April 22 – 28, 2017
News
Government dismisses shootings on Manus Island
With numerous shots fired at the Manus Island detention centre, the danger to detainees and Australian staff has become undeniable to all but the Australian government.
Trump’s message to China on North Korea
“We were quite surprised because it’s Trump. We wouldn’t have been surprised if it was Hillary Clinton doing this.”
As Donald Trump toughens his rhetoric on North Korea, the implications for Australia and other neighbours are becoming clearer.
Jeff Kennett on his beyondblue legacy
Stepping down after 17 years at the helm of the national depression and anxiety organisation he founded, former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett reviews his achievements at beyondblue and stares down his critics.
The promise of renowned neurosurgeon Charlie Teo
“I’d say that it’s almost impossible for patients to give true consent because they’ve already been sold the dream. They are there because they don’t want to listen to the people who are telling the truth.”
For some brain cancer patients, Charlie Teo is seen as a final ray of hope who’s willing to tackle so-called inoperable tumours. But to many of his neurosurgeon peers, the myths far outweigh the miracles.
France prepares to put Le Pen to paper
France goes to the polls; Baswedan elected Jakarta governor; Korean missile fails.
Comment
Comment
Wendy Bacon
The state of radical dissent
“There is no denying earlier gains lost as neoliberalism took hold and more public services were cut or privatised. Two years ago, a number of NSW feminist women’s refuges founded through radical action lost government contracts and were handed over to various religious organisations. Like many other older radicals I was jolted by how smoothly the transition happened. A few younger radicals offered to occupy refuges but the workers were reluctant. They feared the services would be lost altogether or for their jobs and future employment.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
Malcolm Turnbull crosses the line on 457 visas
“Turnbull’s visa crackdown certainly got the media talking about something else other than the government’s Abbott-fanned internal divisions. That almost certainly accounts for the announcement’s timing, even though Turnbull insists the government has been working on the issue for at least six months.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Culture
Berlin Syndrome director Cate Shortand on the dark within us
Somersault director Cate Shortland’s latest film Berlin Syndrome, a disturbing kidnap thriller, is her second examination of Germany’s postwar psyche. For her next work she returns to the Snowy Mountains for a postcolonial true crime series.
Television
Big Little Lies
From the designer clothes to the covetable houses to the A-list cast, Big Little Lies is a quality potboiler. But beyond the gloss, the series explores deeper social issues in a refreshingly nuanced way.
Portrait
Artist Claire Lambe
“Everyday life corrodes the identity of objects so often they go unnoticed. With sculpture, Claire Lambe awakens story. One of the rooms centres around a bronze flower ascending its role as object in a porn movie, becoming a character with agency of its own as expressed through ‘her’ accompanying soundtrack. Daniel is installing when we walk in. ‘What does it sound like?’ Claire attempts to fill in the blanks of my experience. Daniel runs off a list of evocative adjectives: ‘earthy’, ‘temperate’.”
Food
Baked celeriac and potatoes with honey, cinnamon and thyme
This potato cake of sorts is layered and slowly cooked. It can be pre-prepared and warmed later in wedges or as a large puck that can be sliced at the table. Cutting the whole thing into wedges and roasting in individual servings yields a crisp golden wedge.
Books
Life
Life
Gaming the rental market
With fewer city-dwellers having the wherewithal to buy a home, the rental market is becoming fiercely competitive as agents and prospective tenants try to game the system.
The Quiz
Quotes
DISUNITY
“This country cannot be run with two prime ministers.”
The Labor leader attempts to capitalise on the split between Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott. His numbers are off, though: the country has run just fine without a single prime minister for at least 18 months.
DUPLICITY
“I do want to make this point that this sneaky and underhand business of leaking needs to stop.”
The former prime minister complains of leaked polling that showed he was likely to lose his seat. He was as surprised as anyone to see the quote attributed to him.
DISBANDING
“I would like to thank the members and thousands of Australians in every state of the Commonwealth who have supported the party and its candidates during the last four years.”
The former leader of the Palmer United Party announces his political foray is over, only a year after the party more or less already disbanded.
DEATH
“Imagine I, David Walsh, go down into the gallery, kill someone at random, and call it art.”
The MONA founder defends the ritualistic slaughter of a bull to be carried out in a work by Austrian artist Hermann Nitsch. Walsh argues that killing someone at random would boost Tasmania’s tourist appeal, which says something about the locals.
DELUSION
“Fairfax, like most businesses, wants high immigration to increase potential customer base.”
The former politician explains why the media are soft on immigration. Because if there is one thing that defines newspaper audiences in this country, it is their ethnic diversity.
DEMOCRACY
“This country has carried out the most democratic election – something not one country in the West has ever experienced.”
The Turkish president celebrates sweeping new powers awarded to him in a vote with hundreds of thousands of unstamped ballot papers. And he’s right: that kind of large-scale vote fraud is something the West rarely experiences.
