Planning for Tony Abbott’s exit
“If the aim is to oust Turnbull by forcing party members and colleagues to choose between prime ministers, Tony Abbott may get what he wants – but not how he wants it.”
As Tony Abbott campaigns to reform Liberal preselection in NSW, it has emerged his own branch hired a headhunter to find his replacement.
News
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The fight after marriage equality
“Rugg believes that a greater focus on transgender rights will organically become the next step after marriage equality is passed. ”
As a resolution to the debate on marriage equality draws closer, activists worry about how to maintain momentum after a win.
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The people defending Cardinal George Pell
“The royal commission has yielded so much data that we might confidently answer the question of whether Catholic institutions were disproportionately abusive. The simple answer is: yes, they were.”
The criminal charges brought against George Pell have seen his defenders come to the fore.
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George Soros’s university under fire in Hungary
Michael Ignatieff, head of the Central European University in Budapest, is fighting an attempt to have the George Soros-funded private institution thrown out of Hungary by its authoritarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán.
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PaTH and intergenerational theft
“What I find is that even though they remained in the same class socioeconomically, the grandparent was almost always better off than the grandchild.”
While a new government program claims to boost youth employment prospects, the reality is that a different kind of intergenerational theft is at play.
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North Korea’s missile tests expand horizons
North Korea’s missile tests; Iraq and Syria after Daesh; Obama in Indonesia; Malaysian fraud case.
Opinion
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Richard Ackland
The Coalition’s legal appointments
“The process of selection is utterly foggy. No public advertisements, no need to be interviewed and no due-diligence panels. One recently appointed member just wrote to Brandis asking whether any jobs were available because he was out of work at the moment. Bingo, he secured an appointment worth up to $275,000 a year.”
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Paul Bongiorno
Tony Abbott keeps up the fight
“Again we are seeing Abbott the pugilist, rejecting bipartisanship as a false mantra. Labor’s Mark Butler, in a thoughtful book released this week, unsurprisingly called Climate Wars, spells out the enormous price the country is paying for Abbott’s no-holds-barred approach. Foremost is the collapse in power investment thanks to the lack of a political consensus.”
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Others have had the stomach to carefully ingest the statements of Immigration Minister Peter “Benito” Dutton, so I’m grateful to them for pointing out that the man who will set the university-level English exams for aspiring citizens has a special way with the language of Shakespeare, Shelley and Enid Blyton.
An insider’s outside view
A new podcast from Schwartz Media
Join Richard Denniss, The Australia Institute’s chief economist, as he tackles Australia’s most important political and economic issues in a new weekly podcast.
Find The Lucky Country on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Letters & Editorial
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Tony Abbott never understood he was living in a contemporary society; he governed for a world that no longer existed, for a fantasy of the past. His leadership was always illusory. His default has always been treachery. That one man could do so much damage is testament to his corrosive gift for harm.
Culture
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Angourie Rice on staying real in Hollywood
As an actress on the rise, Angourie Rice is determined to find roles beyond the cookie-cutter teenage girls. Here, she talks about the importance of female representation, working with Kidman and Coppola, and frocking up for The Beguiled.
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Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney’s sharp comedy Catastrophe gets to the truth of love and marriage, in all its strain and splendour.
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“At 81, Carla Bley’s waterfall of electrified grey hair almost hides a face that’s remarkably unlined: it’s the composer’s hands that show her age. As a little kid she’d bend her double-jointed fingers into witchy shapes to scare other children.”
Food
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Spiced roasted pumpkin with pine nut cream
“One of the most practical things to do with a pumpkin, I believe, is to simply roast it. This is the best way to bring out its flavour. Roast pumpkin is simple but can be easily spoilt, and some varieties work better than others. ”
Life
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A guide to the season's top wines, from the buyers at Cutler & Co, Supernormal, Cumulus Inc, the Builders Arms Hotel and Meatsmith.
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Life Education and Healthy Harold
For more than three decades Healthy Harold has been taking messages of health and safety to children through the Life Education campaign. After a federal funding scare in May, he’s back and bright as ever.
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World of pain: Robert Whittaker, 26, mixed martial artist
Mixed martial artist Robert Whittaker on why working out how to beat an opponent is a thrilling adrenalin rush.
Books
The Quiz
1. Which American musician is father to North and Saint? (Bonus point for naming the children’s mother.)
2. Satis House was the estate of which Dickens character?
3. What synthetic fibre was first produced in 1935 by DuPont chemist Wallace Carothers?
4. Which Italian car brand’s name also means an authoritative decree, sanction or order?
5. Michael Cheika is the head coach of which Australian national team?
6. What word starting with ‘a’ refers to a temporary pause in breathing?
7. Which famous charter was signed at Runnymede, England, on June 15, 1215?
8. Which actress was born Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers in Sacramento, California in 1989?
9. Who is the Norse god of war?
10. True or false: a flute is a woodwind instrument?
Quotes
LEADERSHIP
“The last thing I want to do is be difficult.”
The former prime minister defends his long-running campaign to undermine Malcolm Turnbull. He must mean difficult in the sense of requiring skill.
SPORT
“I’m going to play another 10 years, and I know after my career I won’t have to work again.”
The Australian tennis player describes losing inspiration while playing at Wimbledon. There is a good chance 10 years seems like a generous window to his sponsors.
POLITICS
“He did not get any sun. He had a baseball hat on.”
The spokesman for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie explains why his boss lied about being photographed on one of the beaches he closed for political reasons. He’s not a crook, either; he’s just very petty.
MUSIC
“The head-fuck for me has been trying to work out why people dislike me so much.”
The singer explains that a plethora of mean comments has caused him to quit Twitter. There’s no one answer as to why people dislike him, but the song “Shape of You” is as good a place as any to start.
WELFARE
“There is no indication this is widespread.”
The minister for human services plays down news that Medicare cards can be bought illegally online. There’s no indication welfare fraud by the poor is widespread, either, but that doesn’t stop ministers pretending that it is.
TOURISM
“It’s very simple really. We like building stuff.”
The MONA founder unveils plans for an enormous luxury hotel and what he calls an “anti-casino”. It’s just like a casino, except it refuses service to locals even before they start drinking.
