May 8 – 14, 2021
News
Comment
Comment
James Boyce
Scott Morrison and Pentecostalism
“Commentators who have discounted the political significance of Morrison’s faith, because of his ambivalent commitment to narrowly defined ‘religious issues’, have been shown that the man himself does not do the same. Of course, there never can be a direct connection between the prime minister’s beliefs and government action. Public policy is always determined by a range of influences. Yet how a leader interprets the world and frames experience remains profoundly important.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
PM budgeting on an election
“Next Tuesday the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, will up-end 40 years of Liberal Party ideology with a budget that will hugely increase spending and create deficits as far as the eye can see. The small government, ‘trickle down’ prescriptions championed by United States President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, and zealously advocated by Australia’s conservatives right up until March 2020, will be consigned to history.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Culture
Schubert’s nightingale
To mark the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s performances of Schubert’s ‘perfect’ quintet, British poet George Szirtes explores how the work generates meaning from disruption and mortality.
Poetry
Poems by Kate Jennings
“A house, / comfortable and beautifully sequestered / with a garden, cats, cigarettes, dill pickles and gin. / Will it be home? / Can I make a home with myself? / Will it be home? / Dreams snagging and tangling my better judgement / because I know / over and over, / so well, so plaintively / once there was a way to get back home, once.”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
Politics
“I’m saying to myself, ‘Wow, these people need to read my book.’ ”
The former United States president despairs at the state of the Republican Party. Once again, a man who was almost outwitted by a pretzel he was eating is the best thing the GOP has going.
Gender
“At the start of the meeting he made a concession that he was sorry for my feelings, but it was a qualified apology. It doesn’t really mean much.”
The former Liberal staffer recounts her meeting with Scott Morrison. He is likely very sorry that she feels this way.
Court
“It is sufficient to observe at this point that he was an unreliable witness whose evidence was at times incredible.”
The judge shares her opinion of Clive Palmer’s performance in court, in a ruling over copyright infringement. Palmer was quite chuffed she thought of him as “incredible”.
Feelings
“I am a very compassionate person by nature. I will never walk away from that. But compassion takes many different forms.”
The new Home Affairs minister speaks on the possible future of the Murugappan family from Biloela, currently detained on Christmas Island. As is often observed, you can’t spell “compassionate” without also spelling “ass” – as in, “a foolish or stupid person”.
Fairness
“The publicity here was so pervasive and so prejudicial ... that it amounted to a structural defect in the proceedings.”
The attorney representing Derek Chauvin complains that the officer couldn’t get a fair trial for the murder of George Floyd. And to the degree that half the world has watched the video of his client ruthlessly killing an innocent man, that’s correct.
Crime
“I didn’t do it.”
The former rugby league star is jailed for at least three years and eight months after raping a woman in 2018. He left a taxi running outside as he committed the crime – which, for added damages, hopefully he’ll also do while in jail.
