The legal case against US president Donald Trump
Donald Trump assumes the US presidency with emolument proceedings filed against him and investigations under way by up to six state agencies.
News
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Exclusive: Brandis bound for London, Porter to take Attorney-General
“In the wake of Britain’s Brexit vote, the job is being portrayed as taking on a different flavour and one well suited to Brandis’s skills.”
Christian Porter is set to become attorney-general in a post-budget reshuffle, with George Brandis likely being sent to London as high commissioner.
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Ms Dhu’s family’s fight for prosecutions
Ms Dhu’s family is determined not to let the coronial report into her death disappear from the spotlight without prosecutions.
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Fear deliberately spread on Manus Island
Crude stories about criminal asylum seekers and cannibal locals were used to foster division and suspicions on Manus Island, aiding Australia’s agenda of obfuscation.
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Centrelink’s debt-recovery disaster
“The relevant ministers continue to insist the system is working just as intended, which is unarguably true if the metric by which success is judged as revenue for the government. ”
Centrelink’s flawed system of debt recovery has proved a debacle for the government and a tortuous struggle for those wrongly accused of owing money.
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Trump’s presidency begins with a bang not a whimper
Focus on US marines in Darwin; testing times ahead; Brexit tensions.
Opinion
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Michael Bradley
Error nullius undermines Australia Day
“Australia Day as currently celebrated is an anachronistic relic of the discredited terra nullius doctrine. In terms of the need to give proper legal recognition to the fact of unlawful dispossession that started in 1788, it’s important we remove the symbolic suggestion that that process was lawful.”
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Chris Wallace
Turnbull in the Trump era
“Of all world leaders, Goldman Sachs’ former Australian chief, Malcolm Turnbull, is arguably the most fluent in Trump’s newly restocked swamp’s language – the language of the deal. ”
Letters, Poem & Editorial
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In the wake of Australia Day, this week's editorial it is written by Nakkiah Lui, a Gamillaroi/Torres Strait Islander woman. Change is about giving up space, and the editorial is a newspaper’s most privileged space.
Culture
Rachel Perkins on Jasper Jones and Indigenous activism
Filmmaker Rachel Perkins stays true to her activist upbringing in Jasper Jones, even as she avoids overt political messages.
Cherry Glazerr’s ‘Apocalipstick’
With a sharp and unpredictable songwriter, LA’s new wave pop trio Cherry Glazerr are walking in the footsteps of Blondie.
Food
Life
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Drug research and lived experience
Few researchers working with prohibited drugs such as heroin and psychedelics admit ‘inside knowledge’ of their use, but some argue that the culture of non-disclosure is irresponsible.
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A funeral at Melk Abbey, Austria
An unexpected outing during a visit to Austria allows access to the secret life of a monastery town.
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Another shot: Susan Pettitt, 32, netballer
Netballer Susan Pettitt on fighting her way back into the Australian Diamonds line-up.
Books
The Quiz
1. Who, according to Forbes magazine, was the most powerful person of 2016? (Bonus point for naming the highest-ranked woman.)
2. The medical specialty otorhinolaryngology deals with diseases of the what?
3. Murray (Mer), Thursday and Prince of Wales form part of what island group?
4. What colour is Oxford Street in the classic British version of the Monopoly board game?
5. Prosciutto comes from which animal?
6. Who wrote the collection of essays A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women?
7. January 28 marks the start of the Chinese zodiac Year of the …?
8. Which actor links the films Gangster Squad, Mystic River and The Thin Red Line?
9. Who won the men’s and women’s singles tennis titles at the 2016 Australian Open?
10. What is the mean of these numbers: 22, 28, 40?
Quotes
THREATS I
“It is only a tiny section of our community who go on about these matters, but left unchallenged these schisms from mainstream society sometimes gather momentum.”
The Liberal senator complains about the push to change the date of Australia Day. The momentum he warns of has so far produced women’s suffrage, ended slavery, and led to multiculturalism.
PROPERTY
“Houses will always be incredibly expensive if you can see the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, just accept that.”
The deputy prime minister says the answer to the country’s housing crisis is moving to Tamworth. The problem with moving to Tamworth is it means your local member will be a heat-affected tomato with no grasp of the housing crisis.
TECHNOLOGY
“The biggest vulnerability is often the warmware, the humans making mistakes.”
The prime minister shares his views on cybersecurity and also the fact that computers can’t challenge for the leadership.
SAFETY
“No explanations or reasons were given.”
The founder of the Christian Democratic Party complains he was denied entry to the United States for Trump’s inauguration because he is an unspecified security risk. He blames Obama; other possibilities include his 82 years of weaponising bigotry.
THREATS II
“They don’t like Christmas, they don’t like Australia Day, they’re just miserable-gutted people and I wish they would crawl under a rock.”
Barnaby Joyce voices his own displeasure at the fact a country might deal with the trauma of its history, inadvertently offering his second solution to the housing crisis in under a week.
FRIENDSHIP
“He calls me ‘Champ’ because I won Celebrity Apprentice. It’s cool having the US president call you Champ.”
The former tabloid editor celebrates his relationship with the former reality television star. It’s handy when your nickname is also what the bartender calls you if you’ve had enough.
