October 19 – 25, 2019
News
Comment
Comment
Nina Funnell
Me Too movement’s where to moment
“In the flood of disclosures that followed revelations about Harvey Weinstein’s decades-long abuse of women, there was hope for change and reform. Hope that individuals and institutions would finally be held accountable for their role in perpetuating sexual violence, and that attitudes and behaviours could genuinely be reformed. This week marks two years since the Me Too hashtag went viral on Twitter.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
PM under the pump over drought and economy
“For Scott Morrison, God obviously votes Liberal – that’s how he explains his ‘miraculous’ win in May. His mother-in-law confirmed on election night the family had all been praying for the result they got. On Tuesday, at the National Prayer Breakfast in Parliament House, the prime minister told the gathered faithful, which included Anthony Albanese, ‘The only prayers that you can be assured are never answered are the ones that are never prayed.’ ”
Letters, Poem & Editorial
Culture
Profile
The cultural insights of Jia Tolentino
Jia Tolentino has been dubbed the ‘voice of a generation’, a blogger turned New Yorker writer whose journalistic musings traverse everything from vaping to religion. She talks about the art of literary exploration and her much-anticipated debut book, Trick Mirror. “One of the reasons I write so much is that I’m not so good at thinking about things as they’re happening. Unless I’m writing about something, it’s not often that I’m analytically clear about my own present reality. I tend to just wander through it and hope that I will make sense of it later.”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
BUSINESS
“I struggle that the business community is singled out. Young kids can earn $5 million now by playing Fortnite.”
The Telstra chairman hits back at critics of the multimillion-dollar salary paid to the telco giant’s chief executive, Andy Penn.
EMPATHY
“People who have not made a profit in the last 10 years really need to seriously think what are you doing with your life, what are you doing on the land?”
The Nationals MP says farmers struggling to break even during Australia’s long-running drought should reconsider their choice of career.
FAITH
“Please leave us.”
The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney says his church – born so that Henry VIII could engage in bigamy – will not welcome supporters of marriage equality.
ROYALTY
“My government’s new economic plan will be underpinned by a responsible fiscal strategy.”
The British monarch delivers the Queen’s speech, written for her by Boris Johnson’s government, which clearly isn’t averse to co-opting tradition for a bit of electioneering.
COMPENSATION
“Well, most people have one.”
The truck driver is cross-examined about hiding a sex toy in a colleague’s hand luggage as he went through airport security. The Fair Work Commission found Odgers was unfairly dismissed over this and other pranks and ordered BHP to pay $6550 in compensation.
MEDIA
“There’s a hip new term that’s been deployed recently to describe Lefties who want to save the planet, end coal mining, secure equal pay for women, open the borders to illegal refugees and attack middle-aged white men.”
The Sky News presenter breaks a big story on the opinion pages of The Courier-Mail, unearthing the term “woke”.
