What Mark Scott is really doing with the ABC cuts
Funding cuts to the ABC play perfectly into the hands of the national broadcaster’s management.
News
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Scott Morrison wants to snatch courts’ powers over immigration and citizenship
“It’s all about him having unfettered power ... his attitude of ‘it’s my way or the highway’.”
The minister is seeking to hugely extend his discretion to determine citizenship, visas and asylum.
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“We are forced to realise that beneath our fond cartoon appraisals of athletes there exists the same, unchanging vulnerability that defines all of us. And of course we know this, deep down, but we lie about our mortality all the time.”
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Social media attacks on target halal suppliers
“People are saying now, ‘What about the Muslims who can’t buy your products?’, but that’s not true – we are still halal.”
A small dairy producer is accused of supporting terrorism and then, perversely, of racism.
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Medean tragedy of the baby dumped in a drain
“Filicide seems so unnatural. A wild disavowal of the tenderness and protection innate to evolution and refined by civilisation. ”
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Hagel’s toast as holes in US policy worsen
Iran nuke deal delayed. Netanyahu bill controversy in Israel. Cracks in Sri Lankan Freedom Party. Modi's wife comes forth.
Opinion
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Sean Kelly
Every parliament’s rule of three
“Many, myself included, thought that Abbott the tight-lipped automaton would become a convincing human once he had actually been elected. We were wrong.”
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Paul Bongiorno
Abbott scraping barnacles off a sinking ship
“Without blushing Abbott insisted, 'This is a government that has fundamentally kept faith with the Australian people.'”
Letters & Editorial
Culture
David Shrigley behind the lines
The humour of David Shrigley’s ink sketches and installations is a Trojan horse for deeper ruminations.
Food
Life
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Gardening half-truths go back at least to Joseph Banks, but his more noble legacy is our love of exotic plants.
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Bus etiquette in changing Turkey
Taking a seat on a bus in Turkey reveals the country shifting secularism.
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On the back nine: Nick O’Hern, 43, golfer
Nick O'Hern is a picture of calm as he considers stepping back from the greens.
Books
The Quiz
1. Which actor recently confirmed he will return to the big screen as Jason Bourne in a new instalment of The Bourne Identity franchise?
2. Is Akaroa on New Zealand’s North Island or South Island?
3. What is the only tennis grand slam singles title won by Sam Stosur? (Bonus points for naming the year, her opponent in the final and the last Australian woman to win a grand slam singles title prior to this.)
4. Gin derives its predominant flavour from…?
5. What is pi to two decimal places?
6. Nay Pyi Taw is the capital of which South-East Asian nation?
7. Which company has the ASX ticker code WOW?
8. Varicella is another term for which common ailment?
9. Which Latin phrase translates into English as “through my fault”?
10. What was the name of the Peruvian aunt who sent Paddington Bear to London?
Quotes
SPORT
“It is my sad duty to inform you that a short time ago Phillip Hughes passed away.”
The Australian cricket team’s doctor confirms the death of Phillip Hughes, who suffered a “catastrophic head injury” during a Sheffield Shield game two days earlier.
COURTS
“I accept that Ms Newman was motivated by a sense of injustice rather than greed or personal gain.”
The magistrate in the Freya Newman case decides not to register a conviction for the Frances Abbott whistleblower. In fairness, few part-time librarians are in it for greed or personal gain.
DEFENCE
“I wouldn’t trust them to build a canoe.”
The defence minister makes a Johnson of himself, admitting he does not have faith in the government-owned Australian Submarine Corporation. He later described the statement as a “rhetorical flourish”.
RACE
“He was almost bulking up to run through the shots, like it was making him mad that I’m shooting him.”
The police officer who killed an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, details the shooting. Mass protests followed a grand jury’s decision not to indict the officer.
HEALTH
“Our policy stands.”
The treasurer defends the Medicare co-payment, just before it was dumped. Cohesive government must be wonderful.
MUSIC
“On the upside, I won! Who wants one? First four people to document doing a good deed, I’ll send you an aria. GO!!!”
The singer celebrates winning four ARIA awards by giving them away to do-gooders, which is presumably how John Butler got his.
