“Despite some suggestions to the contrary, the Carmichael mine has not had its final signoff from Josh Frydenberg, on conditions that must be met before the first coal can be extracted.”
As today’s Batman byelection brings Labor’s coal policy into relief, Adani finds it still has not got approval for its Carmichael mine.
News
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Trump’s trade war leaves Turnbull gun-shy
“If a major trade war breaks out, Australia's trading partners might take a dim view of a government that ‘in the face of US protectionism, goes in pleading for an exemption. Like, “I’m all right Jack, and stuff everyone else.”’”
In declining to support international action against the new US steel and aluminium tariffs, Malcolm Turnbull damages our standing on trade.
Read
Banks front up to royal commission
The banks may have tried to polish their public image, but the opening days of the royal commission shine a light on shoddy lending practices.
Read
Bupa’s play for radical health cover changes
“Believe me, the other funds are watching. If Bupa gets this through, the other funds will follow suit. So you’ll lose the universality of the private health system.”
Plans by Bupa to significantly change the way it provides private health benefits have many doctors and analysts fearing Australian health care is heading towards an American model.
Read
“Faisal learnt about the death of his sister, who died in a Rakhine hospital while giving birth. Rohingya are regularly denied access to medical treatment.”
Faisal’s life in Myanmar was destroyed by violence and persecution. Now the Rohingya asylum seeker is in limbo.
Read
Trump and Kim the madmen across the water
Trump brinkmanship on North Korea. No term limit for Xi Jinping. Shinzō Abe in trouble.
Opinion
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Nina Funnell
Old networks defending college abuse culture
“The old boys’ network will zealously shield their progeny from adverse consequences – not simply out of a filial loyalty, but to protect the institutions from which they drew their own power. While researching The Red Zone Report we heard from several former college students who had either self-harmed or become suicidal in response to the hazing they experienced at college. But we also discovered that the most vociferous defenders of hazing and initiation rituals were alumni groups themselves. ”
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Paul Bongiorno
Shorten acts on tax as Batman votes
“Bill Shorten seized the political agenda in a dramatic way on Tuesday, overshadowing practically everything in domestic politics. He did it by homing in on a tax concession that is costing the budget billions but is a sacred cow for the Liberals. Donning his Sherwood Forest finest, the Opposition leader vowed to fight the government’s scare campaign ‘because I’m going to choose the battler over the top end of town’.”
Read
Kings of War is a four-and-a-half hour Shakespearean onslaught in Dutch at the Adelaide Festival, under the direction of Ivo van Hove and scenographer Jan Versweyveld. To keep us in the picture there were surtitles, but only our leading Hollander, Dr Andreas Blot, had he been there, could have wrung all the subtleties from the performance.
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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Editorial
Waving the white tag
The only real conclusion is that Peter Dutton is a racist. This comes as no surprise, but the starkness of it bears recording. To listen to Peter Dutton talk about white South Africans is to hear a man whose empathy is graded by colour. It took white suffering for him to realise there is injustice in the world.
Culture
Ciara Phillips’ Biennale workshop
For the 21st Biennale of Sydney, artist Ciara Phillips is creating a collaborative printmaking studio, posters from which will run each week in The Saturday Paper. She talks about the role of art in social change. “I find it really difficult to explain: how do you make art? Basically it’s the sum total of all the things I think about.”
New albums from Mia Dyson and Sarah Blasko
Mia Dyson and Sarah Blasko’s sixth and career-best albums suggest neither of these accomplished songwriters has yet hit their peak.
Lorna, retired florist and grandmother
“Lorna is 81, retired florist, my maternal grandmother. Fond of cappuccinos; emojis; her rescue dog Rosie, a surprise from my aunt. Height: about 160 centimetres. Complexion: olive. Eyes: grey, I think. This began as a comical exercise based on the text messages we exchange from time to time. But our text messages, like any other words, do not exist in a vacuum.”
Food
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“Tiramisu has a somewhat naff mass appeal – it’s a homely dessert that should be for everyone but the addition of raw egg, coffee and alcohol excludes children and some people from the pleasures. Bringing together two things that complete every meal – coffee and alcohol – it gives the diner the chance to indulge further without raising any suspicion.”
Life
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Scavenging art for Landfall: Lorne Sculpture Biennale
For Geelong’s Ian Ballis, a life sifting through other people’s discards has led to an unlikely creative partnership with Shirin Abedinirad, an Iranian installation artist whose work is part of the Lorne Sculpture Biennale.
Read
Australian-Ghanaian label Yevu
Anna Robertson’s Yevu label, based in Ghana, resists the pressure to upscale production of its wax print garments in favour of a sustainable business.
Read
Best practice: Lachlan Penfold, 50, director of performance
Melbourne Storm’s director of performance Lachlan Penfold on preparing the best team possible, his time in the NBA and the athletes he admires most.
Books
The Quiz
1. According to legend, what was the only thing to remain in Pandora’s “box”?
2. Which star of a 2017 Hollywood blockbuster served in the Israel Defense Forces?
3. Which country topped the medal tally at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics?
4. Beta vulgaris is the Latin name for which vegetable?
5. Which US city is home to the Space Needle?
6. What does the word niggardly mean?
7. In May 1954, Roger Bannister became the first man to do what? (Bonus point for naming the city in which he did it.)
8. What is the national animal of Greenland?
9. What did Saint Patrick reputedly drive out of Ireland?
10. Who is Australia’s minister for women?
Quotes
ABUSE
“It really proves exactly what we have been through. These are disgusting acts by a despicable man.”
The former Melbourne councillor describes her feeling of vindication after an independent report made four adverse findings against Robert Doyle. The former lord mayor groped Sullivan and is also otherwise generally grotesque.
SHKRELI
“There’s no conspiracy to take down Martin Shkreli. I took down Martin Shkreli with my disgraceful actions.”
The price-gouging pharmaceuticals investor is sentenced to seven years’ jail for fraud. Unfortunately for Martin Shkreli, Martin Shkreli will be forced to serve his term in the first person.
PETS
“I don’t know if he’s going to be able to sustain this flight, because he is a 10-year-old dog, and he’s never been on a flight before.”
The dog owner complains United Airlines mistakenly flew her German shepherd to Japan, days after another dog died when its owner was made to put it in the overhead locker. Punching a doctor in the face and dragging him down the aisle looks pretty tame now.
COURT
“Are you not pathetic?”
The Federal Circuit Court judge finds far-right activist Neil Erikson guilty of contempt of court for failing to return a Toll uniform he wears in racist videos. Pathetic isn’t the half of it.
DEATHS
“His passing has left an intellectual vacuum in his wake. But it’s not empty. Think of it as a kind of vacuum energy permeating the fabric of spacetime that defies measure.”
The astrophysicist marks the death of Stephen Hawking. The British physicist and author was 76.
MEDIA
“I do subscribe to The Saturday Paper and Crikey.”
The ACT chief minister defends comments in which he said he hates journalists and no longer subscribes to The Canberra Times. The Saturday Paper does not endorse his view of journalism, but a subscriber is a subscriber.
