Dispute over Heyfield logging deal pulls in senior cabinet
The impending closure of Heyfield sawmill has pitted senior federal ministers against each other, a premier, farmers and conservationists.
News
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“Why do people who are objectively quite well off not feel they are? One way to answer that is with monkeys.”
The refusal of politicians to define ‘rich’ plays to a social confusion about how well off people actually are.
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The murder of Fitzroy taxi driver Mohamud Muketar
Almost a year on from the murder of a Melbourne taxi driver, police are no closer to solving the crime and his father no nearer to answers.
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Pete Evans and the rejection of science
“There is something of Donald Trump in Evans’ rhetoric. It’s impassioned but hazy. It turns ignorance into virtue.”
As a celebrity chef, Pete Evans has enjoyed enormous success. But now the man who celebrated the paleo diet is using his profile to further peddle his distrust of science.
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Palm oil plantations displace more than orang-utans
The Western focus on saving the endangered Borneo orang-utan from palm oil plantations overlooks the industry’s effect on indigenous communities and the climate change impact of the loss of peat forests.
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Malcolm Turnbull pulls China treaty ratification
Arabs paying price for US bungling; Hamas changes policy; Britain begins exit from European Union.
Opinion
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Peter Greste
The decline of America’s moral authority
“Here is a question: Would I still be in prison in Egypt if Donald Trump had been president two years ago? The answer is important not so much because of what it might have meant personally, but because of what it tells us about the ability of the Trump White House to wield its influence beyond brute military or economic force. The United States has never quite been able to arrange a perfect marriage of its noble founding principles to its daily practice. But since the end of World War II, the US has been able to stand on its broad commitment to the classical liberal values of individual freedom, democracy and the rule of law to wield its moral authority. ”
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Paul Bongiorno
Turnbull’s muddle kingdom fails on extradition treaty
“The botching of the treaty ratification with our biggest trading partner exposed much that is wrong with this government. It brought to the surface, yet again, deep divisions that have leadership implications. And it exposed a political tin ear that is destroying the government’s attempts to regain political ascendancy. ”
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Gadfly
Radio National treasure
Gadfly took a leisurely drive along the Hume Highway to Canberra and what a treat to have Radio National for company. By the Mittagong turnoff there was James Carleton’s show “God Forbid” with an item on the advantage of being white, leading into a top-rate discussion on 18C with academics Helen Pringle and Iain Benson. Hands down it was one of the liveliest talks on this well-worn topic since Dr Andreas Bolt (BA-in-waiting) had trouble with his fair-skinned Aborigines.
Letters & Editorial
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The last time it ended at a writers’ festival. That is part of the contradiction of Mark Latham, the apparent voice of western Sydney, who left politics for acreage and the breeding of racehorses.
Culture
Artist Jacobus Capone and his fado project
Jacobus Capone’s performance art often finds him undertaking feats of endurance, such as his trans-Australia walk carrying a jar of water from one coast to the other. For his latest work, he found inspiration in the melancholy of Portuguese fado music.
Polish Club’s ‘Alright Already’
For all the bands who think they know rock’n’roll, Sydney duo Polish Club use their debut album to prove they actually do.
Writer and step-mother Kelly Chandler
“We’re sitting on high stools at Kelly’s kitchen bench. She’s got one leg tucked beneath her, yogi style, the other dangling far from the floor. She’s tiny. The kitchen is white and beautiful. There are toys tucked away in open shelves and in the background we listen to the rumblings of the washing machine. Kelly’s an old friend, but we haven’t seen each other for a while, in the way that sometimes happens when people have young children.”
Food
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Lemon posset with Chantilly cream
I think it’s good to get away from contemporary desserts – gelatines, contemporary flavours. This dessert has its origin in the Middle Ages, and began as a warm milk drink. Eventually it evolved into a dessert that was curdled, often with alcohol. There are other iterations where almonds and egg yolks have been used to thicken the milk or cream. In this recipe, though, the thickening agent is also the flavouring agent: lemon juice.
Life
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Satire, free speech and Mehdi Savari
Censorship and persecution of comedians is one indicator of a repressive regime. So why is Australia detaining a comedian on Manus Island?
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Susan Dimasi and Material By Product
With the aim of sustaining the Chanel legacy, Material By Product creative director Susan Dimasi has the well-heeled 21st-century professional in her sights.
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The ambassador: Johnathan Thurston, 33, rugby league player
Rugby league legend Johnathan Thurston on footy, family life and using his voice to promote reconciliation.
Books
The Quiz
1. In sporting parlance, what is GOAT an abbreviation for?
2. Where is the lowest point in mainland Australia?
3. In humans, each cell normally contains how many pairs of chromosomes?
4. Who is Scotland’s first minister?
5. Would you wear, eat or play a brogue?
6. What was Robert F. Kennedy’s middle name? (Bonus point for John F. Kennedy’s middle name.)
7. Petroselinum crispum is the Latin name for which classic herb?
8. How many hours is Australian Eastern Standard Time ahead of Greenwich Mean Time?
9. In a game of darts, what is the highest possible score with three throws?
10. The bushranger Frederick Ward was better known by which pseudonym?
Quotes
RUSSIA
“If the president puts Russian salad dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that’s a Russian connection.”
The White House press secretary chides the press for reporting Donald Trump’s relations with Russia. Apparently if the president’s businesses are hopelessly entwined with Russia and his national security adviser misleads the vice-president about his contacts with Russia, that’s “somehow” a Russian connection, too.
BROADCAST
“To be clear, a simple apology will do.”
The comic and broadcaster complains to Sky News after commentator Mark Latham called her a “female with a disability”. Latham was later sacked for calling a schoolboy “gay”. In classic schoolyard logic, he argued the boy was “gay” because he liked women and their rights.
PORTRAITURE
“When all of the people who denigrated you, Peter, are long gone, you’ll be here haunting this place.”
The Labor member unveils a portrait of disgraced former speaker Peter Slipper. The artist, Paul Newton, is perhaps best known for his depiction of the Virgin Mary on Australia Post’s Christmas stamps. The Bible is silent on her use of taxi dockets.
BIRTH
“Everything is fine. It was a nice controlled delivery. They are just waiting to assess things today to see if they can get her to hospital.”
The director of operations for the Queensland Ambulance Service describes the birth of a little girl during Cyclone Debbie. The story is not without tragedy, however: the child’s name is Billiana.
RACE
“Actually show me anything that I have said that has been racist.”
The One Nation leader asks a question worthy of Scheherazade. Unfortunately, Pauline, we haven’t the space.
TRAVEL
“Give me a break. We’re talking about a helicopter ride and some small expenses.”
The other disgraced former speaker dismisses complaints she failed to fully comply with a departmental audit of her expenses. And, really, it is small change when you consider her pension is nearly $250,000 a year.
