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Meanjin, Vol. 70, No. 4 edited by Sally Heath

by
February 2012, no. 338

Meanjin, Vol. 70, No. 4 edited by Sally Heath

Melbourne University Publishing, $24.99 pb, 208 pp

Meanjin, Vol. 70, No. 4 edited by Sally Heath

by
February 2012, no. 338

The current issue of Meanjin is a forthright one. In her editorial, Sally Heath singles out the contributions of Marcia Langton and Darren Siwes, and with good reason: their work typifies the issue. Siwes has given the journal its cover, and his choice of image – a coin depicting an Indigenous head of state in the year 2041 – makes its point. The cornerstone of the issue is, however, ‘Reading the Constitution out Loud’, a thorough and level-headed essay by Langton on Julia Gillard’s promise to hold a referendum on the recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Constitution. Langton, a member of the government’s inquiry panel, whose matter-of-fact style leads the way for the rest of theissue, asks, ‘how can we sustain the opportunity for a referendum […] in circumstances that are not riven by “dog whistle” issues in the racialist Australian politics that arise with each electoral season?’ The question cannot be ignored, nor easily answered.

William Heyward reviews 'Meanjin, Vol. 70, No. 4' edited by Sally Heath

Meanjin, Vol. 70, No. 4

edited by Sally Heath

Melbourne University Publishing, $24.99 pb, 208 pp

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