Author Archives

Mary is a women in tech activist, a programmer, a writer, and a sometime computational linguist. She writes at puzzling.org. Her previous projects include co-founding the Ada Initiative and major contributions to the Geek Feminism blog. She's @me_gardiner on Twitter.

• Reproductive rights round-up: NSW, Vic, SA, Tas

  By Mary on 2013-11-29 • ( 28 )

  

  Fetal personhood legislation progressing through parliament in NSW while failing in South Australia. Tasmania adopts Victoria-like access to legal abortion, but the campaign to repeal part of Victoria’s abortion access heats up. And the USA demonstrates the uses to which fetal personhood can be put.

• Fetal personhood (“Zoe’s Law”) before NSW Parliament

  By Mary on 2013-09-18 • ( 20 )

  

  The stated intent of Zoe’s Law is to allow separate prosecution of injury to a fetus, following the death of Zoe Donegan (stillborn at 32 weeks gestation) in 2009 after Zoe’s mother Brodie was hit by a van. However, the bill has been introduced by an anti-abortion politician, and there are grave concerns about its potential interpretation, particularly “an unborn child is taken to be a living person”. Coalition and ALP members have been granted a conscience vote on Zoe’s law.

• Federal election minus 1 day: last minute Coalition announcements special!

  By Mary on 2013-09-06 • ( 7 )

  

  Info on certain last minute Coalition announcements: the now-rescinded opt-out Internet filter and the very much not-rescinded proposal to investigate “increasingly ridiculous research grants” by the Australian Research Council

• Federal Election minus 3 days: state surveillance and anti-terror policies

  By Mary on 2013-09-04 • ( 6 )

  

  Round 2 of officially caring about party policy: today we go a bit more niche: state surveillance, anti-terror provisions and similar, specifically whether anti-terror is used as an excuse to infringe on civil liberties and political organising.

• Federal Election minus 5 days: party policies on anti-discrimination

  By Mary on 2013-09-02

  

  I am committed to the idea that if I want election coverage to talk about policy more in the lead-up to elections, it can’t hurt to be someone who is aware of and considers policy in the lead-up to elections. There’s five days before the Federal election; what do various parties have to say about anti-discrimination?

• The 62nd Down Under Feminists Carnival

  By Mary on 2013-07-11 • ( 10 )

  

  This is the 62nd monthly Down Under Feminists Carnival. This edition of the carnival gathers together June 2013 feminist posts from writers living in Australia and New Zealand.

• Reminder: submit now for the 62nd Down Under Feminists Carnival!

  By Mary on 2013-06-28

  

  Reminder: submit now (by Jul 2 at the latest) for the 62nd Down Under Feminists Carnival! Submissions must be of posts of feminist interest by writers from Australia and New Zealand that were published in June.

• The 62nd Down Under Feminists Carnival coming to Hoyden! Submit today!

  By Mary on 2013-06-17 • ( 1 )

  

  Hoyden is welcoming the Down Under Feminists Carnival back for the fifth time in July, for its 62nd edition. You can submit June 2013 posts of feminist interest by authors in Australia or New Zealand; submissions are due on 2 July at the latest, but the earlier the better!

• Reminder: Cherchez La Femme comes to Sydney this Sunday night (April 21)

  By Mary on 2013-04-15 • ( 4 )

  

  Cherchez la Femme comes to Sydney for the first time! It’s 5pm to 8pm, Sun April 21 at the Vanguard, 42 King Street, Newtown. If you’re in Canberra, Cherchez La Femme will be held tomorrow night, Tue April 16, from 7pm at The Front Gallery & Cafe 2012 , 1 Wattle Place, Lyneham, $15 at the door.

• Life at 7: discussion thread

  By Mary on 2012-10-16 • ( 26 )

  

  The fourth pair of Life documentaries about Australian children is here: Life at 7. What do you think?