News
Cardinal George Pell’s royal commission testimony
“‘Implausible’ and ‘extraordinary’ they called his evidence. But Pell’s greatest opponent was history, adroitly commanded as it was by Counsel Gail Furness. ”
The remarkable part of George Pell’s royal commission testimony is not its insensitivity but what it asks people to believe.
News
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News
Inside John Howard’s legacy
“They didn’t set the economy up for the future and some of the policies they introduced have been ticking time bombs.”
Twenty years after he won government, the economic and political damage of John Howard’s leadership is becoming clearer.
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News
Proposed counterterrorism laws in the spotlight
“The challenge is to keep people safe without making it too easy for the state – the government – to spy on people, harass them or lock them up without evidence.”
The government’s latest counterterrorism bill brings into question the delicate balance of protecting the community while maintaining the principles of justice.
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News
ReSPIN deals out tough talks on gambling addiction
“Gambling has such shame attached to it. It’s very hard to come out and say, ‘This happened to me.’ ”
A program that trains volunteers to speak publicly about their gambling addiction is making inroads into educating communities on the perils of the punt.
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News
NSW debates exclusion zone laws for abortion protestors
While Victoria and Tasmania’s exclusion zone laws require anti-abortion protesters to keep their distance from medical clinics, in NSW opponents invoke free speech arguments to assert their right to confront patients.
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World
US Republicans consider trumping Donald Trump
Moves to recapture Mosul from Daesh; high Iran poll turnout; Malaysian PM Najib Razak’s millions.
Opinion
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Opinion
James Brown
Defence white paper seeks to address shortfalls
“It’s certain that all of the new money for defence will come at some cost to other areas of government spending. The question we all should be asking is just why this is all necessary.”
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Opinion
Paul Bongiorno
Tony Abbott’s party room broadsides
“Abbott and his acolytes have seized on the vacuum created by the government’s protracted consideration of its tax plans to wage a proxy war on Turnbull. ”
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News
Richard Ackland
Gadfly: Caustic Coryspondence
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Letters & Editorial
Cartoon
Letters
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Expressing ideas in a free society
The editorial “False gods” (February 20-26) focusing on the Australian Christian Lobby was disappointingly misinformed and overlooked much of what the organisation does for justice and …
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The bust we had to have
Paul Bongiorno (“Terms of preference”, February 27- March 4) quoted economist Shane Oliver: “The resources boom was pumping something like $70 billion into federal and state revenue, …
Culture
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Culture
Eska comes to WOMADelaide
Musician Eska Mtungwazi overcame self-doubt and stereotyping to launch her eclectic solo career.
Food
Life
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Travel
Alma Bay on Queensland’s Magnetic Island
Finding your bearings on a nostalgic island under the watchful gaze of the local rock wallabies.
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Fashion
Dior’s make-up director Peter Philips
Dior’s Peter Philips brings creativity to the brand's commercial make-up lines.
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Sport
Heart in the game: Michael Ennis, 31, rugby league player
NRL star Michael Ennis on rebuilding confidence and making a difference in the community.
Books
The Quiz
1. Which of these is not a dog breed: (a) Maine Coon; (b) Basenji; or (c) Lhasa Apso?
2. In chess, how many pieces does each player start the game with? (Bonus point for naming how many of these are pawns.)
3. Kanji is a writing system used for which language?
4. The term antebellum means before or existing before a what?
5. Romulus and Remus are the legendary founders of which city?
6. What is another word for the breastbone?
7. Who wrote the best-selling Millennium crime trilogy?
8. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is living under the protection of which country’s embassy in London?
9. Which tennis player recently beat Marin Cilic to win his first ATP title at the Marseille Open?
10. What 275-drop series of waterfalls lies on the border of Brazil and Argentina?
Quotes
REPUTATION
“Cardinal George Pell yesterday uttered words that will stain his reputation forever.”
The News Corp columnist, writing on Tuesday, condemns Pell for telling the royal commission he wasn’t animated by child abuse in the diocese where he was episcopal vicar for education.
CRIME
“It’s a sad story and it wasn’t of much interest to me … I had no reason to turn my mind to the extent of the evils that Ridsdale had perpetrated.”
The cardinal casually dismisses Australia’s worst paedophile, Gerald Ridsdale, who abused more than 50 children over 30 years, his crimes hidden by the church. His confusion of interest with responsibility is staggering.
CONTRITION
“Yesterday, surrendering to fear, I did yell with the rest – the rest of that pitiless pack called journalists. My God, it was sweet.”
The News Corp columnist, writing on Wednesday, about the brief joy of practising journalism rather than defending the church and its appalling handling of child abuse.
DELUSION
“For one giddy day I felt the joy of being a David Marr or Robert Manne, praised for the fury of my sanctimonious denunciation of a man.”
The News Corp columnist says he condemned Pell after realising he might be left his only defender. “You fear: what if Pell is indeed proved evil? How terrible for your reputation to have covered for him.”
RESPONSIBILITY
“People had a different attitude then … The boy wasn’t asking me to do anything about it but just lamenting and mentioning it.”
The cardinal explains why he didn’t act when a child told him of sexual abuse by a priest. Attitudes must have been quite different: soulless, indifferent to the ruin of young lives, happy to leave children responsible for their own abuse.
REALITY
“The brief sunshine of approval of yesterday is already overcast with a Twitter storm.”
The News Corp columnist crawls back to his bizarre defence of a man who by his own admission did nothing to protect children from rape, his brief foray into impartiality behind him.