Spring Encounters 2026: Against the Fear Machines

Organised by The Alliance for Praxis Research | Natalie Osborne | School for Social Change

Our present period is often described as one of ‘polycrisis’ - that is, a time in which crises and catastrophes across multiple domains occur simultaneously, interacting with each other, and making each crisis worse, or harder to deal with. In so-called australia, the far-right is responding to the polycrisis by escalating their political organising efforts, and by trying to dominate the discourse around what’s causing the polycrisis, and what can be done about it. 

How can those of us concerned about the far-right resurgence better understand the social, economic, environmental, political, and cultural issues we are currently facing? How can we better equip ourselves to contend with the underlying causes of the polycrisis, and to develop alternative ideas, politics, and practices more consistent with social and environmental justice?

In this series of encounters, we will explore a range of pressing issues that shape the crises of the present moment and that are being weaponised by the far-right resurgence in so-called australia. We seek to broadening our understanding of how we got here so we can better equip ourselves to counter the normalisation of far-right ideologies, and continue to organise and contribute to more just futures. 

Events will start 6:15 pm sharp!

We don't have funding so it would be great for people to either donate or bring snacks to share :)

We are aiming for 30-40 minutes intro+talk followed by a 1 hour discussion.

We are hoping to broadcast the event on radio. Keep an eye on our social media for updates.

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Communicating across and beyond difference

Date: 23 September, 6:10 pm - 8 pm

People: Natalie Osborne (Radio Reversal and Griffith University) and Anisa (School for Social Change)

Place: Balam Balam Place (room 305)

Building bridges in a context where they’ve been constantly on fire seems to be one of our biggest challenges this decade. Encountering different people, experiences and opinions face to face seems rare these days, and it's exacerbated by how social interactions are reduced to digital environments, majorly controlled by far-right aligned big tech companies. In this same context, emotions like fear of the other are being manipulated as political tools for polarisation.

In this encounter, we hear from Natalie Osborne and Anisa and discuss how to reframe conflict as a way for negotiating differences and building coalition, particularly in a polarised environment where it takes so much more effort to compromise.

Imagining masculinities otherwise

Date: 7 October, 6:10 pm - 8 pm

People: Gabriela Loureiro (La Trobe University) in conversation with Zheng Chin (APR)

Place: Balam Balam Place (room 304)

Entangled with the resurgence of far-right politics in so-called australia and globally is the rise of the ‘manosphere’. This process is increasing anxieties about the status and wellbeing of men, the romanticisation of traditional binary gender roles, and intensifying transphobic discourse and politics. In an attempt to secure cis-hetero-patriarchal domination this troubling wave has been increasingly attacking some of the emancipatory cultural shifts and rights hard-fought by feminist and LGBTQIA+ movements.

This encounter, featuring Gabriela Loureiro (La Trobe University) explores how the crisis in contemporary masculinity is understood by different political actors and through different ideologies, and how they operate to radicalise boys and young men into far-right politics and orientations to gender and sexuality. The discussion will also consider alternative models and imaginaries of masculinity available to boys and men, ones consistent with mutual flourishing and collective liberation across the gender spectrum.

The housing crisis?

Date: 22 October, 6:10 pm - 8 pm

People: Lucia Valentini (RMIT) and Alistair Sisson (UNSW)

Place: Balam Balam Place (room 305)

Across so-called australia there is a crisis in housing affordability and housing access. Here, the politics and economics of housing, particularly home ownership, have been shaped by settler-colonialism and assumptions about: what it takes to ‘secure’ a place for our lives, the disciplinary function of debt, the commodification of housing, economic policies that incentivise investment, government disinvestment in public housing, and the positioning of housing as a vehicle for wealth generation. Far-right movements, of course, offer different explanations for housing precarity, blaming immigrants, environmental regulations, or planning constraints.

In this encounter, together with Lucia Valentini (RMIT) and Alistair Sisson (UNSW), we will critically unpack the nature of the housing crisis in so-called australia. We will discuss how that crisis is being weaponised by far-right movements, and what alternatives exist that can move us closer towards housing and dwelling justice.

Accelerationism and AI: existential dreaming

Date: 4 November, 6:10 pm - 8 pm

People: Artificial Intelligence Safety Symposiums (AISS)

Place: To be confirmed (Melbourne CBD)

The rise of AI, particularly algorithmic decision-making and surveillance systems and large language models, have had an enormous impact on many sectors - governance, social services, media, arts, education, policing - in recent years. The vast majority of the growth we’ve seen has been driven by a small number of companies, configured by capitalism and, in many cases, by right-wing politics and values. Fundamental to this escalating expansion of AI tools is the development of data centres, resulting in a range of land use, environmental, and social impacts for communities.

In this encounter, we discuss with AISS the links between these forms of AI, data centres, and right-wing political movements and ideologies. We will explore and draw attention to alternative approaches to technology that are democratically driven, accountable, transparent, and rooted in commitments to advancing social, environmental, and economic justice.

Melbourne, australia’s ‘crime capital’?

Date: 18 November, 6:10 pm - 8 pm

People: Emma Russell (La Trobe University), Megan McElhone (Monash University), Tully O’Neill (La Trobe University).

Place: To be confirmed (Melbourne CBD)

Australia has, in recent-years, been undergoing a prison expansion boom; in fact, despite decreasing crime rates, our rate of imprisonment is greater than that of Canada, the UK, and Western Europe. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People face vastly disproportionate rates of policing and incarceration, and may well be the most incarcerated population in the world. This prison boom is supported by media and politician-driven moral panics about ‘youth crime epidemics’, racialised ‘gangs’, and the criminalisation of poverty. A relatively new part of this discursive landscape is the rise of ‘crime control influencers’, who have played a significant role in framing Melbourne as the ‘crime capital’ of Australia, and driving support for increased carceral control.

This encounter, a conversation with Emma Russell, Megan McElhone, Tully O’Neill and us, will take a critical look at media landscapes, crime control influencers and celebrity ‘crime crusaders’, the role that social media plays in the manufacturing of Melbourne as Australia’s ‘crime capital’, and explore possible alternatives to the expansion of the policing and prison system.

Building multicultural solidarities

Date: 2 December, 6:10 pm - 8 pm

People: Ash Alam (University of Melbourne)

Place: To be confirmed (Melbourne CBD)

This continent has, since time immemorial, been a diverse place and home to people of multiple cultures and languages. The period beginning with settler-colonialism has been marked by white anxieties, paranoia, and desires to sustain white possession and a white australia. The politics and practices of white supremacy on this continent have included policies supporting the dispossession, displacement, and genocide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the White Australia Policy, off-shore detention, and more; today, we observe it, as well, in the anti-immigration stance of extreme right movements and mainstream political parties.

In conversation with Ash Alam (University of Melbourne), we will explore contemporary expressions of racism, white supremacy, and anti-migration sentiment and politics in so-called australia. Together with the audience, we will discuss how the right mobilises fear of the racialised other to weaken class-based coalitions, and how we can build multicultural solidarities.