September 21 – 27, 2024
News
Comment
Comment
Pasi Sahlberg and Trevor Cobbold
Why the new plan for fairer schools will fail
“While equity remains a vague buzzword in education reform, governments continue to avoid accountability for improving it in schools. The lack of a clear definition can lead to misdirection of taxpayer funds … This has been the case in Australia for decades.”
Comment
Chris Wallace
The rot in the public service
“Canberra is a small city. Forget six degrees of separation. If you’re not actually living across the road from the prime minister, you could well be next door to his chief of staff, married to his press sec, playing golf with his departmental head, sitting next to his driver at the footy, passing him and his partner walking up and down Red Hill at the weekend.”
Comment
Stan Grant
The night Oasis turned me into a rock’n’roll star
“Noel Gallagher trades in memories as much as music. It is some trick to take the past and make it better. In the hands of politicians, the past is a weapon. In our toxic age, history is a poisoned well. Noel makes the past a place I want to visit again.”
Comment
John Hewson
Can Labor reimagine a healthy public–private partnership?
“The Albanese government’s signature, visionary policy for the next election is shaping up to be the Future Made in Australia. So far, the prime minister has faced criticism for his government’s reliance on subsidies in its support for high-priority projects and sectors under that framework, which the Coalition is calling ‘billions for billionaires’.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Comedian Shaun Micallef
After supposedly quitting television two years ago, Shaun Micallef returns next week with a new show on SBS – although these days he’s more interested in helping younger comics.
Fiction
The spa
“The spa has been on the cards since the end of spring. Before this, like everyone in Queensland, my father dreamt of a pool. Not a big pool. Not a pool for show and not a time-and-money pit, like my brother Angus has. On Saturdays, my brother’s pool requires hours of combing for leaves and the fallen limbs of palms so that, on Sundays, his beautiful, tanned daughters can stretch long and listless beside it, as allergic to the water as cats. My father’s dream was for a small pool of easy maintenance. In the end, the fear of looking showy gave him digestive issues and he couldn’t afford a pool anyway. So, the spa.”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
Law
“Experts can be political commentators all they like. My job is to lead the Northern Territory.”
The Northern Territory’s chief minister makes it clear she is intent on lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 10. The problem with experts is they know too much.
Gambling
“It’s not a matter of doing something in order to satisfy a perception of boldness. It’s a matter of policy.”
The prime minister explains why he is unlikely to introduce a recommended ban on gambling advertising. It’s a shame there isn’t a betting market for weakness.
Council
“You are a slimeball, I swear to God you are … a piece of shit … you stink.”
The mayoral candidate confronts his rival during the campaign for Liverpool City Council. Despite this powerful line of attack, Ristevski lost.
Schools
“Liam’s bravery is an example we can all follow. It is Liam who is the real hero of this story.”
The One Nation leader tells the story of a 14-year-old boy who nominated her as his hero for a school project. He was eventually given a C-minus, which makes him smarter than most One Nation voters.
Religion
“There’s only one God, and each of us has a language to arrive at God.”
The pontiff angers conservative Catholics by stating all religions are a path to God. They would prefer he stick to what he knows: homophobic slurs in Italian.
Court
“If he wants to stay alive, that’s the best thing to do.”
The magistrate refuses bail for former television host Andrew O’Keefe. He was charged with breach of bail and possession of an illegal drug after a heroin overdose.
