Ashley Johnston’s recruitment to fight with Kurds in Syria
“In the weeks leading up to and during his deployment, Johnston and Kadandir developed a bond over Facebook, exchanging jokes and emojis.”
Correspondence published for the first time shows how Johnston was recruited to fight Islamic State in Syria.
News
Read
Leyonhjelm and gun lobby hijack senate inquiry
The gun violence inquiry has been co-opted by lobbyists led by Senator David Leyonhjelm to stall firearm controls.
Read
Reclaim Australia protests threaten more division
Ugly clashes at Reclaim Australia rallies around the country may have only served to cement a feeling of ‘us’ and ‘them’.
Read
Taxation, inequality and the wealth gap
“Between 1975 and 2014, the income share of the top 1 per cent of Australians has doubled, and that of the top 0.1 per cent has tripled.”
The tax debate has raised the ongoing issue of Australia's underlying inequality.
Read
Universities Australia, Clean Energy Council’s lobbying lessons
It’s a high-stakes gamble for industry groups to support unpopular government policy if the senate objects, as the experience of university chiefs shows.
Read
Final touches close in Iran nuclear deal
Bishop and Zarif talks; Greek bailout beyond even Putin; Jokowi holds hopes for Chan and Sukumaran.
Opinion
Read
Guy Rundle
Compulsory superannuation and the social contract
“Of the prosperous OECD countries, we are one of the least innovative, locked into old arrangements that are proving increasingly inadequate to a better life.”
Read
Paul Bongiorno
Big business, economic reforms and fair taxation
“Who would have thought that a joint statement from nine of Australia’s peak business groups would attack a political leader for an “almost continuing focus on budget fairness”?”
An insider’s outside view
Returning for a second season
The Lucky Country is an insider’s outside view of Australia’s most important political and economic debates. Hosted by The Australia Institute’s Chief Economist Richard Denniss, The Lucky Country is a weekly podcast from Schwartz Media which applies common sense to complex issues.
Find The Lucky Country on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Letters & Editorial
Culture
RAW Comedy India fosters stand-up scene
Melbourne's Comedy Festival is boosting the newly emerging Indian stand-up scene.
Sound & Color takes Alabama Shakes to greater heights
Their new record sees Alabama Shakes deliver an inspirational, eclectic sound set loose from their soul roots.
Food
Life
Read
pplkpr app adds friends to the quantified self
Emotional analytic apps to let your smartphone choose the company you keep.
Read
Long-term strategy needed for those surviving cancer
The healthcare needs of Australian cancer survivors don’t disappear when their lifesaving treatment ends.
Read
Blazing paddles: Jessica Fox, 20, canoeist
Jessica Fox, C-1 and K-1 world champion and 2012 Olympic silver medallist, talks about taking on the rapids.
Books
The Quiz
1. Currently banned for drug use, four-time Olympic swimming medallist Park Tae-hwan competed for which country?
2. Marxist revolutionary Leon Trotsky was assassinated in which country?
3. Which 1975 film features the line, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat”? (Bonus point for naming who delivered the line and the film’s director.)
4. In what year did same-sex marriage become legal in New Zealand?
5. Which common drug is also known as acetylsalicylic acid?
6. In which city would you visit Michelangelo’s statue of David?
7. Deloitte, PwC, Ernst & Young and KPMG are all major firms in what field?
8. How many legs does a spider have?
9. Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of South America. It lies in which country?
10. What is considered the traditional colour of Islam?
Quotes
REFUGEES
“Any other government, I suspect, would quickly succumb to the cries of the human rights lawyers and others.”
The prime minister boasts his proud record of human rights abuse in offshore detention centres. His is the only government you can really trust to ignore sexual abuse, refuse clean water and medication, slander aid workers and celebrate the breaching of international treaties.
ROYALS
“He had such soft hands, and those eyes... wow.”
The 19-year-old Canberran tells The Australian Women’s Weekly about meeting Prince Harry on his Australian tour. Little does she know all soldiers have soft hands.
BIGOTS
“It was 50-60 years ago people said that the Irish Catholics or the Catholics were trying to take over the joint — and that wasn’t true either.”
The opposition leader attempts to allay fears Sharia law might be forced on Australia, conveniently forgetting the Catholic make-up of the Abbott frontbench.
DISCOURSE
“I don’t remember [writing] it but I don’t give a fuck if I did.”
The Liberal Democrats senator appears not to apologise for referring to Julia Gillard as a “mangy dog”. In doing so, he trivialised the serious issues of carbon taxation and mange.
POLITICS
“I was genuine about it and quite happy to have given a new leader a chance to lead us into the election if I was an electoral liability.”
The former Queensland premier claims he would have given someone else the chance to lead his party to a historic single-term loss at the last election “if” he were a liability.
REPTILES
“That’s the challenge, isn’t it? We can’t put resources into this indefinitely.”
The Biosecurity Queensland officer explains the difficult staffing decisions being made after a dozen agents spent a week looking for a South American boa constrictor accidentally released into bushland by Gold Coast police.
