When I was at University many years ago, doing my B.A., the Arts Faculty ran a great initiative for a semester in which the women's toilets on the first floor were open for graffiti. Women could write whatever they liked, uncensored -- and of course there were a few verses in the vein of"here I sit, broken hearted", but the vast majority of conversation was uplifting, supportive and empowering. I didn't understand how important it was then. I hadn't yet really been test

There's a kid in your class who has a brand new pencil case full of different coloured pens, pencils, highlighters, markers, crayons -- every kind of writing implement imaginable. He dresses well, has a great home life, and you know that if he loses one of his pens his mother will buy him a new one that same day. There's another kid who has only one pen. It's a beautiful pen that his grandmother gave him before his parents moved their family away from her. A fountain pen t

Today is the anniversary of the Mabo decision, in which the High Court of Australia decided that terra nullius should never have been applied to Australia. Eddie had fought a long, exhausting and divisive battle for his people in the Torres Strait and for indigenous people throughout Australia. This decision meant that native title was recognised under law -- title that now encompasses more than 1 million square kilometres of land. Eddie did not live to see this decision.