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Deborah Cassrels was The Australian’s first Bali-based correspondent and has written extensively on refugees, politics, terrorism, crime and social justice. She was nominated for a Walkley Award in 2016 for her work on terrorism in Indonesia. Her first book, a memoir about her journalism in Indonesia, titled "Gods and Demons", was published in 2020.

A vicious cycle of terrorism in Indonesia

In December, as Indonesia’s parliament approved a controversial new criminal code, something more ominous was afoot.  ...

The disturbing spectacle of rising antisemitism

You need go no further than the inner-city Sydney Jewish Museum to fathom the horror committed...

Humanity for refugees shrivels under a failed system

Half-way into January the Federal Government is still dithering on its May election promise to abolish...

Behold the ambiguity of modern beauty pageants

In today’s era of climate change and geopolitical and social upheaval post the #MeToo movement, the...

Journalism in the jaws of PR

When I started out in journalism about a half a century ago, press handouts were scanned...

How to bag an arts grant: Professional creativity has become a privilege of the politicised ‘elite’

Create NSW, a state government agency that promotes the arts and culture, in the past three...

A Keystone Cops revival, but nobody’s laughing

Whatever your thoughts on the Heard/Depp defamation trial, one thing is sure: it was an unedifying...

Trouble in the stratasphere

How many times have you had the sneaking suspicion your strata scheme is not entirely above...

The bizarre inequity of Australia’s refugee policies

Who hasn’t balked at the graphic imagery of bloodied, traumatised Ukrainian residents trapped under Russian bombardment...

Down and out in the eyes of Big Brother

A friend was snapped recently by a NSW mobile phone traffic detection camera driving while holding...