In new propaganda documentary, Hun Sen attempts to ‘rewrite history’: ‘There is a miraculous story that I remember even now,” says Prime Minister Hun Sen, with a pause, in a glossy new documentary that aired in Cambodia on Wednesday night … The reminiscence is a pivotal moment in the 90-minute Marching Towards National Salvation, which veers between hagiography and propaganda as it explores Hun Sen’s decision to defect from the Khmer Rouge and return with a Vietnamese army to oust the murderous regime. Read article, published by The Phnom Penh Post, 5 January 2018. 

Fast raid on Kem Sokha belies long prelude: The arrest itself was swift, but it was a long time coming. The midnight detention of Cambodia National Rescue Party President Kem Sokha bore all the hallmarks of a well-orchestrated raid. No less coordinated was the series of attacks on human rights defenders, threats to civil society and censuring of independent media that have brewed over the past 18 months, culminating in a fresh collection of so-called “leaks” detailing unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that would ultimately form the backdrop for Sokha’s undoing. Read article, published by The Phnom Penh Post,  4 September 2017.

 

The Problem with the Stella Prize: Fiction and non-fiction are separate genres that should be judged accordingly.
Last week, author Clare Wright made history for remembering those whom history had forgotten. Her non-fiction book The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka won the Stella Prize – Australia’s women-only literary award. In the same vein as the UK’s Orange Prize, the Stella Prize (now in its second year) was established as a way to remedy the sheer under representation of women in the Australian literary landscape. Read article, published in The Age, 6 May 2014.

 

 

 

Ball can only be in the winner’s court: Don’t be fooled, tennis is solely about ruthlessly destroying your opponent.
In broken English, Rafael Nadal, in the post-match interview after his victory over Bernard Tomic in the third round of the 2011 Australian Open, said that he brought his game to the net because: “Today from the baseline I did not have enough good shots to destroy him.” Read article, published in The Australian, 15 January 2014.

Could Tony Abbott be more conservative than the Pope?: The idea that Catholicism is distinct from conservatism has new currency after Pope Francis’ recent interview. The Australian left should engage with Catholicism’s radical nature, not dismiss it.
Tony Abbott’s one-woman cabinet prompted biting feminist responses last week, and rightfully so. However, in denouncing Abbott’s conservatism and backwardness, some writers swiftly quipped that our prime minister could behave in no other way due to his Catholic beliefs. Read article, published in The Guardian, 25 September 2013.

 

 

Slamming Inequality: Female tennis players should not be paid as much as male players until they too win the chance to play the best of five sets. Read article, published in The Age, 5 July 2013.