2023. In 2000-2007, he was Director of Craft Victoria, where he developed the Scarf Festival and the South Project, a four-year program of exchange involving Melbourne, Wellington, Santiago and Johannesburg. He has curated many exhibitions, including ‘Symmetry: Crafts Meet Kindred Trades and Professions’; ‘Water Medicine: Precious Works for an Arid Continent’; and ‘Seven Sisters: Fibre Works from the West’. His books include Craft Unbound: Make the Common Precious (Thames & Hudson, 2005) and, with Damian Skinner, Place and Adornment: A History of Contemporary Jewellery in Australia and New Zealand (Bateman, 2014).
Perri Campbell
Perri Campbell, a research fellow in the Centre for Social Impact at Swinburne, is a youth, disability, and gender studies scholar oriented towards the inclusion of people with experiences of marginalisation. You can find her on LinkedIn.
Catherine Hartung
Catherine Hartung is a senior lecturer in education, also at Swinburne, is an educational sociologist with expertise in children and young people’s citizenship, participation, rights, diversity, and wellbeing. She’s on LinkedIn.
Lara Alqudah
Lara Alqudah is a PhD candidate in education at Swinburne University of Technology exploring the ways in which Muslim teachers navigate the Australian education system. She’s on LinkedIn.
Prachi Bansal
Prachi Bansal is an Assistant Professor at the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana.
Namesh Killemsetty
Namesh Killemsetty is an Associate Professor at the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana.
Ling Xin
Ling Xin is a science journalist based in Ohio. She mainly covers physics, astronomy and space. Her writing has appeared in Science, Scientific American, MIT Technology Review and other English and Chinese outlets. She was a visiting journalist at Science magazine in Washington, and has a master’s degree in journalism from Ohio University.
Steph Cousins
Steph Cousins is the founder and CEO of Skill Path Australia, a non-profit organisation supporting refugees to access education, vocational training, and professional licensing pathways. She previously served as Global CEO of Talent Beyond Boundaries, leading international efforts to open skilled migration pathways for displaced people. For 20 years Steph has worked in senior roles across the human rights, refugee and international development sectors, including at Amnesty International and Oxfam. She holds degrees in arts and public policy, and a Master’s in Public and International Law from the University of Melbourne. She is based in Melbourne with her family.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph-cousins-27508827/
Ilan Pappé
Ilan Pappé (Hebrew: אילן פפה [iˈlanpaˈpe ]; born 7 November 1954) is an Israeli historian, political scientist, and former politician. He is a professor with the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, director of the university’s European Centre for Palestine Studies, and co-director of the Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies. Pappé was also a board member of the Israeli political party Hadash, and was a candidate on the party list in the 1996 and 1999 Israeli legislative elections.
Mike Hutchinson
Mike Hutchinson is a retired senior public servant, non-executive company director, and consultant. His view on the monarchy was prompted as a child forced to stand in the freezing rain in the UK to wave at a fast-passing car during the late queen’s 1953 post-coronation tour.
Jenny Gordon
Dr Jenny Gordon is an Honorary Professor at the Centre for Social Research and Methods, at the Australian National University and a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute. Jenny was the Chief Economist at DFAT from 2019 to 2021, establishing the Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) to bring together trade and investment economics with development economics.
Chris Atmore
Dr Chris Atmore is Senior Advisor, Policy and Advocacy with Allied Health Professions Australia where she specialises in aged care.
Andrew Fullarton
Andrew Fullarton is a retired factory worker from Naarm/Melbourne. Since the 1970’s he has been involved in various anti-war and progressive campaigns and is an occasional co-presenter on Community Radio 3CR of news-commentary items from the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network.