AustLit

'I try to make sense of her sudden absence but every hour, every minute, brings some new and usually terrifying development.'

'A hole has opened up in the system that takes pride of place in the Australian identity – our ability to bring produce to market. But change is coming.'

'For most Australians, two events of biblical solemnity will define this year: fire and plague. How should we respond?' 

'Aboriginal heritage and the natural environment need to be at the centre of national reconstruction.'

'I have no great hope we will use this chance to transform for the better – but this is an unconvincing darkness, and we do not have to stay in it.'

'The overarching project of my life has been making myself safe. But what is the point if everyone else is drowning and burning and starving?' 

 'Covid gives us an opportunity to weigh up what truly belongs and what can be left back in the life before the plague.' 

'It seems that every problem that has rumbled beneath our feet for the past 60 years has hit crisis point, all at once.' 

'In a world without coronavirus, there are conversations that might never have happened. Their nature, too, is different'

'For one brief shining moment it seemed humanity’s inability to imagine much beyond our lived experience was irrelevant. Covid was coming for us all.' 

'Misinformation and dangerous conspiracy theories thrive when people are stressed and alone. At this moment democratic society desperately needs strong journalism.'

'‘Stop the world’ the musical hero said whenever things went wrong. I’ve been feeling this way for a few years now.'

'If there was a moment of true emergency in the fight to preserve our climate, it is now.'

'The global story unfolding is not only about microbes; it is also about culture, politics and history. The spread of disease is not without responsibility.'

'We have a sense of what it means to live in disturbing times, to live under threat. We should not forget the many people who have known this all their lives.'