Reagan ‘voodoo economics’ at the heart of Scott Morrison’s budget
Following a sponsored visit by Reagan adviser Arthur Laffer, Malcolm Turnbull’s budget is based on the fallacy of his trickle-down economics.
News
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Malcolm Turnbull’s budget grab bag to prime election
“Authenticity and credibility are twin tests heading into a campaign in which both major party leaders are first-timers. It has not gone smoothly so far, for either.”
Amid confusion over forward estimates, the budget is as much about promised economic planning as it is an election pitch.
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The rise and rise of Republican wildcard Donald Trump
How did Donald Trump, a man rated one year ago with no chance of becoming a presidential nominee, turn Republican voters to his side?
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Let Them Stay asylum seekers in community detention limbo
“These were the people who were hidden behind razor wire on faraway islands. For the first time, Australians can meet them.”
One of only two journalists to have visited Nauru since it effectively closed its borders to scrutiny reconnects with one of the families released into community detention in Australia after the Let Them Stay protests.
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Australian Jew’s fight against the Catholic Church in Poland
For many years a Melbourne Jewish doctor has been fighting assiduously to prove the Catholic Church in Poland willingly participated in a scam to steal her forebears’ land. Finally, justice has been served.
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Republicans brace for The Donald’s candidacy
Philippine Trump; Kim Jong-un gets the party started; Daesh bans opium; Panama corral
Opinion
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Tony Blackshield
Turnbull’s four missed chances to end detention
“When the PNG Supreme Court declared that detention of asylum seekers on Manus Island was unconstitutional, here was an explicit opportunity to close the camps. but Turnbull did not take it.”
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Paul Bongiorno
Turnbull and Morrison’s 2016 federal budget let-down
“This budget was more than an opportunity missed, it was a wilful blind eye to an emerging central economic reality. ”
Letters, Poem & Editorial
Culture
Roger Ballen’s lens a dark mirror
Photographer Roger Ballen’s darkly theatrical depictions of Johannesburg’s marginalised white poor reflect a universal helplessness.
Food
Life
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Sopite syndrome as high-rise buildings sway
Tired of the office? Maybe it has less to do with work and more to do with the height of the building and the weather outside.
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Tea and empathy with ‘Noonday Demon’ author Andrew Solomon
Two depressives talk about love, survival and singing puppets.
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In the box seat: Kerryn Manning, 39, harness racing driver-trainer
Meet Kerryn Manning, the harness racing driver who’s won more than 3500 races.
Books
The Quiz
1. Name the Australian 60 Minutes reporter who was held in a Lebanese prison for almost two weeks last month. (Bonus points for naming the five other 60 Minutes reporters.)
2. The Matterhorn is a mountain on the border between Switzerland and what other country?
3. In medical terms, what is MASH an abbreviation for?
4. Game of Thrones star Carice van Houten is expecting a baby with which Australian actor?
5. What does an entomologist study?
6. How many seats are there in the Australian senate: (a) 72; (b) 76, or (c) 80?
7. Biologically, are babies born with the XX chromosome male or female?
8. Which hit Bangles song was written by Prince?
9. Shinto is an indigenous religion of which country?
10. Where are Mons Bradley and Mons Hadley located?
Quotes
DETENTION
“Their activities and these behaviours must end.”
The immigration minister blames refugee advocates for self-harm in offshore detention centres. He has the face and moral credibility of a boiled potato.
SPORT
“We thought it couldn’t get any better 12 months ago when the eyes of the world were on us as we reinterred the bones of Richard III, but this is even better.”
The mayor of Leicester celebrates his city’s remarkable Premier League title win. The city has promised not to build a car park over any of the players.
RETIREMENT
“I hope this sector will acknowledge and demonstrate their gratitude to him in his years of retirement from this place.”
The former prime minister encourages the mining sector to repay Ian Macfarlane for the favours he did them as industry minister. Because at a certain point it’s not even worth pretending to have credibility.
HOUSING
“Well, you should shell out for them, you should support them, a wealthy man like you.”
The prime minister responds to a question on housing affordability, telling ABC presenter Jon Faine that he should just buy his kids property. This is literally the Coalition’s housing policy: have rich parents.
FOOD
“Cows make an extreme sacrifice for humanity but that is their position in God’s plan as food for the predators.”
The owner of celebrity vegan restaurant Café Gratitude responds to leaked pictures of him eating a hamburger. Engelhart “transitioned” into meat eating after 40 years of vegetarianism and one drunken cab trip past a drive-through.
DEATH
“He was a formidable advocate of the causes in which he believed. Despite our political differences I regarded him as a friend.”
The NSW premier remembers Greens MLC John Kaye, who died this week after a brief battle with cancer. He was 60.
