April 17 – 23, 2021
News
Comment
Comment
Richard Denniss
Coal’s fragile economics
“When Malcolm Turnbull was dumped last week from New South Wales’ Net Zero Emissions and Clean Economy advisory board as quickly as he was appointed, the move shocked many people. Turnbull was dropped by his own protégé, the state’s Environment minister, Matt Kean, and by a government in NSW that had previously seemed receptive to his brand of liberalism.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
Morrison’s delivery failures pile up
“Revenge, so the expression goes, is a dish best served cold. Six months after her ‘humiliation’ by the prime minister and ‘bullying’ by Australia Post’s chairman, Christine Holgate gave ice-cold vent to her fury. And while the former chief executive of the nation’s mail service came to the senate inquiry into her demise attired in the white livery of a suffragette, gender discrimination was far from the whole story.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Thai mural master Phaptawan Suwannakudt
Thai–Australian artist Phaptawan Suwannakudt has been challenging norms throughout her distinguished career, which began when her famous father taught her to paint.
In Progress
Jane Harrison
Muruwari writer Jane Harrison is best known for her award-winning play Stolen, but her latest project is morphing through several different literary forms.
Fiction
Hard rubbish
“We were grateful for a place to stay, and the house-sitting duties were few and easy (water the plants, feed the fish). The house belonged to a friend of my partner’s younger sister, May, so we regarded it as older siblings might, giving certain decor a pass – the hanging seashells, the excessive macramé – and noting with pride the abundance of the veggie garden, which put our own to shame. As she handed us the keys, May pointed out the FOR SALE sign across the road and told us the happy family that lived there had not been happy. “But he’s in jail now,” she said, as if that fixed things. ”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
Health
“Covid19 has killed free speech … Virtue signalling dominates truth. The West is finished.”
The Australian’s Washington correspondent sings the siren song of the disaffected white male. All those desperate for relevance who hear it are powerless to resist its allure.
Employment
“Other businesses would have just gone, ‘Mate, it’s not tenable.’ I offered to resign at the start, and they said, ‘Nah.’ ”
The Victoria Cross recipient recounts the reaction from his Seven bosses after he was accused of committing war crimes, which he denies. Apparently it’s easier to get fired from Australia Post than from Seven.
Investments
“It doesn’t seem different to anyone else buying shares after a public hearing.”
The Nationals MP justifies buying shares in an Australian space company days after questioning it at a parliamentary inquiry. Insider trading can only happen when the questions aren’t asked in public.
Empathy
“Given the prime minister won’t apologise to Christine Holgate, it looks like the taxpayer funded empathy training he’s been paying for was a complete waste of time.”
The One Nation leader criticises Scott Morrison’s refusal to say sorry to the former Australia Post chief. Well, it’s not often this newspaper is in agreement with Hanson…
Welcome
“The dance was performed prior to the commencement of the ... formalities.”
The Royal Australian Navy clarifies that dignitaries weren’t present when a local troupe danced to celebrate a new ship. The ABC is accused of playing misleading footage of the dance, which made it appear as though the chief of the Defence Force was hugely bored by the whole thing.
Travel
“Within an hour of that information becoming public, Peter Dutton did the one thing he could as Defence minister and cancelled the committee’s flight.”
The shadow Home Affairs minister has to fly commercial to Christmas Island. You can take the Dutton out of Home Affairs, but you can never take the all-consuming desire to control Australia’s borders out of the Dutton.
