September 27 – October 3, 2025
News
Comment
Comment
Monique Ryan
Labor’s CDC lacks budget and vision
“Never before has Australia more needed a full-service, independent Centre for Disease Control, able to address the rising challenges of disease, both infectious and non-communicable … Now the government has produced a draft bill for the centre that hives off key responsibilities, is silent on priorities and is constrained by an insufficient budget and limited vision. This initiative is simply too important to allow it to be stunted from birth.”
Comment
Jane Caro
The segregation crisis in schools funding
“In the Albanese government’s first term, Education Minister Jason Clare observed that Australia has one of the most segregated education systems in the OECD. What is deeply shocking – though not surprising to anyone who has been following this issue for as long as I have – is that our children are mostly segregated according to social class. No schooling system anywhere in the world is completely equal, but Australia is alone in using education funding to turbocharge the divide between rich and poor.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
Albanese’s New York risks pay off
“Frank Sinatra once sang that if you can make it in New York, you can ‘make it anywhere’. It could well be the anthem for Anthony Albanese’s assertive trip this week, putting his stamp on Australia’s sovereignty at the apex world forum of the United Nations General Assembly.”
Comment
Stan Grant
Charlie Kirk and America’s decline
“It is perilous and foolish to speak into the maelstrom. As a rule, I tend to avoid it. This week, events compel me to break my rule. I am speaking of the assassination of Charlie Kirk and its subsequent fallout. In this case, the human tragedy is amplified by the zeitgeist it catalyses.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
Police
“This decision was not made based on who had the mistake-free, perfect record.”
The New South Wales premier defends the appointment of Mal Lanyon as police commissioner. He did not clarify if he was talking about the time Lanyon passed out drunk at the Big Merino, or took out a police boat with friends on New Year’s Eve, or something else.
Media
“I hate to tell you this – a man named Lachlan is involved. You know who Lachlan is?”
The United States president flags that Lachlan Murdoch could be involved in a takeover of TikTok. Not since MySpace has the company had such a bold digital plan.
Television
“This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.”
The late night host celebrates his return to the air. He also finally found a way to win new viewers without having to be funny.
Court
“We’ve been handballed around.”
The disgraced Liberal staffer seeks funding to pay for legal representation after his home was raided in June 2024. It’s almost as if he’s addicted to losing.
Counting
“Ultimately though, I don’t think the final outcome would have involved enough ballots changing sides to overturn the result.”
The Liberal candidate for Bradfield concedes more than four months after the election, abandoning a court challenge over the validity of 151 ballot papers. Very gracious.
Religion
“A slightly more athletic Kim Jong-un.
A Sky News contractor offers his assessment of Ryan Williams before the Islamophobe joined a broadcast wearing bacon rashers on his shoulders. The comparison is ridiculous – Kim Jong-un is much more open-minded.
