October 24 – 30, 2020
News
Comment
Comment
Wesley Enoch
After the virus: Radical optimism for the arts
“There are two potential futures I can see for the arts in Australia: one in which we emerge from the pandemic strengthened in our purpose, where the arts and cultural economies are valued for their intangible public benefits, where creativity and imagination lead us – and another where the search for financial certainty and economic returns reshapes what artists can make.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
Will Scott Morrison go full-term?
“It is always fascinating to watch the cat-and-mouse game that Australian prime ministers play with election dates. Unencumbered by fixed terms, convention dictates that the campaign starts whenever the incumbent believes they are in the best position to win.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Comedian and actor Rose Matafeo
On the verge of international stardom, Rose Matafeo combines supremely confident ambition with deep personal doubt. “Seeing yourself on screen is the fucking worst thing ever. Your perception of yourself is the best version of yourself that you perform in the mirror, and that is not what other people see.”
Visual Art
Moon in a Dew Drop
Lindy Lee’s powerful MCA retrospective demonstrates both her artistic strength and her vulnerability.
Poetry
Time
“Linear time / is something Settlers brought here / A version of time / that creates distance / Things that happened / a hundred years ago / are further away / than things that happened yesterday / A version of time / weaponised against Indigenous peoples / Our life ways / called ‘backward’ / the past not of the future”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
Anthems
“The rendition was awful, the message was misrepresented, and Mr Palmer’s image is not good for my heavy metal image either.”
The Twisted Sister singer testifies that Clive Palmer didn’t help the band sell tickets by using their song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” for his political campaign. Polls suggest the song didn’t help Palmer either.
Relationships
“I just can’t see it happening again.”
The New South Wales premier tells radio hosts Kyle and Jackie O that she has given up on finding love after the Daryl Maguire scandal. Presumably she couldn’t foresee her phone being tapped either, so anything is possible.
Observance
“At one point she explained to me some problems she had. I actually prayed with her.”
Donald Trump’s personal lawyer denies that he acted inappropriately towards an actor posing as a TV journalist for the sequel to the film Borat. The images showing the former New York mayor reaching for his groin were merely him making the sign of the cross.
Youths
“They know the youths are laughing in the face of police officers.”
The Liberal National Party leader says she will introduce a curfew for teenagers in Townsville and Cairns if she wins the upcoming Queensland election. When policy announcements start to make Joh Bjelke-Petersen look compassionate, you know the polls must be close.
Business
“I understand the aspect of competing against another football team … at the end of the day, you’ll still be mates.”
The transport magnate breaks with other business leaders to defend Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. While scuffles are inevitable, the wealthy and the powerful will always put aside their differences in the end to face the real enemy – red tape.
Embroidery
“COVIDSafe is considered widely one of the finest tracing apps on the market.”
The minister for Government Services defends the much-maligned COVIDSafe app. Six months since its release, the app has helped officials identify a staggering number of Covid-19 cases – 14 by the latest count.
