September 25 – October 1, 2021
News
Comment
Comment
John Hewson
Christian Porter and the ‘born to rule’ mentality
“A fundamental weakness of our democracy relates to the funding of election campaigns and other financial support of governments, parties and individual members of parliament. This needs to be a fully transparent and accountable process.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
The Influence
Robynne Murphy
Filmmaker Robynne Murphy is inspired by the collective genesis of a painting by sisters Lorraine Brown and Narelle Thomas.
Fiction
Ready and Lucky
“Leo pushed away the plate of fries and climbed down from his seat, copper mane flopping around the toddler’s face. Brooke had wanted to call him Aslan, but Martin had intervened. Martin was sensible. He could parent with one hand tied behind his back. Brooke could barely parent with both hands, an early childhood nurse for a mother and nine books on raising children (waiting to be read, but still). She had no maternal instincts whatsoever. So much for women’s intuition.”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
Family
“Yes. I change a lot of nappies.”
The British prime minister confirms for the first time that he is the father of six children and is expecting another. Finally an answer to the question: “Is Boris Johnson good at anything?”
Culture
“It’s so far out of hand now that I can promise you that no one is safe.”
The actor complains of an “instant rush to judgement” that exists in culture today. That’s not entirely accurate: a court took 16 whole days to decide it was “substantially true” to call him a “wife beater”.
Television
“I dedicate this story to every single survivor of sexual assault.”
The actor wins the Emmy for outstanding writing on a limited series, for her show I May Destroy You. Her speech was the highlight of the ceremony.
Politics
“I’m an average bloke. I’m not someone that’s been groomed and been told I’m going to be prime minister from six years old.”
The Olympic shooter and presumptive Labor candidate for Hunter apologises for social media posts, including one calling India a “shit hole”. Big talk for a man who lives in Cessnock.
Law
“Keep your nose clean.”
The New South Wales District Court judge decides not to record a conviction against Nicholas Drummond, who punched a woman in the face during a night out in Sydney. Sutherland said the woman’s dress could “have been perceived by a former student of Knox to be provocative”.
Seismology
“Given that it was such a large earthquake, we should expect to experience aftershocks from this particular event.”
The senior seismologist at Geoscience Australia responds to a magnitude 5.9 earthquake outside Melbourne. It’s not clear what Victoria did to upset God, but it probably involved euthanasia laws.
