November 17–23, 2018
News
Comment
Comment
Dylan Voller
Kids on country, not in custody
“If we didn’t riot, if we didn’t bring attention to the situation that way, all of these abuses would still be hidden out of sight. No one would know what goes on in Don Dale. Ultimately, we need all youth detention centres shut down and resources and power given to Aboriginal community leaders to develop alternative programs and facilities based on country, to help children who are caught up in violence and trauma to heal.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
Scott Morrison fails to persuade voters
“The question dogging Scott Morrison as he rubs shoulders with world leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Port Moresby this weekend is how long he will remain a member of this exclusive club. By his own admission, the chances are slim. The accidental prime minister – catapulted into the job when a majority of the Liberal Party room 12 weeks ago preferred him over Peter Dutton – is failing miserably. ”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Gillian Flynn’s dark inquiries
Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn developed a taste for the macabre at an early age, but she’s keen to dispel the myth that she is who she writes. She talks about her depictions of deeply disturbed and disturbing women and the release of her latest film project, Widows. “There’s a reason we’re fascinated with domestic-based murders. It allows us to talk about marriage and family and what goes on behind closed doors. It gives us a strange vocabulary and permission to talk about those things we wouldn’t otherwise.”
Theatre
STC’s A Cheery Soul
STC’s production of Patrick White’s darkly comic A Cheery Soul shows that the story of ‘monstrous’ nursing home resident Miss Docker is a still-relevant examination of the loss of agency in old age.
Portrait
Chef Julia Ostro
“The oven is on. Julia Ostro’s cracking eggs into a bowl at the bench. Beside her is a round cake tin, buttered and lined with parchment paper. She’s smiling, bustling, as I sit in a corner eating fancy chocolate she brought home with her from a recent trip to Italy. She’s making a recipe of her mum’s, but she doesn’t have the recipe. She’s making it from how she remembers her mum making it, from how she remembers the taste of it, the look of it. It’s a butter cake, with apples and cinnamon. ‘I have a memory of eating so much of it once that I felt sick. Like, it was so good.’”
Books
Life
The Quiz
Quotes
ADVERTISING
“Mr Morrison is the Don Draper of Australian politics, without the talent or the good looks.”
The Tasmanian senator chides the prime minister over reports about his mismanagement at Tourism Australia. The comparison is perhaps unfair to Don Draper, who at least got seven seasons.
SAUSAGES
“We recently introduced a suggestion that onion be placed underneath sausages to help prevent the onion from falling out and creating a slipping hazard.”
The Bunnings chief operating officer announces controversial new sausage sizzle guidelines. Cargo-shorted, Blundstone-shod dads around the country threatened to boycott unless given written assurances selling veggie sausages would not be next.
YES
“A Yes vote of more than 60 per cent ... It said a lot about our commitment to democracy, equality and a fair go.”
The former prime minister congratulates Australia on the one-year anniversary of the marriage equality vote. Like almost everything in his political career, this high point was someone else’s choice.
ROYALS
“It is a privilege for any mother to be able to propose a toast to her son on his 70th birthday. It means that you have lived long enough to see [him] grow up.”
The Queen toasts her eldest son. Given Charles still lives under his parents’ roof and their money funds his “art projects”, some may contend he has not, in fact, yet reached adulthood.
QUESTIONS
“The question that remains for me is whether there is any room in this conversation for talking to ... young girls about behaving sensibly and not exploiting their seductive power to ruin the lives of men.”
The commentator defends convicted sex offender Nicolaas Bester. The question remains should we still be listening to Bettina Arndt?
BIRTHDAYS
“We wanted a frog theme ... They told me it could be done.”
The Tamworth father goes viral for saying Woolworths’ “pathetic” cake decorating ruined his son’s third birthday. His complaint about the lack of effort is a bit rich coming from a dad who buys a kid’s birthday cake from Woolworths.
