August 19 – 25, 2017
News
Comment
Comment
Richard Cooke
Rewarding the politics of failure
“Fired, ousted, ineligible or disgraced, our politicians keep showing up to work anyway, George Costanza-style, barrowing doomed legislation and talking points that expired a decade ago. The Turnbull government has failed. If recent history is a guide, this means they now have jobs for life.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
The mad Katter’s tea party
“Katter says there are two sets of rules at work here: one for Matt Canavan, a less senior minister in the Nationals, and one for the number two in the Coalition government, Barnaby Joyce. He says Turnbull can have no credibility with the Australian people for such a “hypocritical double standard” and says he doesn’t deserve to have any either.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Actor Aaron Pedersen
As a proud Arrernte–Arabana man, actor Aaron Pedersen believes that through his work and profile he can make inroads into uniting Australia. “We’re the only country in the Commonwealth that doesn’t have a treaty. It’s ridiculous. What are they scared of?”
Visual Art
Tony Tuckson’s abstract expressionism
An exhibition of Tony Tuckson’s works on paper reveals an artist whose paintings did not so much respond to the world as express it.
Portrait
Exploratory musician Lizzy Welsh
“Welsh holds the violin out to me, showing me where it has been altered, the lines like scars that reveal how it’s changed over the past couple of hundred years. ‘It looks a bit like an old man, don’t you think?’ she says, cocking her head and laughing. ‘All wrinkled, cracked.’”
Food
Whole roast chicken with spiced pilaf
“In essence, pilaf is rice that is cooked in a broth. Many rice-producing countries have their own version of this. The name is borrowed from the Turkish pilav. Served straight from the pot to the table, the pilaf can be quite a dramatic ritual.”
Books
Life
Health
Mesh implant dangers
The frequency of horrific complications arising from transvaginal mesh implants, typically used to treat pelvic organ prolapse, has led to a class action.
The Quiz
Quotes
LOVE
“I have an affectionate relationship with my cycling mates, who – we go cycling on the weekends. But that’s not marriage.”
The father of the house offers his version of respectful debate on marriage equality. Other things to which he is not married include reality, decency and the original colour of his hair.
WELFARE
“You’re the party of human rights and you’ve forgotten the human rights of children. Just call yourself the party for paedophiles.”
The mining magnate criticises the Greens for opposing cashless welfare cards. The NSW branch was reportedly positive about the rebrand but it was rejected in the federal party room.
DECENCY
“Enough. El Shaddai. Enough.”
The Victorian Liberal calls for all refugees held in offshore detention to be settled permanently in Australia. In four words he makes more sense than two decades of debate – and two of those words are literally the same word.
RESPONSIBILITY
“… … … … … … …”
The president of the United States of America condemns neo-Nazi violence after the murder of an anti-racism protester in Charlottesville, Virginia. In a moral vacuum, nobody can hear you lead.
ISLAM
“To ridicule that community, to drive it into a corner, to mock its religious garments is an appalling thing to do. ”
The attorney-general censures Pauline Hanson for wearing a burqa into the senate, his voice catching on something, possibly his defence of the rights of bigots made in the very same room.
COURTS
“And he disrespected the Wu-Tang Clan.”
One of two hundred potential jurors excused from the Martin Shkreli trial explains why he could not be impartial. Shkreli’s alleged crimes include securities and wire fraud, and the buying for $1 million of a Wu-Tang Clan album he won’t let anyone hear.
