Misha Schubert
Misha Schubert is The Age's federal political correspondent, responsible for covering national political events from the Canberra press gallery. Her journalism career began in 1998, when she parlayed a fledgling public profile as a young republican at the Constitutional Convention into a job as a general news reporter at The Australian, going on to become its Victorian political reporter. In 2001-02 she moved to New York, acquiring a masters degree from Columbia University's journalism school to complement her BA from RMIT. Relocating to Canberra in 2002, she covered Indigenous affairs and health for two years before joining The Age in her current role. On parliamentary sitting days, she writes a political gossip column, House on the Hill. She is also a regular panellist on ABC television's Insiders program. In the community sector, Misha was founding chairperson of Girlstorey, a drop-in centre for young women in Melbourne, and is a life member and former president of YWCA Victoria. She is an elected director of the National Press Club.
What a reconciled Australia looks like to me.
Equality. Pride. Dignity. Justice. Respect. These will be the hallmarks of a reconciled Australia.
Our ambitions in this quest should be vast, our goals heady. A society in which every indigenous child has the same prospects as other kids. A society where all citizens have an equal chance at being healthy, completing an education, having a safe home and a satisfying job, and chasing their dreams over the course of a long life. A society that has no truck with racism and violence.
To do this, we must reconcile ourselves to our own past.
Acknowledge mistakes. Heal the wounds.
We must close the gulf between indigenous and non-indigenous life expectancy, health, education and employment. Do more, faster with practical initiatives. Support indigenous leaders to forge change. Foster greater understanding, insight, and opportunity.
Misha Schubert
