Dylan Voller: ‘The problem is the justice system itself’
“It is the youth justice system being examined here, even if Voller himself has become the public’s cognitive handle for that system. ”
As Australia sees Dylan Voller’s face for the first time, the deeper questions of the royal commission are only beginning.
News
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The new untruth of political campaigns
“The implications for our democracy are quite dire … Voters might not like what we say but they must be able to trust it.”
As a leading polling company is revealed to be behind an activist website ostensibly linked to Medicare, bipartisan support emerges for rules on disclosure.
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Land grab to take farms for Singapore Army training base
A government proposal to compulsorily acquire farmland outside Townsville, to be leased to the Singapore Army for a training base, has local graziers gearing up for a fight.
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Facebook’s distortion of news access
“Algorithms can lead to a distortion of our perception – they can shrink our expanse of information.”
Facebook’s opaque algorithm for filtering its News Feed likely distorts access to information and public debate.
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Changing employment trends and universal basic income
“The fact that almost all the benefits of growth in recent years had flowed to a tiny group of people at the top of income distribution was not just a problem for the poorly paid or unemployed workers, but for the whole economic system.”
With wage inequality at record highs and technology plundering jobs, a universal basic income is being championed. But how to foretell the problems, let alone possible solutions?
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Putin pal Tillerson to steer foreign policy
Last bastion falls; Donor cabals; Trump credit chaos; Erdoğan angles; ABC pulls Pacific short-wave plug
Opinion
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Bill McKibben
Australia leads way in fossil fuel divestment
“Australia has more divested institutions per capita than any other developed country, and is second only in number of fossil-free divestments to the US.”
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Paul Bongiorno
Republican Turnbull’s thorny crown
“Turnbull isn’t convincing on the so-called bread-and-butter issues. And there is growing pessimism that it is already too late for him to turn that around.”
Letters, Poem & Editorial
Culture
After 21 years presenting Radio National’s The Music Show, broadcaster and composer Andrew Ford shows no signs of slowing.
Nude: Art from the Tate collection
An AGNSW exhibition of iconic nudes on loan from Tate Britain pays homage to our fascination with the human form.
Food
Life
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Inconclusive studies haven’t deterred enthusiasts from claiming marijuana as a performance-enhancing drug, from Ganja Yoga to the world’s first ‘cannabis gym’.
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Sarah & Sebastian’s exceptionally delicate pieces of gold and silver jewellery combine handmade artistry with commercial fabrication techniques.
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Defence force: Laura Alleway, 27, soccer player
Matildas and Melbourne City defender Laura Alleway on the professionalism in women’s soccer.
Books
The Quiz
1. Where in the human body are the suprarenal glands?
2. Which film studio’s logo features a boy fishing from a crescent moon?
3. The Bundestag is the lower house of which country’s federal parliament?
4. Princess Beatrice last month cut whose face in a mock knighting ceremony? (Bonus point for naming who she was pretending to knight.)
5. In poker, what is a hand of five cards of the same suit called?
6. Which actress links the films Something’s Gotta Give, High Crimes and Melinda and Melinda?
7. Coptic is the extinct language of which nation?
8. What word is used in the NATO alphabet to represent the letter ‘C’?
9. What types of insects are classified in the order Coleoptera?
10. Who recently became the first Victorian to win a race as the horse’s trainer and jockey?
Quotes
REFORM
“Our education standards continue to fall, our economy is idling and governments across the nation continue to think more rules and regulations will fix the problems.”
The Liberal senator muses on the country’s problems and the fact nothing is being done about them. Eventually, someone will tell him he’s in government.
DENIAL
“In relation to this ‘comfort women’ thing… it’s not a pure commemoration as such. It’s highly politically motivated.”
The president of the Australia–Japan Community Network confirms their 18C complaint against a monument to “comfort women” erected by Sydney’s Korean community. Another way to deal with the issue is not to make women sex slaves during wars.
NAMING
“Merry Christmas USA Thank You Tour 2016.”
The president-elect names his latest series of rallies. The words “turkey”, “very beautiful”, “eggnog”, “not sad” and “white bread” would not fit on the poster.
CORRUPTION
“I direct Mr Obeid be taken down.”
The supreme court justice sentences Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid to five years in prison for misconduct in public office. Taken down is an understatement.
HYPOCRISY
There are a large number of people who were rorting it and there are a large number of people who are drug addicts and they think they meet the criteria.”
The former speaker and acknowledged expert in entitlement condemns welfare recipients from the vantage of her glass helicopter.
CHRISTMAS
“Don’t bring these sort of views into the minds of young kids.”
The immigration minister condemns as “political correctness gone mad” the thought that a school might not sing Christmas carols. Still on his list of things that can be put into the minds of young children: suicidal ideation caused by indefinite detention for the legal act of seeking asylum.
