AQ 97.1 - Jan-Mar 2026



Conflict can be either constructive or destructive. Many social advances have come about because governments are dragged to a decision by public protest. From same-sex marriage, to support of renewables, it’s common for the majority of the public to be a long way ahead of policy action.

What ends up making new social compacts difficult are vocal minorities defending a fossilised status quo. You need only look at the Nationals and Net Zero – the proverbial tail wagging the dog.

Yet when hard fought victories are won, it by no means guarantees their longevity. This edition roams across many of these topics.

All this and more in the new edition of AQ!

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Heritage or Housing? The Generational Battle for Australia’s Suburbs

In our major cities there is a growing conflict between NIMBYs - mostly older homeowners seeking to preserve ‘neighbourhood character’ - and YIMBYs, a younger generation of renters and prospective homebuyers demanding affordable housing and access to live near jobs, transport, and amenities. The debate cuts to the heart of concerns for the future of Australian suburbs: should they be exclusively shaped by the interests of existing homeowners, or open to those who have been priced out?

Zachary Ingmire

The Burden of Transparency: Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025

A cornerstone of Australia’s representative democracy is citizens’ rights to seek information regarding a government’s decisions and functions. Yet while Labor asserts their Freedom of Information reforms are designed to improve the operation of the Commonwealth FOI framework, they ultimately will reduce government transparency and accountability. And as has been shown time and time again, once rolled back, it is very hard to reclaim rights that put a sitting government under scrutiny…

Dr Lauren Gray 

Who Controls Birth Control?

Since antiquity, people have searched for ways to control conception. In the 19^th century, birth control advocates were jailed; yet even today contraception crusaders here in Australia are battling against both overt and subtle ways of limiting a woman’s right to decide. From ‘abortion deserts’ to overseas influence, birth control continues to be at the heart of policy and politics. The fight is far from over and these hard-won gains are in the firing line.

Diana Wyndham 

Dictatorship and Destruction, Chaos and Corruption: MAGA and the Re-election of Trump

Despite impeachments, overt calls to insurrection, and manifest unfitness for office, the US political system, the Republican Party, and a near-majority of citizens supported Trump’s re-election. Yet the seeds of this outwardly inexplicable choice has deep roots, going back decades, that speak to the very core of American identity and values.  What went wrong and what are the lessons for the rest of the world in the self-proclaimed bastion of modern democracy getting to the point of electing a self-proclaimed autocrat?

Chris Edmonds

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