Dutton’s secret propaganda unit
“I didn’t know that they were funded by government at all actually – they simply said they were ‘a social news channel that celebrates the diversity of the next generations of Australians’.”
The Home Affairs Department is behind a clandestine scheme to recruit ‘Good Muslims’ to promote a uniform government line within their communities.
News
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Exclusive: Payments to former minister concealed
“The Senate notification said the term of his appointment as defence export advocate on the CDIC board was “permanent” and listed the remuneration as “nil”. The Senate estimates committee had heard that the position was for a year only – renewable at Pyne’s discretion – and paid at an undisclosed rate.”
Having taken a board position with a Swedish arms manufacturer, former Defence minister David Johnston is receiving an undisclosed sum as the government’s defence export advocate.
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“Now we see this absurd new retrospective law that creates contempt of court laws that we believe are the most draconian in the world.”
New contempt laws introduced by the Nauruan government threaten the judiciary, political opponents and freedom of speech – and are unlikely to meet with criticism from Australia.
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Mitch Fifield, the IPA and the ABC
“Fifield, as well as others in government and its associated entities, including the Murdoch media, have embarked on what is widely seen as a long campaign to cow and weaken the ABC, and damage its standing with the public.”
Consistent attacks against the ABC by Communications Minister Mitch Fifield point to a man on a mission to destroy the independent authority of the national broadcaster.
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The case for legalised cannabis
“In the first three months of 2018, California has already collected more than $US60 million in cannabis tax revenue.”
With California green-lighting the world’s largest legal marijuana market, will Australia follow suit?
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Trump and Kim head to Singapore
US and North Korea ready for talks. Italy swings right. Islamists and secularists will face off in Indonesian poll.
Opinion
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Guy Rundle
Michaelia Cash and Shorten’s factions
“You could forget in the middle of all this low comedy that Cash has pushed the back-and-forth of Australian politics about as far as it can go without becoming something else. There’s the police raid on the Australian Workers’ Union offices, the tip-off to journos from her office, the almost-maybe of what she knew and what she told the Senate, the whiteboard she hid behind. And now the subpoena directing her to front the AWU’s court case challenging the legality of the raid. All of this is such farce that it is easy to miss how serious it is. ”
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Paul Bongiorno
The latest Barnaby Joyce fallout
“As far as his Nationals colleagues are concerned, last Sunday night’s nationally televised interview was Barnaby Joyce’s political death warrant. Kevin Humphries, whose state seat of Barwon is within the boundaries of Joyce’s federal electorate, told Ten Eyewitness News that ‘for his own sake, Barnaby should move on’. Humphries’ assessment of the damage was chilling for his federal colleagues. He says, ‘People want consistency in decision-making. You need discipline in government and that’s not currently being displayed, so that’s got to change.’ ”
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Gadfly
The cash of civilisations
Little Winston Howard and Ten Flags Tony, guiding lights of the Ramsay Centre, must be livid that the Australian National University has pulled the pin on their sponsored degree in Western civilisation. While Winston talks glibly of the grand forces that shaped our Western heritage, such as the Judeo-Christian ethic, parliamentary democracy, the rule of law and the Enlightenment, as prime minister he busily set about making Australia as narrow and mean a place as the horizons of his imagination.
An insider’s outside view
Returning for a second season
The Lucky Country is an insider’s outside view of Australia’s most important political and economic debates. Hosted by The Australia Institute’s Chief Economist Richard Denniss, The Lucky Country is a weekly podcast from Schwartz Media which applies common sense to complex issues.
Find The Lucky Country on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Letters & Editorial
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Malcolm Turnbull has shown he lacks the spirit or imagination to offer a referendum on the consensus reached in the Uluru statement. It is perhaps the greatest single failing of his prime ministership, a tenure marked by failings and failure. His hands must be sore from sitting on them.
