February 20 – 26, 2021
News
Comment
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
Notes on a Coalition scandal
“When bad news is dominating the headlines, the best solution for a prime minister is to eclipse it with good news. How fortunate then for Scott Morrison that he was able to finally announce on Tuesday that the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine had been approved for rollout in Australia.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Novelist Claire Thomas
After more than a decade away from publishing, Claire Thomas’s much anticipated second novel The Performance puts her squarely back in the limelight.
In Progress
Abdul Abdullah
Multidisciplinary artist Abdul Abdullah has found that the pandemic has made him refocus his practice on painting, even as it has taught him to aim for balance.
Poetry
Five poems
“Xylophonic tinkles across the water these gentle chimes on bobbing boats what rivulets of fate led us here tonight? Awed quiet at this gentle symphony of dark air and music the panorama so finely curated it could be an exhibition of balance the liquid horizontal the solid vertical and later cold to warmth the body of water domesticated to a bathtub the faraway city lights now a flickering candle a contraction from all the vastness of the world…”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
Media
“Our global commitment to invest in quality news also has not changed.”
The Facebook managing director announces the social media giant will ban Australian news content from its site. Deplatforming white supremacists? Simply could not. Deplatforming an entire country’s news media? Sure.
Frankness
“I hope you can sleep at night-time. Quite frankly, you disgust me.”
The crossbench senator criticises Attorney-General Christian Porter’s proposed merger of the Family Court. Perhaps not the first time a woman in Canberra has said this to him.
Responsibility
“You can imagine my response.”
The New Zealand prime minister expresses her frustration at the Morrison government stripping a dual citizen of her Australian citizenship over allegations she joined Daesh. Foisting extremists on to NZ and denying responsibility for their actions has become this country’s favourite pastime.
Reckoning
“It was when a journalist… contacted… my office…”
The Employment minister offers a teary qualification that she didn’t know of an allegation of rape made by one of her staffers until this week. It isn’t clear whether she was standing behind a whiteboard when someone came to tell her earlier.
Justice
“The publication took reasonable steps to ensure that the report was accurate and not misleading.”
The media watchdog rules The Australian’s article headlined “Firebugs fuelling crisis as arson arrest toll hits 183”, published at the height of the Black Summer bushfires, was not misleading. One could argue it was also not journalism.
Safety
“So, why have we provided funding to local communities? Because we want to keep people safe.”
The Home Affairs minister defends his decision to go against advice from his own department to award $194,000 in grants to a marginal Tasmanian electorate days out from the 2018 Braddon byelection. Safe seats, safer communities.
