January 29 — February 4, 2022  |  No. 384

News

Hospital plan: ‘Try very hard to avoid getting Covid until March’

Rick Morton In October, the government made a new plan for hospitals – but it was never updated and one of the key drugs it was based on still hasn’t arrived.

News

News

Strategists believe the election will be won on character

Karen Middleton Pre-election advertising and strategy show both sides believe the campaign will be fought on the issue of  character.

News

How independent Kate Chaney plans to win Curtin

Margo Kingston The scion of one of Perth’s most powerful families, Kate Chaney is the independent candidate who may yet take Curtin back from the Liberal Party.

News

Inside Roebourne, Australia’s hottest prison

Dechlan Brennan In a boiling prison in WA, there is airconditioning in the guards’ toilets but not in the cells. After a 50.5 degree day this month, former prisoners warn someone will die from the heat.

News

Why Morrison refuses to drop the religious discrimination bill

Mike Seccombe Two parliamentary inquiries into Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s religious freedom legislation are under way, with many, including Liberal Party supporters, wondering why the divisive bill has not been scrapped.

World

Russian troop numbers build on Ukraine’s border

Jonathan Pearlman

Australian aid to Tonga hampered by Covid-19 on navy ship. The military stages Burkina Faso’s eighth coup. Children of foreign nationals being used as human shields in Syrian prison, warns Save the Children.

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Opinion

Opinion

Osman Faruqi
Fact check: Actually Australians love big government

“It seems unlikely that embracing ‘can-do capitalism’ will prove to be a viable political strategy – especially in the midst of a social and economic crisis that has once again exposed the fraught nature of private markets and reminded us of the importance of community, solidarity and public services – but bizarrely it’s the one Prime Minister Scott Morrison has chosen.”

Opinion

Paul Bongiorno
Send in the clowns

“The Australia Day holiday is now behind us. By convention, this signals that the nation is back at work. It also sets the clock ticking down for a federal election within four months. The sense of foreboding within the Morrison government is palpable. Likewise, excitement is mounting within the Labor Party that this time it will not be thwarted.”

Opinion

John Hewson
A mosquito in a nudist colony

“We have finally arrived. After an almost daily campaign since the 2019 federal election, we are just a few months short of the next one. Naturally, attention is turning to focus on Anthony Albanese and his opposition. From one perspective – namely that governments usually lose elections and oppositions don’t win them – many feel Albo should be a shoo-in.”

Letters, Cartoon & Editorial

Cartoon

Read

Editorial
Hand-to-hand combat

Scott Morrison wears a lot of make-up. He understands cameras: not how they work but what they do. In front of the press he never stops moving. They are small moves, back and forth, to make sure everyone has the shot. He understands politics is obligation and opportunity and that his skill is the latter.

Letters

Labouring under a misconception

It should indeed be obvious that a healthy economy requires healthy people but not, apparently, to Scott Morrison and Dominic Perrottet (Mike Seccombe, “Tracing the ‘nightmare’ reality …

Our health system in crisis

The article by Mike Seccombe tells a story of politicians leading the public up so many paths that have no exit point. We have gone from complete lockdown to so-called freedom days with the same pandemic, …

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Culture

Books

John Keane
The Shortest History of Democracy

Mandy Beaumont
The Furies

Johann Hari
Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention

Life

Food

Golden chicken soup (calendula fever)

David Moyle

Science

How Australia is joining the race to mine the moon

Jamie Seidel In the international scramble for the moon’s resources, existing agreements may not be strong enough to meet the legal and ethical challenges.

Fashion

Jordan Dalah takes a bow

Lucianne Tonti Jordan Dalah’s new line features giant sleeves and puffy bows, face-covering designs and foam rings. It’s spectacular, technically skilled and surprisingly wearable.

Sport

David Campese, the last dream seller

Martin McKenzie-Murray The on-field exceptionalism of Wallabies great David Campese has been somewhat overshadowed by his difficult off-field personality. A new biography hopes to shine fresh light on the legend.

Puzzles

The Cryptic

Crossword No. 384

The Quiz

1. Who, according to the nursery rhyme, met a pieman going to the fair?
2. The eruption of an underwater volcano near which country recently sparked tsunami warnings across the Pacific?
3. On February 3, 1959, musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. Richardson were killed in a plane crash in Iowa. What was Richardson’s stage name?
4. The name of which Italian bread translates to “slipper” in English?
5. What is the surname of the teenage brothers Frank and Joe, who were fictional amateur detectives in novels and on TV?
6. Name the Indian Test cricket captain who this month stood down after seven years in the role.
7. True or false: pheasants cannot fly?
8. Who plays Sidney Prescott in the Scream franchise? (Bonus points for naming the director of the first Scream film and the year of its US release.)
9. Artist Harold Thomas designed what in 1970?
10. In reference to average elevation, what is the world’s highest continent?

Click through for answers.

Quotes

Politics

“If I were her I’d be going to give the prime minister a hug.”

Amanda StokerThe assistant minister for Women offers her advice to former Australian of the Year Grace Tame. But what’s a withering glare if not a hug from the eyes?

Climate

“Maybe you can predict out a week or three weeks or a month or a year, but the farther out you predict, the more your model is in error.”

Jordan PetersonThe psychologist and author claims climate modelling is unreliable because the time scales are too great. This is as true as his claim he can live solely on meat and hurt feelings.

Responsibility

“The government is off enjoying a day at the cricket instead of being accountable for the care for older Australians.”

Lloyd WilliamThe national secretary of the Health Services Union complains that Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck went to the Ashes instead of fronting a Covid-19 inquiry. In fairness to Colbeck, no one died at the cricket while he was there.

Faith

“To keep bowing down to the media is essentially to allow them to continue to own the narrative around the world, above the truth.”

Laura ToggsThe daughter of Hillsong leader Brian Houston responds to criticism of a youth gathering that appeared to flout Covid-19 rules. The only thing they were spreading was love.

Military

“We don’t intend to invade at all. It’s very regrettable that it’s been portrayed the other way here and by our Western partners.”

Aleksey PavlovskyRussia’s ambassador to Australia says his country is not planning to invade Ukraine. You can’t line up 100,000 troops on the border without people getting the wrong idea.

Sport

“What’s not fine is if that someone brings in a big banner and it’s got big poles attached to it.”

Craig TileyThe chief executive of Tennis Australia reverses a decision to ban T-shirts asking “Where is Peng Shuai?” Banners will remain banned, presumably because China said so.