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Behind the Lines

Level playing fields

When it comes to many of the social issues facing Australians, the goal posts might have shifted a little, but often the playing field is still uneven.

For First Nations people the data released in March showed that only 5 out of the 19 targets from the Closing the Gap report are on track to be met.

February's gender pay gap report by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency showed that, on average, women were still paid $18,000 less than men, and the disturbing prevalence of domestic violence stories in the news demonstrates that this is a troubling problem that is not going away.

Text reads, 'Australians in Winter'. One person is wearing long pants, a jumper and sunglasses, labelled, 'Dressing for the outdoors.' Another person is rugged up in extra clothing, including a beanie, scarf and gloved, and labelled, 'Dressing for inside the house.'

Baby, It's Cold Inside

Jess Harwood, Instagram,

Text reads, 'Terror Australis.' Against a black and grey scrawl, a red silhouetted person raises their fist over a cowering red silhouetted person.

Terror Australis

Alan Moir, Nine Papers,

Text reads, 'Lest we forget.' Two sets of graveyards are labelled 'Men and women who gave their lives for their country,' and 'Women who lost their lives because men got angry.'

Lest We Forget

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

Parents watch a TV that says, 'How do we get men to treat women with respect?' In a darkened room, their child searches on a computer, 'How to make girls do whatever you want them to do.'

Upstairs, Downstairs

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

A female-symbol, upright, ends in a hand which grips a male symbol. The male's extended fist is covered in blood. At the base of the painting are many overlapping female symbols.

Untitled

David Rowe, The Australian Financial Review,

A long First Dog on the Moon comic points out the gender pay gap with small cartoon animals. In the final square, a group of men decide that there's nothing they can do about it.

Gender Pay Gap

First Dog on the Moon, The Guardian Australia,

A child looks at a phone. From the phone, many red lines connect many different social media logos, and graphic imagery like guns, porn and targets. This leads to a line of yellow police tape.

Antisocial Media

Megan Herbert, Nine Papers,

An eye-testing sign reads, 'L G B T Q I A', followed by scrawl. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese strains and says, 'I can only see the bottom line…'

Albo's Blind Spot

Jenny Coopes, The Justinian,

On a map of the Northern Territory are two large criss-crossed band-aids labelled 'Alice Springs.'

Band-Aid

Johannes Leak, The Australian,

Text reads, 'Another black death in custody.' A First Nations woman says, 'My husband is a very sick man and needs his heart tablets for blood pressure.' A correctional officer says, 'No I can't allow them in, our nurse will take care of him.'

Another Death in Custody

Danny Eastwood, Koori Mail,

Text reads, '16 years on…' On a cliff, a white family read books labelled 'Australian History.' On the other side of a gap is another cliff, where a First Nations woman with a child holds up a book that says, 'The Truth about Australian History.' She says, 'It's one of the gaps that's been hardest to close…'

Don't Mind the Gap

Fiona Katauskas, The Guardian Australia,

A First Nations mother gives birth. A doctor holds the baby. A police officer says, 'Guilty until proven innocent or something … scissors!' Beside them, another First Nations baby is in a small cage.

Tough on Children

Kamsani Bin Salleh (Kambarni), Instagram,

In a six-panel comic, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stands in front of Uluru as the sun sets. He says, 'Let me explain to you all what Makarrata means. It means coming together after a struggle. So let's all come together for a good old chinwag! Chew the fat, pat each other on the back, sign an NDA or two… and sit around a campfire sharing war stories about the campaign and where we'd like our reconciliation journey to go next, in an entirely non-binding fashion… anyone?'

Lost in Translation

Jon Kudelka, The Saturday Paper,

Retired MP Linda Burney walks away with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is naked except for a large hat and low-hanging underwear. Behind him are scraps of fabric reading, 'Voice, truth, treaty.' He says, 'Oh well – at least I'll be remembered for having had a good crack.' Text reads, 'Rock bottom.'

Rock Bottom

Johannes Leak, The Australian,

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