Suchergebnisse

In January 2007, media outlets across Australia reported the local court decision Police v Rose. Mr Rose pleaded guilty and the presiding magistrate recorded no conviction. This event sparked a 'butterfly effect' that culminated in legislative amendments changing the make-up of the body responsible for oversight of judges in New South Wales. Key players failed to observe the doctrine of the separation of powers; while others called for its observation. None of this would have been foreseeable to Mr Rose or the two transit officers on the night he was detained. This paper uses complexity theory and digital media analysis to locate flashpoints around which critical incidents occur; and what the unexpected flow-on effects reveal about the host society.

The contemporary mass mobilisation of school students in Australia is unprecedented but also reflects the growing numbers of young people participating in the past 15 years in Australian youth-led organisations for climate and social justice (Collin, 2015). Among these, the youth-led Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) has been particularly significant: running high profile participatory campaigns, delivering climate campaigning workshops, training for school-age students and developing an extensive and decentralised model of community organising and action. With more than 150,000 members, the AYCC enables personalisable collective action: AYCC followers choose their own level of engagement and organise localised and networked actions, online and offline - hallmarks of the current climate protests.