March 13 – 19, 2021
News
Comment
Comment
Lizzie O’Shea and Lucie Krahulcova
Flaws in new online safety laws
“The Online Safety Bill was introduced by the Morrison government last month with much fanfare about its mission to improve and promote the online safety of Australians. A lot of analysis of the bill has focused on its attempt to minimise harm to children online and to restrict the sharing of non-consensual images across digital platforms. The bill aims to do this by providing several new powers to the eSafety Commissioner, an office that was established in 2015. ”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
Morrison ministers MIA
“Key ministers in the political line of fire over the past two weeks will be missing in action when parliament resumes on Monday. The Morrison government, currently being held together by gum and string, is in full strategic retreat in the hope it can brazen out the crisis. But you can’t sideline an attorney-general and a defence minister on indefinite leave and it not become an obvious admission of wilful impotence and avoidance of parliamentary scrutiny. ”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
In Progress
Ursula Dubosarsky
The children’s author Ursula Dubosarsky says books can be like cats, sitting at the back of your mind demanding your attention.
Fiction
How to wait
“When I was a kid, we walked from Summer Hill to the Lebanese sweet shop in Dulwich Hill, a good 40 minutes, to be rewarded with sticky namoora, baklava and thick coffee served in silver pots. One time we took some five-year-old friends of mine, high on the promise of syrupy sweets, who then dragged their feet, close to tears, on the return journey. Once he had apologised to their parents and they had all left, he looked at me proudly and said, You are a true walker.”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
Beneficence
“The merchants of misery on Twitter accuse me of crimes against the zeitgeist.”
The Liberal member for Wentworth defends handing out dahlias to female commuters on International Women’s Day. Dahlias traditionally symbolise strength in adversity, such as a woman on her way to work having to smile politely as a strange man hands her an unsolicited flower.
Television
“What? Who is having that conversation with you?”
The master of the tell-all interview reacts to Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle’s revelation of questions from the royal family about how dark her son’s skin would be when he was born. Who could’ve guessed that a family whose wealth was made through colonial subjugation would be racist?
Solidarity
“I would lie in front of the bulldozer for any one of them because they are an incredible bunch.”
The New South Wales planning minister denies there is a culture of bullying and harassment in his office, refusing to be drawn on reports that 13 people have left in the past year. Certainly an interesting choice of words for a planning minister.
Justice
“I’m not going to indulge in other extrajudicial processes that suggest that one Australian is subject to a different legal process to any other Australian.”
The prime minister defends not seeking advice from the solicitor-general with regard to the allegation of rape against Christian Porter. Luckily our justice system also allows for every Australian to hire a defamation lawyer from a top-tier firm.
Retirement
“I never fully understood some of the scrutiny and the snarkiness and the bullying from some aspects of the media.”
The Sunrise host bids farewell to the show after eight years on air. Her departure will give Armytage more time to focus on her life’s passions: her dog, Banjo, and congratulating people for being whiter than their twin.
Humanity
“Our country doesn’t want you. Are you excited to go home?”
The Nine News reporter opens his exclusive report taking viewers on board the “secret” flight deporting New Zealanders from Australia. Who said it wasn’t possible to find someone with less regard for human suffering than the Department of Home Affairs?