Culture
Patricia Piccinini’s changing nature
Artist Patricia Piccinini’s sculptures of hybrid and transgenic species evoke a future where the environment is dramatically changed by human intervention – whether for better or worse is in the eye of the beholder. “We don’t create for art’s sake, for beauty’s sake. We create to make the world ‘a better place’, but are we actually doing that?”
While The Americans masterfully resurrects memories of Cold War anxieties, it also offers an unnerving lens on US politics as they are today.
“This wasn’t the story Tallent originally set out to tell, it was the one he ‘stumbled’ into. Anyone who grows up and is paying attention has personal experience of violence, he says. Young women are subjected to violence at staggeringly high rates. Feminism and the environment are intricately linked: we destroy the things that matter to us. His debut novel, My Absolute Darling, is a response to that, led by Tallent’s anecdotal experience. When he talks about the novel, and about women and violence, Tallent is measured and confident. He speaks with intensity and exactness. ”
Food
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“Cooking mackerel is a commitment. I cook them over coals using a Japanese technique, grilling with the dry heat above charcoal rather than through contact with the flame. You cook only on one side, through a wire rack. When the meat turns opaque two-thirds of the way through, with just a bit of crimson left and some caramelisation in the belly, it is ready to take off.”
Life
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Vickie Roach and Women Transforming Justice
Vickie Roach spent much of her adult life in prison. Fourteen years since her last conviction, the Yuin woman is not a prison reformer – she’s an abolitionist.
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A magical trip through the Highlands
A trip to the Scottish Highlands is not just a chance for the author to soak up the imposing scenery, but also to feel connection to her rugged forebears.
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Green power: Aaron Wilson, 26, lawn bowler
Commonwealth lawn bowls men’s singles champion Aaron ‘Disco’ Wilson reveals why he put on his lucky undies but ripped off his shirt at the Gold Coast Games.
Books
The Quiz
1. In which body of water would you find Robbins, Hunter and Three Hummock islands?
2. Which international organisation was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1917?
3. Who played butler James Stevens in the 1993 film The Remains of the Day? (Bonus point for naming who wrote the novel on which it was based.)
4. Hasten is an anagram of the name of the capital of which nation?
5. What is the largest member of the deer family?
6. Roughly translated to English, what does the Spanish phrase muy caliente mean?
7. Which singer topped the ARIA album chart for 2017?
8. What trophy is affectionately known as the “Auld Mug”?
9. The headquarters of NASA is in which United States city?
10. Which came first: the Bronze Age or Iron Age?
Quotes
AMERICA
“This has got to come to an end, this pursuit of presidents.”
The man who cleaned up New York City calls for Donald Trump to be left alone. If the US president can forget the words to his own national anthem, surely the people can forget his crimes.
POO
“I don’t really care about a fine but I would love it if the magistrate gave him a good dressing-down and told him to pull his head in.”
The concerned resident describes capturing Brisbane’s “poo jogger” on camera. The alleged defecator was the national quality manager of the aged-care provider Aveo, but resigned after being caught serially shitting in people’s driveways.
ART
“This kind of stuff happens in Indonesia or Italy.”
The photographer expresses outrage after Woolworths Prahran declined a request to stage a photograph of several hundred naked people on its rooftop. Tunick chose the location for its “otherworldly appeal” and “apocalyptic setting” – which is the kindest thing to be said for that side of the Yarra.
POLITICS
“Of course I am running again. The first people I would tell if I wasn’t would be the electorate.”
The disgraced backbencher confirms he is working for the people of New England. As with everything, if his commitment changes he would tell voters first and his wife last.
MUSIC
“You also have to recognise – and this is not a defence, just an observation – it was a different time.”
The singer and bassist in KISS pretends contrition for being an “arrogant, sexist pig”. In fairness, you don’t have to “recognise” anything – he’s just an arrogant, sexist pig.
TAX
“Other forms of discrimination, such as by skin colour, race, or ethnicity, are rightly abhorred, yet the income tax system openly discriminates against people by income.”
The think tank complains to the government about the unfairness of tax. For people so into racism, they really don’t seem to understand what it is.
