Begging in public places, and how to support the next wave of artists and performers

Across Australia, the laws around begging vary from state to state. In Victoria - where begging is illegal - its become an issue of public debate, following an inquest into the death of a Melbourne woman who was forced by her abusive partner to beg for food, cigarettes, and money. A Victorian coroner didn't criticise police, but said officers responding to complaints about her begging seemed to treat it as an individual issue rather than considering it in a broader context. And that's really the heart of it. Begging isn't just about someone asking for spare change ... it's a visible symptom of much deeper social problems. Thalia Anthony is a Professor in the Faculty of Law at University of Technology Sydney and Deborah Di Natale is CEO of the Council to Homeless Persons and a director on the board of Homelessness Australia.

The federal government is pushing local content quotas, forcing big streaming platforms to invest in Australian-made shows. Yet fewer Year 12 students are choosing creative arts subjects like drama, music, dance and visual arts. Can you blame them? For years, it’s been all about STEM, with arts degrees now costing nearly $55,000 and many universities making cuts to creative programs. So, are we doing enough to support the next wave of artists and performers? And what do we lose — as a country and a culture — if we don’t? Dr John Nicholas Saunders is a Lecturer in Education at Australian Catholic University and Chair of the National Advocates for Arts Education and Madeleine Dyer is a writer-director behind Colin From Accounts, Ghosts Australia and Austin.

Throughout 2025, ethicist Patrick Stokes has been unpacking the thorny topics for us in the segment Ask Aristotle. "Is it ok to lie in a memoir?", "Am I evil for not wanting to be around children?", "Is it ethical to create AI clones of people who've died?" This week, we take an opportunity to get back to basics. What sort of lessons did Aristotle actually espouse?  What are some golden rules of philosophy we can apply to our lives in 2025?