September 14 – 20, 2019
News
Comment
Comment
Shaminda Kanapathi
From Manus Island to Port Moresby
“As the government of Papua New Guinea has vowed to remove all refugees from Manus Island, most of us who have been detained there for almost seven years are being transported to Port Moresby. It is a big change for us: disturbing and disruptive in many ways. I am in the Granville Motel. It has been fully booked for the Manus refugees. We have to use our boat ID numbers here too for all our needs. Our identity continues to be stripped away from us in PNG.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
The politics of integrity
“The Morrison government is running away from a national integrity commission at breakneck speed. Its reluctance is made all the starker by its unrestrained willingness to seize on the embarrassment caused to its Labor opponents by Australia’s toughest anti-corruption body, the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption.”
Letters, Poem & Editorial
Culture
Profile
The high notes of ACO violinist Satu Vänskä
As the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s principal violin, Satu Vänskä teases astonishing music from her centuries-old instrument. But away from the stage, Vänskä’s musical tastes march to a very different beat.
Theatre
Avalanche: A Love Story
In Avalanche: A Love Story, Maxine Peake’s powerful and personal performance charts the pain and yearning – but also the wry humour – found in writer Julia Leigh’s account of undergoing IVF.
Portrait
AFL player and coach Danny Frawley
“Frawley made the decision to speak publicly about his mental health. About his anxiety, depression, the weeks of sleepless despair. In life, he was praised for it. It is strange that we might undermine that legacy by speaking so indirectly about his death.”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
ACTIVISM
“I am a nerd. It gives me the time and energy to research all the boring facts.”
The teenage climate activist explains to Naomi Klein how to become a global household name by the age of 16.
SCIENCE
“I’m just a poor, humble bloke with a year 12 education, but I’m prepared to accept what our scientists are telling us.”
The water resources minister, who earns more than $200,000 a year, backs away from earlier comments that he has “no idea” whether climate change is man-made.
MEMBERSHIP
“If I can’t recall, I cannot be an active member of that council, can I?”
The Liberal MP tells Andrew Bolt she is unable to remember being on two provincial councils of the China Overseas Exchange Association between 2003 and 2015, as Chinese government documents indicate.
HORSE RACING
“I can’t wait to come to Melbourne, and I can’t wait to come to the Melbourne Cup. I’ve heard so much about the race.”
The singer announces that she will perform at the 2019 Melbourne Cup, continuing a long-held tradition for divisive American celebrities.
GAMES
“[It’s] a fun new take on the game that creates a world where women have an advantage often enjoyed by men.”
The game-maker announces the release of Ms Monopoly, a version of Monopoly in which women will collect $240 when they pass “Go” while male players collect the usual $200.
WELFARE
“I am really puzzled by the level of opposition to the government trying to tackle a problem of drug addiction for people who are not in work.”
The prime minister admits to being flummoxed by a national display of empathy and compassion.
