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Tanveer Ahmed

August 2024

Anti-migration protesters during riots outside the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, England, at the weekend. The hotel is being used as an asylum hotel.

Populist surge makes it essential to spread gains of migration

Conflict over migration is now breaking out into the open in Western nations. But excessive limits would have a high cost too.

July 2024

Pro-Palestine protests outside Victoria’s state parliament in November. Gaza has become a meta issue for young Muslims.

Our larrikin egalitarianism is more appealing than tribalism

This is another critical time for this nation’s multiculturalism. Anthony Albanese must lead the case against sectarian identity politics that might unsettle it.

May 2024

The huge growth in disability provisions for high school students, a large chunk of which is ADHD diagnoses, is skewed towards elite private schools.

Gentrified mental health has undermined access for the seriously ill

The high costs and limitations of access are unquestionably privileging the privileged.

  • Updated

April 2024

The aftermath of a psychotic attack: floral tributes build up at Bondi Junction.

Drugs and mental illness a fatal mix

It is not uncommon for mental health patients to fall off the radar of authorities. But the dangers explode when sufferers come into contact with illegal drugs.

January 2024

Bill Shorten has restructured the NDIS to deal with autism separately.

The psychological welfare state is another front in the culture wars

Workers’ compensation and disability claims systems built for physical injuries are now driven by subjective and costly troubles of the mind.

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December 2023

Pallavi Sharda.

My parents thought I was studying. Confessions of a Bollywood star

A high achieving “proud north-westie” from Melbourne, Pallavi Sharda went to Mumbai alone to see if she could make it as a performer.

November 2023

This bizarre synergy is often called the “Unholy alliance” among critics.

Diaspora politics Jews perfected is being turned against Israel

More than any other conflict, the public relations battle of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is fought through international diasporas.

October 2023

Gut bacteria, psychedelics and the future of mental health treatments

This accessible book looks at how our brains work and evaluates hyped treatments for our most common psychological problems.

Many will vote No. They will do so not out of ignorance or prejudice, but because they abhor racial essentialism.

Don’t be surprised if ethnic communities vote No

If polls are correct about the triumph of the No vote, expect large numbers of multicultural voters to be part of the revolt against establishment bodies.

September 2023

The government is playing a straight bat when asked about the future of private health, reiterating instead it supports the industry to the tune of $6.9 billion a year.

Aspiration for private health a test of Labor’s centrist credentials

The private health industry may be a bellwether regarding how well the government can retain its centrist reputation with the aspirational left.

August 2023

An eagle owl holds a little dead bird in his beak at his enclosure in a park in Essen, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

A fascinating insight into the world of owls (yes, owls)

A new book by expert Jennifer Ackerman reveals some surprising characteristics of these most enigmatic birds.

July 2023

Intergenerational tensions are begining to make their mark in China too.

Youthful disillusionment is China’s biggest soft power export

In a society with few outlets for active protest, ‘lying flat’ is the most effective way of standing up to authority and powerful expectations.

June 2023

The estimated cost of mental health absenteeism for business in Australia is around 20 billion dollars.

In a tight labour market, workplace wellbeing is no lazy add-on

Showing empathy towards employee mental health has become a necessary part of business management.

May 2023

Bill Shorten’s reboot is a courageous step to reforming the scheme towards sustainability.

NDIS has made autism label the diagnostic elephant in the room

I might be a psychiatrist with an expertise in the condition, but families come armed with symptoms to guarantee lifelong government funding.

March 2023

Paul Hogan’s famous throw another shrimp on the barbie campaign.

Human skills are Australia’s export advantage in an AI world

We should be advertising Australian education as a kind of finishing school in social graces for many ambitious Asians.

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Children are rarely allowed to play with other children without adult oversight.

Are we making our kids sad by playing with them?

As a society, we have been conducting a play-deprivation experiment with our children and the results are in.

February 2023

The demonstrations on Australia Day show that tensions are starting to rise over the Voice.

The Voice is national group therapy - not the help that’s needed

The new body may be a way for us all to cope with endemic problems. But it is not going to offer anything new or practical.

Dr Ted Cassidy has set up psychedelic treatment rooms in Sydney.

So MDMA, psilocybin are medicines – now what?

Like medicinal cannabis before it, psychedelics have won TGA approval via lobbying by consumer and business groups, well before there are scientific guidelines for clinical use.

Pharmacists now enjoy a limited prescribing role but harbour greater ambition.

Medicare is being disrupted and doctors are under attack

The turf war between medical and allied health professions is a symptom of Australia’s public health system having been dreamt up in very different times.

January 2023

A protest in Iran over the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini.

Why there is no Facebook revolution on the way for Iran

The history of Middle East revolts shows that social media is no substitute for the emergence of a genuine civil society.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/tanveer-ahmed-p4yvjs