November 28 – December 4, 2020
News
Comment
Comment
Leanne Smith and James Cockayne
Why we need a feminist foreign policy
“Seventy-five years ago, Australia committed to a rules-based international order. Our continuing commitment to that order is based both on pragmatism – the peace and prosperity it has provided; and on principle – the ‘fair go’ that the rules-based order promises. The problem with continuing to champion that order, however, is that it may not offer a ‘fair go’, but rather entrench privilege.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
Can Australia’s relationship with China be healed?
“China’s ‘Wolf Warrior diplomacy’ is proving more than a menacing howl for Australia, and what to do about it seems beyond the gumption of the Morrison government. It is one thing for the prime minister to dismiss a list of grievances from the Chinese embassy in Canberra as ‘unofficial’, but it is an entirely painful reality when they are accompanied by unofficial trade bans and restrictions on about $6 billion of Australia’s yearly exports.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Playwright Kendall Feaver
At 31, Kendall Feaver continues her brilliant career with her new adaptation of Miles Franklin for Belvoir. “I’m wary of black-and-white thinking … I’m interested in the ‘why’. Why is this fracture happening? Why is this so divisive, so deeply felt and fought over?”
Theatre
The Holidays
Behind the dad jokes, Queensland Theatre’s The Holidays is an ambitious play about family connection through dark times.
Fiction
The call
“The president wanted to make the call herself, but as a committee we felt this was risky. She saw her place in history, the first human to make direct contact with an alien civilisation; we saw a diplomatic catastrophe. Even if she managed the conversation without incident, it would be seen as an unforgivable insult by China, a declaration of war by the Americans. In the end, she was only convinced by our doubt. We insisted that it could all turn out to be a hoax, that her name might become synonymous with failure, a shame that would endure for generations. Eventually, she saw our point.”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
Gymnastics
“What Scott has to do now is pivot or dismount, whatever you want to call it. Whether it’s done elegantly or not it doesn’t really matter, as long as he does it.”
The former prime minister predicts his successor will sign up to a 2050 net zero emissions target. He can be forgiven for the hackneyed metaphor but not the mental image of Scott Morrison struggling to get down from a balance beam.
Law and order
“This was a misunderstanding that our agency must accept.”
Thailand’s Justice minister explains how the country’s biggest drug bust, which he had said was the seizure of $US1 billion worth of ketamine, turned out to be just a large supply of stain remover. Same thing after 2am, really.
Diplomacy
“This candidacy is a high priority for the government.”
A spokesperson admits Scott Morrison has set up a taskforce of eight full-time staff and a private plane to help his former Finance minister Mathias Cormann land a job running the OECD. Jobs for mates goes global.
Travel
“I have no intention of accepting an unproven vaccine into my body.”
The One Nation senator refuses to fly Qantas unless they cease their “no jab, no fly” Covid-19 rule. The airline might consider a new ad campaign promising passengers they never have to worry again about being seated next to Pauline Hanson on a flight.
Waiting
“Perhaps in hindsight I should’ve shut my door and not seen anybody for those 90 minutes to two hours.”
The New South Wales premier is caught out for failing to isolate while awaiting the results of a Covid-19 test. Not seeing Daryl Maguire for five years might have been a good idea, too.
Hand of God
“I have lost a dear friend, and the world has lost a legend ... One day, I hope, we will play football together in the sky.”
The soccer great farewells his long-time rival, the icon Diego Maradona, who died this week at the age of 60. Vale to a true legend of the game.
