Sep 2, 2025 7 min read Politics/Activism

Big changes + Anarchy in the riparian zone, transphobic conspiracies, activism strategy and green shoots in the desert

Heads up: Brief writing hiatus is probably on the cards...

Recent catch-up with the four Greens councillors from Byron Shire Council

Hey everyone,

Hope you’re doing well. Special hello to all my new subscribers!

If longer-term followers have been thinking, “Geez it’s a while since I got an email from Jonno...” you’re spot on, but I have a good excuse!

The last couple months have been a period of massive change for me. Alongside rallies, gigs and guerilla habitat restoration projects (which I probably shouldn't talk about publicly), my partner Anna and I have moved off our houseboat and transitioned into a tiny house on wheels (in a backyard on Brisbane’s southside).

It’s been a big move after 8 years of boat life (we haven’t sold the vessel – a friend is living on it rent-free), but that’s not even my biggest news to share... Anna is 9 months pregnant, and I’m due to become a father any day now!

So I suppose in addition to apologising for not writing more often over the past few months, I should also say sorry in advance because I have no idea yet how often I’ll be able to write over the next little while. It could be some time before my next update. Who knows?

You can find links to my most recent articles further down this email, including some reflections on the Save Victoria Park/Barrambin campaign, and the Greens’ strong election results in Alice Springs/Mparntwe (where, unlike in Queensland, the NT Greens have taken a more assertive and proactive approach in pushing back against conservative 'tough on crime' rhetoric). If you haven’t done so yet, I’d also appreciate your feedback via this survey to let me know what topic areas you’re most interested in my writing on.

The photo accompanying this email is from a recent catch-up I had with the four Greens councillors from Byron Shire Council, where I shared insights from some of the participatory democracy trials I conducted during my time as a city councillor, and we workshopped how the Byron Greens could go even further in giving residents meaningful control over the future of their community. I’ve really enjoyed finding the time to connect more with Greens reps in other parts of the country – particularly those who are pushing for change from the bottom up via local government.

While I haven’t had time to write anything about it yet, I’ve been thinking a lot about the historic Justice for Palestine rallies across the country, and the more recent ‘March for Australia’ protests of the past weekend.

Yes, Brisbane’s ‘March for Humanity’ on Sunday, 24 August was indeed the largest public protest since the anti-Iraq war demonstration of 2003, and thus probably the second largest in the city’s 200-year history. It was a powerful reminder that despite 2 years of shamelessly biased, anti-Palestinian propaganda from major party politicians and mainstream media, there are plenty of people out there who see through the spin, and want an end to Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people.

Ultimately I estimated the turnout on 24 August as exceeding 40 000 participants. Organisers claimed it was over 50 000. If you’re aware of any detailed analysis from crowd capacity experts that offers an accurate estimate, I’d love it if you can share those with me.

While the massive March for Humanity demonstration was incredibly inspiring (and, frankly, reassuring), the jingoistic March for Australia last Sunday also attracted significant turnouts. I wasn’t on the ground (we were busy preparing for this impending baby), but from the images I’ve seen, it looked like there might have been 5000+ attendees to the Brisbane march, alongside several hundred counter-protesters.

This rising tide of white nationalism and anti-immigrant racism is important to pay attention to and shouldn’t be dismissed lightly. Racism has always been an inherent element of the Australian colonial project, but the growing public presence of proud Nazis in our society is deeply troubling.

I’ll have more to say about it all in future articles – if anyone has questions on this topic that you’re particularly interested in my thoughts on, let me know (this old TED Talk I gave over a decade ago still feels somewhat relevant, but is definitely due for an update). Perhaps it goes without saying that at this point, the Australian flag as a symbol has been irrevocably tied to the racists who wave it – I can't look at the flag now without thinking about how racist this country is.

If you're feeling like diving deeper into conversations about racism and colonialism, you should also check out this excellent podcast series, Read the Play, hosted by Chelsea Watego and David Singh (which my partner Anna produced).

Interviews to watch

Alongside baby prep, moving house and writing articles, over the past few months I’ve also organised a couple of talks and radio interviews. One of my favourites was this online forum with former Greens MP Amy MacMahon, where we talked about the practicalities and challenges of translating participatory democracy ideals into a parliamentary context.

You might also like to check out my recent interview with Greens member Asta Hill, who has just been elected to Alice Springs Town Council, and almost won the mayoralty (votes are still being counted, but she’ll probably fall just short in the race for mayor).

Recent articles

I churned out this think-piece after feeling like something has been missing from the ongoing campaign against building Olympic stadiums in Barrambin/Victoria Park. I'm particularly keen to hear if readers from interstate have strong feelings about the Olympics and how much money is being spent on it...

As mentioned above, Asta Hill and the NT Greens have been achieving promising results in Mparntwe while taking a strong stance against racist 'tough on crime' nonsense...

This was a tough article to write, but I think it's important for progressive movements to take an unambiguous position against transphobia...

Living on the water for almost a decade has shaped my political outlook in unexpected ways. I'd been meaning to write this article for a while, but the impending move off the houseboat finally prompted me to publish it...

As mentioned above, I’m also running a very short survey to help me understand what my subscribers are most interested in hearing from me about. It only asks two simple questions and isn’t collecting any personal info.

Please fill out the survey via this link

I should also let you know that – baby permitting – I'll be performing some poetry at Kurilpa Hall, 174 Boundary St, West End on Friday, 3 October from 7pm alongside activist musicians Andy Paine, Violet Coco and someone named James Brook (who I haven't heard before but is apparently a little famous). Entry is $10 on the door (Facebook event at this link). Hope you can make it!

Like I said, the baby on the way means it could be a little while before you hear from me again (or who knows, maybe not being able to get along to as many events will allow more time for writing?). If you email or message me, please forgive me if I don’t reply any time soon.

I remain incredibly grateful to everyone who subscribes to my writing and takes an interest in what I have to say. As usual, I encourage you to leave comments/thoughts on the bottom of each article, and I really appreciate it when you forward my articles to friends or share them via your own social media accounts.

See you on the other side of the maternity ward!

Warm regards,
Jonno