Politics, media and the ‘African gangs’
“Unfortunately, when something like this is whipped up, an exaggerated fear breaks down cohesion. People are less willing to respond in pro-social ways.”
Racist politics and the summer media vacuum conspired to create a ‘gang’ crisis in a city where crime rates have fallen.
News
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Exclusive: Minerals Council one-third foreign owned
“Adani will be able to funnel money from its operations in India and continue to be a major donor to the Liberal Party. The legislation has clearly been designed to silence the charitable sector.”
A study of the Minerals Council’s membership reveals the extent of foreign ownership, unchecked by the government’s crackdown on political influence.
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“Every drone attack where civilians are killed gives the Taliban material with which to recruit.”
As a former chief of army predicts that joint strike fighters will be the military’s last manned aircraft, what checks will prevent civilian deaths by drones?
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Big business chases industry super partnerships
“The point the funds overtake the banks may still be some years off. But already they’re providing an alternative source of capital to bank loans and the sharemarket. Tycoons such as Pratt, Rinehart and Fox are trying to tap it.”
After decades spent unchallenged as lenders of capital, the major banks find themselves rivalled by union-run superannuation funds. Now big business is going to the funds for investment.
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A new year’s resolution for Manus
With another year of their lives lost to an unknown future, the refugees and asylum seekers trapped on Manus Island dream of resolution, security and healing in 2018.
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Trump’s second year commences with chaos
Winter Olympics freeze North Korea tensions. TPP back on.
Opinion
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Nakkiah Lui
Dated politics of January 26
“As long as we keep celebrating the past, it’s always going to affect the future. When we glorify the same power structures that led to dispossession, when we revere the violence and glorify the white supremacy and harsh imperialism relied upon, then that is who we are and who we are going to be.”
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Paul Bongiorno
Turnbull presses on over summer
“Turnbull has spent the past few weeks meticulously planning strategy and tactics for his revival. One insider says the PM has had a series of deep-dive sessions on policy. He has also had backbenchers break their holidays to meet him for a drink and frank exchange of views.”
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One piece of news that managed to captivate a comatose nation involved the activities at the Kensington Wine Rooms, where High Commissioner Lord Downer fell into discussion with George Papadopoulos, a member of Dotard Trump’s campaign team, who has since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
Letters, Poem & Editorial
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Tony Abbott says, “What happened on January 26, 1788, was, on balance, for everyone, Aboriginal people included, a good thing, because it brought Western civilisation to this country.” This is the greatest lie ever told by a modern prime minister. It is a lie based on 230 years of deceit. It is a lie about everything, a lie told against thousands and thousands of deaths, against land theft and genocide, against the very foundation of contemporary Australia.
Culture
Lisa Reihana’s historic reckoning
Artist Lisa Reihana, creator of the acclaimed video tableau In Pursuit of Venus (Infected), talks about growing up in bicultural New Zealand and her queering of Captain Cook. “The way that I feel things, I feel like sometimes I get messages from other places. I might be thinking about an idea, or in a conflict, and then I might come to a conclusion. It’s to do with intuition. For me, I’m thinking it’s from my people.”
Warwick Thornton’s ‘Sweet Country’
Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country joins the canon of Australian westerns probing violent colonialism and Indigenous dispossession.
“Debra Adelaide is quick to tell me she isn’t a poet. She does love poetry though, she says, because in a very short amount of time it can take people into another space. ‘Poetry is like the guerilla warfare of literature. It can just run in there really quickly, lob in a hand grenade and run out again.’”
Food
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Barbecued brined pork loin with potato salad and grilled zucchini
“The process of brining meat should never be overlooked. This is a recipe for brined pork loin, where the skin has been removed. Pork loin is a cut that can often be dry when it is cooked, but by brining the meat, it can be transformed.”
Life
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Outside Oslo, a forest has been planted that in a hundred years will provide the paper for an anthology of renowned writers’ work, which will remain unread until then.
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Nat Randall’s The Second Woman
Nat Randall’s 24-hour performance of a single scene based on the film Opening Night, over and over, becomes a study in the excesses of male ego.
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Code breaker: Georgie Parker, 28, Australian rules footballer
Hockeyroo turned Collingwood Football Club recruit Georgie Parker on her love of sport, trick shots and social media.
Books
The Quiz
1. Which winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine was named the first Australian of the Year, in 1960?
2. Traditionally, what is the main ingredient of falafel?
3. Name the Australian boxer who retained his WBO welterweight title last month.
4. Who played Cynthia as an adult in the 2012 film The Sapphires?
5. Which cocktail comprises gin, Campari and vermouth?
6. What is the common name for mammals of the order Chiroptera?
7. What is the southernmost country in Africa?
8. What, starting with ‘o’, is the name of the organ at the end of the abdomen of certain insects, by which eggs are deposited?
9. Name the last horse trained by Bart Cummings to win the Melbourne Cup. (Bonus point for naming the year it won.)
10. Which artist links the bands Derek and the Dominos, Cream and The Yardbirds?
Quotes
TAX
“Look, I think trickle-down is a really inappropriate term.”
The prime minister complains about the reality of his tax reforms. The preferred term is “giving money to people who vote for me”.
MUSIC
“It’s caused a great deal of offence from these posturing, narcissistic moralisers.”
The conservative senator condemns musicians for asking that he not include their music on his Australia Day playlist. If artists want to be defended for their moralistic narcissism, they should look into homophobic wedding cake baking.
LAW
“I know what it’s like to be in prison. And if you commit a crime in our society, you know what: it’s a holiday in there.”
The One Nation leader calls for the deportation of immigrant families if any member commits a crime. Fourteen years ago Hanson described being put on suicide watch in prison and feeling as if it were “the end of my world” – which is not everyone’s idea of a holiday, but might feel like a break from life in a self-administered race war.
NEWS
“The effectiveness of fake news is primarily due to its ability to mimic real news, to seem plausible.”
The Catholic leader uses his World Communications Day address to warn against disinformation, calling Eve’s temptation the “first fake news”. Side note: journalistic integrity is not really a marker of the Bible’s writing from there.
INFRASTRUCTURE
“All ideas merit consideration, even the most far-fetched ones.”
France’s finance minister politely dismisses Boris Johnson’s suggestion that a bridge be built over the English Channel. Reminder: this man is Britain’s foreign secretary.
FAMILY
“In 2015, David and I sat down with a school schedule ... I don’t want to miss too much of this.”
The singer announces that his current tour will be his last. He will fit in 300 shows before picking up the kids from school.
