Meanjin Vol 81, No 4

Historian Mark McKenna's 'Australia in Four Referendums' looks at the recent sweep of referendum history since the momentous 1967 vote:"In 1999, we effectively told our First Nations' people that addressing the republic was more important, more urgent, and potentially more nation-defining, than their exclusion from the constitution. It has taken twenty-three years to see how wrong that decision was, and how it reflected a deeply ingrained colonial mentality from which we are still struggling to emerge today."

Darumbal/South Sea islander writer Amy McQuire writes on 'The Act of Disappearing':"We do not know how many Aboriginal women have gone 'missing' in this country... To understand the violence of silence and silencing, we must first understand what has been silenced. And to understand, we must first listen to the families of women who have disappeared, and most critically, listen to Aboriginal women. We must do so by remembering that the acts that have been perpetrated against them do not define them."

Waanyi writer Alexis Wright considers how her ancient culture has responded to ongoing destruction-and how to bear witness to the creation of a post-apocalyptic world.

Plus: Guy Rundle on the Australian Labor Party's right turn, Paul Daley on the enduring whiteness of our founding military mythology, Scott Stephens on the choked breath of public discourse, Mark Kenny on the possibility of a progressive patriotism, Bruce Pascoe wonders when "Australia can become herself", Bernard Keane makes the case for governance, Tim Hollo argues we won't know what happens next until we make it, while Anne Spargo-Ryan asks: "Will we fuck for pleasure in the apocalypse?"

Other essays from: Jo Chandler, Shannon Burns, Claire G Coleman, Lucia Osborne-Crowley, Fatima Measham, Sara Saleh, Martin Langford and Peter Craven.

Memoir from: Na'ama Carlin, Diana Blackwood and Mark E Dean.

New fiction from: Kate Ryan, SJ Finn, Gregory Day, Tina Huang and Penny Gibson.

New poetry by: Jill Jones, Eileen Chong, Stella Theocharides, Angela Gardner, Judith Beveridge, Max Lavergne, Debbie Lim, Rachael Mead, Allis Hamilton and Paul Dawson.

Reviews by: Maria Danuco, Zowie Douglas-Kinghorn, May Ngo and Ellen O'Brien.