The answer to what drew Miss McGraw to follow the girls up the rock that timeless afternoon was always there, it’s just that others decided we were not prepared for it. FORTY years since the premier of the Peter Weir film, it’s time for Australians to realise that Picnic at Hanging Rock has kept us […]
Two books, one story: @burgewords reviews @RodneyCroome on #MarriageEquality
October 20, 2015
IN every writer’s life there comes a time when a piece written by someone else renders our own contribution unnecessary. After exploring the issue of marriage equality in my country for more than a decade, Rodney Croome’s new book has finally done this for me. From This Day Forward: Marriage Equality in Australia is an […]
#QuestionableDeeds in action: @burgewords in conversation with @margokingston1
September 26, 2015
WHEN I asked Margo to help me launch my non-fiction debut Questionable Deeds: Making a stand for equal love and my first collection of short stories Closet His, Closet Hers, Tony Abbott was still Prime Minister and marriage equality remained on the never never. When we met this week at Avid Reader bookshop in West End, Brisbane, […]
#MarriageEquality on the never never: @burgewords on the politics of hope
August 13, 2015
It’s clear marriage equality will remain just a high hope TONY Abbott has knocked Australian progressives and moderate Liberals into motionless disappointment on marriage equality. The biggest political football of his government has been booted around by parliament again. There’ll be a few free kicks when the cross-party marriage equality bill comes before parliament, but […]
Navigating prejudice: @burgewords explores #MatthewFlinders
June 27, 2015
It’s time to shift perspective and explore the homophobia Matthew Flinders encountered. SPECULATION about the sexual orientation of iconic English seaman Matthew Flinders rose like a colourful maritime flag over a decade ago when previously unknown letters surfaced, including emotionally charged passages written by Flinders to fellow explorer George Bass. In his 2007 Meanjin article “Exploring love: […]
A Myall in my shoes: @burgewords reports on the #FrontierWars
June 13, 2015
Now, the dead are ready to have us remember them. IT has taken me a lifetime to get back to Myall Creek, a typical watercourse that traverses a remote country road like thousands of others in NSW’s New England district. Here, between the towns of Delungra and Bingara, a corrugated iron hall by a long-disused […]
The making of a #MarriageEquality advocate: @burgewords extract
May 29, 2015
IRELAND’S yes vote for marriage equality kicked a rainbow-coloured goal for LGBTQI people around the globe, and while the major Australian political parties fight for ownership of the ball, this extract from an upcoming non-fiction podcast and book by MICHAEL BURGE is a reminder of how far we’ve come. Marriage, like a seed, was planted within me […]
Dancing around casual #homophobia: @burgewords comments on #WaitInTheCar #JazzHands
May 8, 2015
To many same-sex-attracted people, the stink of casual homophobia is unmistakable. ONE of the big stories of the week came and went as quickly as a Channel Nine dancer running screaming past the camera. Breaking late on Tuesday afternoon from the Fairfax stable, what became known as the French Ambassador incident trended at least twice on […]
Lest we object: @burgewords comments on #AnzacDay #Anzac100
April 21, 2015
This Anzac centenary, it’s probable we will not hear the words ‘conscientious objector’ uttered much in the mainstream coverage. BURIED not far beneath the commemoration of the Anzac Day centenary is a silence into which few voices will respectfully speak. I join those few not to disrespect the First World War fallen and those who remember […]
Burning issues for @TonyAbbottMHR: @burgewords #CreatingWaves on #DirectAction
November 2, 2014
CLIMATE change efforts in Australia have become a matter of simple mathematics. With the Coalition’s Direct Action Bill in place just this week, after a deal struck with the Palmer United Party and Senate crossbenchers, Australia is now attempting to reduce its carbon emissions by 5 per cent by 2020. It’s official: we’re trying, and […]
