July 24 – 30, 2021
News
Comment
Comment
Saul Eslake
Pop goes the rental
“Australia is in the middle of a 30-year property bubble. It is a bubble inflated by government policy, and every time it looks as if it might burst, governments rush to blow it up further. All bubbles pop eventually, but few are maintained as carefully as this one.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
Delta variant’s political toll
“There is an increasing likelihood that the Delta strain of the Covid-19 virus has dealt a fatal blow to the prospects of the Morrison government retaining office at the next election, whenever it is held. The prime minister has spent the week holed up in isolation back at The Lodge in Canberra ahead of the scheduled parliamentary sitting in two weeks’ time. His colleagues have no doubt he is ruminating on the findings of a string of opinion polls this week showing a fall in support for the government and his own declining approval ratings – none more disturbingly than the Newspoll.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Books
Life
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Quotes
Politics
“I was used as a prop to push something that to be honest they haven’t done the due diligence on to make sure it’s actually getting to the people that need it.”
The singer expresses his distress at being used to launch belated support for the arts. The man who became an AirAsia brand ambassador at the same time as the airline was being investigated for safety breaches knows where to draw the line.
Olympics
“You are going to the opening ceremony. I’m still the deputy chair of the candidature leadership group.”
The Australian Olympic Committee president uses a press conference to bully Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk into the opening ceremony. He was worried she might miss “traditional parts” such as “ladies bring a plate”.
Music
“I wish to say that I will not perform on any stage where there is a discriminated audience present.”
The guitarist announces he will not perform at any venues that require attendees to prove they’ve been vaccinated against Covid-19. He used up all his care for human life on that one song about his son falling out a window.
Space
“I want to thank every Amazon employee, and every Amazon customer, because you guys paid for all of this.”
The richest man in the world thanks his underpaid staff after returning from a brief journey into space. He experienced a few moments of weightlessness before being confronted again by his soul.
Security
“Our spies are your neighbours and friends and members of your community. They are carers, parents, grandparents and community volunteers.”
The director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation launches a recruitment drive for the spy agency. He also unfortunately describes the worst of the Stasi.
Apologies
“No country gets everything right; no prime minister gets everything right as well. So, my job is to keep getting on with the job.”
The prime minister says he is “sorry” about the vaccine rollout, after spending most of the week refusing to do so. For a man who says “job” that often, he hasn’t looked very far into what the work entails.
