April 2 – 8, 2022 | The Saturday Paper

News

‘Actually a Moslem’: The true story of Morrison’s ruthless preselection

Karen Middleton After 15 years without answers, a series of statutory declarations finally reveals how race and allegations of ‘criminal’ activities were used in Scott Morrison’s controversial preselection.

News

Walking towards freedom

Mehdi Ali The author spent nine years of his life in detention, most recently at Park Hotel. Now he is in America, experiencing freedom he had only imagined, and wishes his friends were also free.

News

The devaluation of Disabled lives

Georgia Cranko Ann Marie Smith died in abject circumstances, at the hands of her carer in the middle-class Adelaide suburb of Kingston Park. Her killing raises questions about the way our society treats the Disabled, in life and in death.

News

Lismore inundated again in ‘never-ending’ floods

Rick Morton As further floods tear through southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, communities are exhausted, devastated and searching for answers.

News

Tracking the Coalition’s attacks on green energy infrastructure

Mike Seccombe For nearly a decade the Coalition has been attempting to dismantle the country’s green energy infrastructure – first trying to defund it, then hollowing it out, then using it to fund fossil fuel projects. Through all this, careful drafting has made it almost impossible for the government to fully implement its plans.

Locals walk through the demolished Trostyanets town centre in Ukraine

World

Russia ‘scaling back’ yet shelling of Ukraine continues

Jonathan Pearlman Australia and New Zealand concerned at China’s deal with Solomon Islands. The Taliban renege on education for women. Shanghai introduces split lockdown over rising Covid-19 cases.

Comment

Raina MacIntyre
Why Australia’s daily Covid cases are on the rise again

“If you do not fill your glass with water from the toilet bowl, then during this pandemic think of the air you breathe in the same way. Be aware that shared indoor air is the greatest risk for transmission, and take simple steps to reduce that risk.”

Comment

Paul Bongiorno
Stewing in their own juices

“In fact, the Coalition is in such a spiral of self-destruction that earlier this year Labor pulled back on its social media spend. The explanation was simple: ‘The government is doing all the work for us. ’”

Comment

John Hewson
The power behind the drone

“The priority is simply winning. And it is not even about winning to lead, it is about getting the position and power but with little or no commitment to creating a meaningful future for our nation and its people. ”

Letters, Cartoon & Editorial

Cartoon

Read

Editorial
Petrol money

This is the budget of an oblivious friend offering at the last minute to chuck in a little bit for petrol money. On every possible front it is a reminder of how little the Morrison government has done in office. On some points, there is a late attempt to fix things – not with any meaningful reform, just a bit of cash. For others, there isn’t even that.

Letters

Changes to NDIS

I am writing to clarify some inaccuracies contained in Rick Morton’s article “Age games” (March 26–April 1). The article misinterprets recent NDIS tender documents and policy settings relating …

Zelensky, the poster boy for democracy

Mark Edele (“How the war in Ukraine will end”, March 26–April 1) explores Vladimir Putin’s cleft-stick situation and the possible ways the Ukraine war could end. Putin’s …

Culture

Georgia “Maq” McDonald, Sarah Thompson and Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich of Camp Cope.

Profile

Band Camp Cope

Brodie Lancaster Melbourne punk trio Camp Cope bring a hard-won sense of perspective to their new album.

Film

Encanto

Ruby Hamad Disney’s Oscar-winning animation Encanto expertly interrogates the pressure on immigrants to serve communities.

Architecture

The Garden House

Naomi Stead The Garden House is a radical reappraisal of architecture as environmental healing.

Visual Art

Radical Slowness

Tony Magnusson A Newcastle exhibition asks us to step back into the natural rhythms of time.

The Influence

Lisy Kane

Maddee Clark For videogame producer Lisy Kane, encountering the first Mass Effect was a game changer.

Fiction

Five anecdotes

“A young Bicycle Courier who, one night after a Big Bash match, for a prank shimmied up a flagpole and stole the national flag and who later – the judge recorded, half-smiling – while profoundly intoxicated wore this flag as a summer skirt running like a lunatic through the foyer of a luxury hotel shouting Death to Foreigners!, was unexpectedly gang-tackled to the marble floor by a group of environment and development conference delegates who, as it happened, were just at that moment on their way out to dinner.”

Wayne Macauley

Books

Jane Rawson
A History of Dreams

Hannah Gadsby
Ten Steps to Nanette

Lloyd Jones
The Fish

Life

Food

Mustard fruits (mostarda di frutta)

David Moyle

Science

Creating software for the many, not the few

Bron Willis A world-first research project aims to build software tools that respond to myriad human traits and demographic factors, rather than just those that dominate.

Life

Remembering the tastes of Mini Bombay

Krati Garg Unable to visit her family in Indore, India, due to the pandemic, the memory of childhood treats and speciality foods nourish a young woman living far from home.

Sport

Beveridge v Morris in the court of public opinion

Martin McKenzie-Murray The outburst by Luke Beveridge illustrates the problem when a coach’s duty of care to his players comes up against the media’s pursuit of information in the ‘public interest’.

Puzzles

The Cryptic

$link to this week\'s crossword$

Crossword No. 393

The Quiz

1. Excluding Vatican City and San Marino City, four national capitals have “City” in their name. Name any two.

2. Which film won this year’s Best Picture Oscar?

3. In Greek mythology, which half-bird and half-woman creatures lured sailors to destruction by the sweetness of their song?

4. Sonntag is the German name for which day of the week?

5. In which American city was the Motown music label founded?

6. Dove Lake sits at the foot of which Tasmanian mountain?

7. Craig Bellamy recently coached his 500^th consecutive game at which NRL club?

8. Name the new premier of South Australia.

9. Which iconic Australian song features the lines: “… don't say you've gone/ Say you've knocked off for a smoko/ And you'll be back later on.” (Bonus points for naming the singer–songwriter of this song and the artist who had a hit song of the same name in 1986.)

10. Which model of Porsche shares its name with a type of pepper?

Click through for answers.

Quotes

Farewells

“They stated plain, public support for me while the mob was in its full fury.”

Christian PorterThe former attorney-general thanks Peter Dutton and Peter van Onselen for their support. He used his parliamentary valedictory speech to warn of the risks of China and being accused of a historic rape.

Film

“I am a work in progress.”

Will Smith

The actor apologises for slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. If anyone doubts his sincerity, the statement was issued just after he won the Oscar for best actor.

Climate

“... these were no ordinary floods.”

Scott Morrison

The prime minister addresses the second flood to hit the east coast in as many months. The point here is that Morrison is ordinary and only addresses what is ordinary.

Media

“To listen to our national broadcaster or much of the media elite is to hear about a uniquely racist, selfish, slavish and monochromatic country.”

Lachlan MurdochThe chosen son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch addresses the Institute of Public Affairs. His company is working hard across the globe to make sure there’s nothing unique about it.

Health

“I mean, I’ve got things to do.”

Matthew GuyThe Victorian opposition leader expresses frustration that he must isolate after testing positive for Covid-19. It’s not clear what Lobster Cave’s policy is on late cancellations.

Disasters

“... there is now an expectation that state and federal government will just step up and pick up the pieces.”

Shane StoneThe coordinator-general of the National Recovery and Resilience Agency complains about the expectations of flood victims. There is nothing as greedy as a family who’ve lost everything.