March 23 – 29, 2019
News
Comment
Comment
Judy Courtin
Fixing the National Redress Scheme
“The toppling of a senior Catholic cardinal for child sexual assault no doubt deserves media attention. But we cannot let the news itself suck the oxygen from other critical issues facing survivors. Namely, the uphill battle they continue to face in seeking fair redress for the abuses perpetrated against them.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
The politics of hate
“The cowardly, hate-filled attack has shaken both nations to their core, and exposed the lethal consequences of Australia’s political obsession with playing to people’s fears and prejudices. This is a dramatic shift, more potent than the demonising of the Tampa mercy ship with its cargo of 443 asylum seekers in 2001.”
Letters, Poem & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Indigenous activist Thomas Mayor’s clear statement
For months, Indigenous activist Thomas Mayor carried the Uluru Statement from the Heart around Australia, rolling out the canvas as he told its story. With Labor and mining companies now on board, the push continues for a First Nations voice. “We have bipartisanship on the influences of the Australian public, left, right or centre. That’s the mindset we’re transferring to – fighting for the referendum to win.”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
TECHNOLOGY
“If you can write an algorithm to make sure that the ads they want you to see can appear on your mobile phone, then I’m quite confident they can write an algorithm to screen out hate content on the social media platforms.”
The PM offers a practical solution to online hate speech, which experts say could only have come from the government that thought fibre-to-the-node would make the NBN better.
BUDGET
“The government is considering the submissions to its consultation paper.”
The treasurer backs down from his promise to tax the social media giants, to the tune of $200 million. Privacy policy writers the world over have marvelled at the Kooyong MP’s ability to disguise such a huge change behind veiled language.
PRESENCE
“Except the problem with that is that Greg Hunt did not attend the meeting.”
The journalist confronts Scott Morrison over reports he proposed using fear of Muslims to win votes, which he labels a “repugnant lie”. It is defamatory to suggest Hunt cannot be in two places at once.
RELATIONSHIPS
“It felt like a layer of the world turning on us about saying, essentially, ‘We just want to be nice to each other and stay a family.’ It was brutal.”
The goop founder on her use of the term “conscious uncoupling” to describe the end of her marriage to Chris Martin. Anyone who has listened to a Coldplay song might also describe the decision to separate as “a good idea”.
CHRISTCHURCH
“He is a terrorist. He is a criminal. He is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, be nameless.”
The New Zealand prime minister responds to the mosque attacks. Australian Google searches for “how to become a NZ citizen” hit levels not seen since news broke Keith Urban is a Kiwi.
SPORT
“Here’s a pic of me at work… think about this before your derogatory comments, animals.”
The AFLW star tweets out a picture of her playing, which Channel 7 took down after it received a flood of negative comments. Harris’s trolls were shocked by her response, arguing it was nice of them not to level full-blown death threats at her.
