Sarah Gill
Sarah Gill is an Age columnist who has worked as a writer and a policy analyst. She is undertaking postgraduate legal studies at the University of Western Australia.
The new school year can be a time of dread for parents of kids with special needs
Sarah Gill Students with learning differences struggle in an education system that values conformity and efficiency over excellence and understanding.
Limits to media freedom hamper the fight against terrorism
![Stifling informed discourse creates](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131173143im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/12/30/7111460/Thumbnail1004227227gimyxlimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.glw2or.png1451492201814.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Sarah Gill Governments use national security concerns to blunt coverage of important issues.
Paris aftermath: Why resort to the flawed clash of civilisations narrative?
![Killed in the Saint-Denis siege ... DNA testing has confirmed that the suspected architect of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, is dead.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131173143im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/11/23/7032044/Thumbnail1002993034gl2c4yimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gl5mdm.png1448327291188.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Sarah Gill Our eagerness to cling to a simplistic narrative reflects our inability to deal with complexity in the terrorism debate and to confront our own prejudice.
Tony Abbott's fictions resonate with Europe's far right
![Tony Abbott delivers the Margaret Thatcher Lecture in London on Tuesday.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131173143im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/10/29/6970509/Thumbnail1002076959gkk9aeimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gklzj3.png1446116105678.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Sarah Gill Our former PM's reflections on his accomplishments while in high office clash markedly with reality.
Josh Frydenberg's arguments in favour of Adani mine are farcical
![Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg says there a](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131173143im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/10/20/6944474/Thumbnail1001648315gjsu9himage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gkcssb.png1445334130537.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Sarah Gill The argument that burning coal exported by the Adani mine project will deliver health benefits to the world’s poor is plain rubbish.
The way we treat women, you’d think we were at war
![Malcolm Turnbull, Michaelia Cash and Rosie Batty at Thursday's domestic violence funding announcement.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131173143im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/09/24/6875682/Thumbnail1000780907gjtpn3image.related.thumbnail.320x214.gju7hn.png1443160774194.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Sarah Gill The prevalence of violence against women makes it seem part of our cultural identity.
AFP actions at odds with death-penalty foes
![<i>Illustration: Michael Mucci</i>](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131173143im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/09/21/6866405/Thumbnail1000522588gjrf85image.related.thumbnail.320x214.gjoo64.png1442811030034.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Sarah Gill Guidelines are not enough to direct federal police through death-penalty decisions.
AFP exposes Australians to the risk of execution in foreign countries more often than you think
![Seized drugs.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131173143im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/09/07/6829014/Thumbnail1000019307gj9yzrimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gjdvu3.png1442031157488.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Sarah Gill The federal police knowingly puts Australians on drug charges at risk in countries that apply the death penalty, and it's had no impact on the global drug trade.
Marriage equality should not be put to a popular vote
![Thousands of people turn out for the same sex marriage equality rally at Queens Park on Saturday August 8, 2015 in Brisbane.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131173143im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/08/17/6774033/Thumbnail999391518giunyyimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gj0ffi.png1439017236396.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Sarah Gill Public sentiment is not always a good guide to what is right, or just, or even acceptable.
The easy answer to our problems: export them
![Desperate Rohingya migrants swim to collect food supplies dropped by a Thai army helicopter in May. Prime Minister Tony Abbott has refused to share the Rohingya humanitarian burden with ASEAN nations.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131173143im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/07/01/6653362/Thumbnail997787459ghu77cimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gi21qb.png1435705111894.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Sarah Gill Whether it's home-grown terrorists drawn to terror hot spots or humanity fleeing them, the government's modus operandi is the same.
Coal lobby seduces PM with its windy siren song
![Wind generators on the coast near Port Fairy.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131173143im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/06/24/6637441/Thumbnail997459551ghveqoimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.ghv0pr.png1435062166490.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Sarah Gill Who stands to benefit from the slander of wind power and other forms of renewable energy?
Boston bomber sentenced to death, so why has Australia gone silent?
![Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty of all charges relating to the Boston Marathon bombing and has been sentenced to death.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131173143im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/05/28/6567234/Thumbnail996537984gh1kjjimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.ghb9mo.png1432806593713.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Sarah Gill The recent decision in Boston should reminder us of how easily the capital punishment apparatus is hijacked in pursuit of a political agenda.
A journey into the heart of darkness
![A painting of Myuran Sukumaran's titled Purgotory,](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131173143im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/04/29/6487514/cl-myuran-20150429113040247991-90x60.jpg)
Sarah Gill As we confront the unfathomable divide between what is, and what should be, it's more and more tempting to find someone to blame and, paradoxically, increasingly difficult to do so.
A great wave of sadness will eventually engulf us
![According to US studies, a staggering 18 per cent of veterans meet the criteria for either PTSD or depression.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131173143im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/04/23/6469267/Thumbnail985803371mpxcyimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.1mox2p.png1429769720379.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Sarah Gill Crafted images of war give us a heroic story but they also obscure the horror of PTSD, which continues long after the battle is over.
Think outside the box: policing alone won't tackle ice
![It's not clear why](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131173143im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/04/09/6426577/Thumbnail982243081mgmmyimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.1mhad0.png1428589719664.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Sarah Gill A rational drug policy is not possible while politicians fear being seen as soft on drugs.
As Bali nine executions near, has Australia and the AFP done enough to keep our citizens off death row?
![Andrew Chan in a holding cell in 2010.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131173143im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/03/12/6343865/Thumbnail67272306138my9image.related.thumbnail.320x214.141vn6.png1426158277751.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Sarah Gill Anyone watching Indonesia's distressing and increasingly shambolic approach to the next round of executions must be desperately wishing they could just hit the rewind button, go back to a time when...