July 27 – August 2, 2019
News
Comment
Comment
Anonymous
Casualisation of academic teaching
“This year, seven Australian universities made it into the top 100 in the QS World University Rankings. Their vice-chancellors cheered. But on staff-student ratio Australian universities scored dismally. Of those top seven Australian universities, the Australian National University had the highest score for teaching. It was ranked 417th in the world. Three of Australia’s ‘top’ universities were ranked outside the world’s top 600 for their student-staff ratios.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
Opposition ignore PM, focus on Taylor
“Scott Morrison, who famously shrank the Liberal Party to near-invisibility to win the May election, was this week confronted by his party’s reappearance, and he doesn’t much like it. In just the second government party room meeting since polling day, Morrison read the riot act to backbenchers for unhelpfully freelancing in the media. In parliament, he sat frustrated as Labor mostly ignored him in question time.”
Letters, Poem & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Artist Julie Gough on untold histories
Throughout her career, artist Julie Gough has shone light on Tasmania’s colonial history and the genocidal war against Aboriginal people, including her ancestors. With a major solo exhibition at TMAG, Tense Past, she speaks about her remarkable work. “Art is not only a visual outcome; making each artwork is my way of proceeding through the quagmire of the past.”
Books
Life
Health
Childless men
A new study into men who choose not to have children looks at the third-party scrutiny and judgement – and communication difficulties – that accompany the decision.
Sport
Two-time Tour de France stage-winner Caleb Ewan
Once heralded as ‘cycling’s next big thing’, Caleb Ewan was controversially left off his team’s 2018 Tour de France roster. Given a start this year with Lotto Soudal, the Australian sprinter has now rewarded the Belgian outfit with two stage wins.
Puzzles
Quotes
FAMILY
“Meet Winter, Arabella’s birthday dream come true and the newest member of the Kushner family.”
The American first daughter introduces the world to her new family pet. The dog is, perhaps unsurprisingly, extremely white.
ENVIRONMENT
“Emissions go up and down.”
The energy minister seeks to address the confusion around his assertion that Australia’s emissions are going down. To clarify, they are not not going up.
EMPLOYMENT
“People have to be prepared to move sometimes out of their comfort zone.”
The deputy prime minister suggests Newstart is “meagre” but enables people to move towns to find a job. Politicians also have a travel allowance, which works out to a week of Newstart for every day they are in Canberra.
WAGES
“We would like to thank Gary, George and Matt for their contribution over the past 11 years.”
The Network Ten chief farewells the MasterChef hosts who walked away from contract negotiations after being denied a 40 per cent pay rise. The trio were only demanding $1.5 million each a year, merely a fifth of what Calombaris grifted from his workers.
MUSIC
“I don’t censor his art, if I can be a muse for it.”
The actress laughs off a lyric sung by her husband, Keith Urban: “She’s a maniac in the bed, but a brainiac in her head.” One of those rare occasions where censorship isn’t such a bad thing.
ADVICE
“Look at your own likeable and unlikeable behaviours and try to reduce the list of unlikeable behaviours.”
The author stirs controversy with his advice for students. Telling kids who are being bullied to look at themselves would go on the “unlikeable” list.
