Should medical cannabis be legal?
“Why not make it as safe as possible? Why give these people in to a market made by Robert Trimbole and Al Capone?”
A severely epileptic child finds succour in medical cannabis, but as her dealer faces prison her family doesn’t know where to turn.
News
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Abbott’s faceless men of the IPA
There is one group to which Tony Abbott has kept his promises since becoming prime minister: the Institute of Public Affairs.
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Cornall report into the death of Reza Barati on Manus Island
The report into Reza Barati’s death on Manus Island only serves to highlight the reckless endorsement by both sides of politics of a grossly unsuitable processing centre.
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Lenders urged to remain cautious
Household stress keeps rising; a toast to the Bordeaux index; selling products to the over-85s.
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Support for the Greens fell drastically at the last election, and their party room is divided, but the power they will wield in the new senate is significant.
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Bentley and the brave new world of environmental activism
At the Bentley blockade in northern NSW, the seeds are being sown for a new crop of public defiance.
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European austerity breeds far-right support
China snares deal for Russian gas; Thai coup won’t inspire Myanmar’s democracy; candidates in Indonesia get dirty; Guinea-Bissau shows how democracy is done.
Opinion
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Hamish McDonald
China’s slow boil in the Pacific
“Is China the new post-Bismarckian Germany, a century on, challenging the dominant sea power of our age?”
Letters & Editorial
Culture
Nobody does blonde and ditzy better than Wicked star Lucy Durack. But now this winning witch is also turning her creative powers to writing.
Bringing culture to Barangaroo
Developments such as Barangaroo provide the opportunity for new landmark arts spaces. How best to plan them?
Food
Life
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Improving the quality of your soil is a time-consuming labour of love, and compost is a rotten way to go about it.
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Incidentalomas make for testing times
Sophisticated medical scans such as MRIs are getting better at finding things potentially wrong with us. But sometimes it’s better not to know.
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Golden girl: Alicia Coutts, 26, swimmer
Only three Australians have taken home five medals from a single Olympic Games. We meet one of them.
Books
The Quiz
1. In Scrabble, how many letters are worth three points? (Bonus points for naming them.)
2. Which country does not border the Czech Republic: (a) Germany; (b) Poland; (c) Hungary; (d) Austria?
3. In medical terminology, erythrocytes are commonly
known as...?
known as...?
4. Name Australia’s shadow treasurer.
5. What colour is the ‘S’ on Superman’s suit?
6. Who was the last Australian tennis player (excluding juniors) to compete in a Wimbledon singles final?
7. Which American-British poet wrote The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and The Hippopotamus?
8. What temperature is 100 degrees Celsius on the Fahrenheit scale?
9. Which two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet contested the War of the Roses?
10. The Australian Stock Exchange code TLS refers to which company?
Quotes
FOOD
“I mean, there are only a few restaurants in Canberra.”
The treasurer explains why his department head, Martin Parkinson, was seen having dinner with Malcolm Turnbull and Clive Palmer.
POLICE
“We’re back to the Gestapo days now.”
The disgraced former detective sergeant, who once apprehended Warren Lanfranchi by shooting him to death, responds poorly to being arrested over the murder of Jamie Gao.
BOMBS
“I brought this through security, a pipe bomb.”
The ongoing security risk uses Estimates to warn that crazed senators could easily bring the components of a bomb into Parliament House. He managed to make this point without forging Comcar receipts or impersonating an ASIO officer.
GUNS
“Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA.”
The father of one of six University of California students killed in a gun massacre explains why it happened.
CRIME
“I’m a very touchy-feely sort of person.”
The children’s entertainer gives evidence in his trial on 12 counts of indecent assault against four girls and young women.
EDUCATION
“Such a policy is suicidal for student welfare. We will have no effective voice in our own fortune.”
The then 22-year-old writes in the Sydney University student paper Honi Soit in 1987, criticising moves to cut university funding and allow universities to set their own fees. A model very much like the one in his budget.
