May 13 – 19, 2017
News
Deradicalising Indonesian terrorists
Amir Abdillah helped kill and maim dozens of people but the now-free convicted terrorist says he’s done waging holy war. With many fellow jihadists being released from jail, the spotlight is on efforts to deradicalise them.
Scott Morrison budgets on turn-in from the world
As the treasurer squares up for a fight with the banks over a new levy, his budget finds its unifying theme in making an example of foreign money.
Homelessness after cyclone Debbie
In the aftermath of cyclone Debbie’s floodwaters, the northern New South Wales town of Murwillumbah is suffering a housing crisis, with homelessness rife.
Did Max Castor disappear deliberately?
The father of a Swedish man missing in Victoria since 2004 believes his son vanished by choice. So is Max Castor still alive?
FBI probe lands its director in firing line
Security agencies get $321 million budget boost; Just the start for Macron; Jakarta governor jailed for two years.
Comment
Comment
Michael West
Multinationals’ brazen tax avoidance
“American Express is the archetypal multinational tax avoider. It conducts ‘related party transactions’ with other Amex entities in a tax haven. Via these transactions, profits are siphoned offshore before tax can be paid. It produces very low profits, or losses, in Australia. This is typical of multinationals – the less they make in profit here, the less they pay in tax. The standard corporate tax rate in Jersey is zero and the rate for financial services companies is 10 per cent. The corporate rate in Australia is 30 per cent.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
Turnbull’s budget turnaround
“One of Malcolm Turnbull’s inner sanctum was upbeat as journalists pored over the details of this week’s budget. ‘Labor’s got nowhere to go,’ he said. Judging from his demeanour in the Parliament House lock-up, Treasurer Scott Morrison shared this view. Or, more accurately, hopes this view was shared by his colleagues and, most importantly, the voters in coming weeks’ opinion polls. Make no mistake: Morrison’s fate and his prime minister’s hinge on just how well received is their spectacular political pirouette. ”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Pinchgut Opera’s Erin Helyard’s emotional engagement with Baroque music
Erin Helyard’s fortepiano performances referencing Schubert’s sexuality and syphilis reveal the harpsichord virtuoso and leader of Pinchgut Opera’s strong belief in historical context and personal experience informing musical expression.
Film
Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’
Jordan Peele’s satirical horror Get Out fails to frighten by addressing America’s race politics on the surface rather than probing its subconscious fears.
Portrait
My grandmother at 109
“Her heart is old now, and tired. I imagine the physical process of the blood coursing through atria and ventricles, the ageing heart muscle clenching and relaxing, pumping the blood on the long journey through the veins and tributaries of her body. I imagine the beats becoming sluggish, slower, with the constant effort of motion: expand and contract; breathe in and breathe out.”
Food
Orecchiette with cauliflower and anchovy
“There are various techniques to achieve the perfect, ear-like shape, with its smooth indentation and the cracked surface to hold sauce, but I won’t go into them here. The one I recommend involves the corner store. The shape of the pasta is a perfect foil for sauces, but in this recipe I’ve gone for something a little bit drier.”
Books
Life
Fashion
Fashion labels Ten Pieces and SZN
The desire for a stripped back ‘uniform’ may speak to a catastrophic future but, it’s more about saving the present by simplifying choices and consuming less.
The Quiz
Quotes
POLITICS
“I gave the treasurer the applause that I thought he deserved.”
The former prime minister explains his tepid reaction to the budget. In fairness, it can be hard to hear clapping of any kind from way out there on the backbench.
BIGOTRY
“I went to the Cheesecake Shop late the previous afternoon, selected a soft cake so that it was least likely to cause any physical injury.”
The former farmer reveals he hit Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce in the face with a lemon meringue pie because he is scared of same-sex marriage. Based on available evidence, he is also afraid of smiling and speaking at more than eight words a minute.
WELFARE
“If somebody is drug dependent, they have a problem ... this is a way of helping them.”
The prime minister commends drug testing for welfare recipients. Because enforced hardship has always been the best way to deal with addiction.
MEDIA
“I think people realise that you can live without reading Fairfax newspapers. I think it’s a better way to lead your life, that would be my advice.”
The minister for immigration celebrates the proposed loss of more than 100 journalists at Fairfax Media. Certainly, it makes his job of perpetuating human rights abuses that little bit easier.
FOOD
“Students can be told it’s okay to fellate your boyfriend three times a week, but because of health requirements you can only have a sausage roll once every semester.”
The New South Wales MLC complains of guidelines to combat childhood obesity. He is on the parliament’s privileges committee, but this does seem outside his remit.
DEATHS
“It’s all been bloody marvellous.”
The ABC broadcaster sends his final tweet. Colvin died from an autoimmune disease he contracted while on assignment in Rwanda in 1994. He was 65.
