“Supporters for both Dutton and Turnbull say they believe it was actually Morrison’s backers who secretly forced matters to a head, voting for Dutton in the first ballot to boost his numbers and generate a crisis for Turnbull, while intending all along for their man to prevail.”
While Scott Morrison presented himself as a reticent candidate, in reality he used unpopular tax cuts to damage Turnbull and fooled Dutton over numbers.
News
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How the Murdoch press ran Turnbull from his office
“The Liberal Party’s infighting was never about the base. It was about the bubble, inside which the right-wing politicians and the right-wing pundits constantly reinforce one another’s views, becoming ever more distanced from objective reality.”
In among the collapse of the Turnbull government was a final gasp of influence from the right-wing press.
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Barnaby Joyce and the Murray–Darling
As Barnaby Joyce, newly minted special envoy for drought, made a grab for Murray–Darling water, the royal commission into the basin faced yet another setback.
Read
“It’s the church now wrestling with its own profoundly “difficult moment”, and it’s for the remaining Irish faithful to offer their forgiveness.”
Amid fresh claims of abuse and cover-ups in the Catholic Church – this time targeting the Pope himself – dwindling numbers of Irish faithful reflect a growing disquiet.
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Family violence and mandatory sentencing
New mandatory sentencing laws for assaults against emergency workers could see frightened victims of family violence face jail time while their attackers go free.
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China reset now in Payne’s hands
Marise Payne to take up China reset. Julie Bishop's legacy. Myanmar ‘genocide’. McCain snub.
Opinion
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David Marr
Scott Morrison and the ‘strongman’ capitulations
“A curious pattern has emerged from the shambles of the leadership challenge. The strongmen of the cabal that pulled Turnbull down want the party to cave on at least three issues where the old prime minister had shown modest courage: global warming, Catholic schools and Pauline Hanson. The rhetoric of the plotters was all about strength and determination, but by now it’s becoming clear the real point of getting rid of Turnbull was to wave white flags.”
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Paul Bongiorno
Aftershocks of Morrison’s victory
“Earlier in the week, Bishop announced she would go to the back bench and was coy about her plans up to or beyond the election. She has no ambition to be opposition leader. Friends say the role of governor-general wouldn’t appeal. An ambassadorship or United Nations role certainly would. Morrison may be able to reward her closer to calling an election.”
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Gadfly
Flagging a new Churchill
It seems inevitable that Horizon Church, the Pentecostal megaplex in Sydney’s Sutherland shire where Morrison grapples with the divine, will soon release a line of Saint Scott bobblehead dolls, free with every tax-deductible donation. Morrison is a walking vindication of Horizon’s “prosperity doctrine” theology, which is much like regular Christianity without any pesky insistence on giving up your worldly wealth and putting others before yourself.
Letters, Poem & Editorial
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The one constant in politics – holding power – has been cast aside. With it go the orthodoxies of logic and reason. This is about ideology. This is about giving up on the country, on what it wants, because a stubborn few cannot give up on coal and traditional values. The Coalition would sooner forsake electoral success than reckon with the realities of climate science or engage with the leadership asked for by multiculturalism.
Culture
Bangarra’s Stephen Page on the language of dance
Stephen Page has known acclaim and accolades as head of Bangarra Dance Theatre. Off stage he’s had more than his fair share of personal tragedy. Here, he talks to about family, his latest show, Dark Emu, and the power of language to change Australia. “Through this symbolism of visual art and story, under that came this kinship idea of connection to land, people and story. That’s why lore and customs exist.”
The Lemon Twigs’ ‘Go to School’
The two young brothers, Michael and Brian D’Addario, who make up The Lemon Twigs, deliver an improbable rock opera masterpiece about an ape raised by humans.
“In 2016, when he was 26 and ‘scared shitless’, Will wrote a post on his blog titled ‘Reintroducing Myself’ and told his readers, ‘I liked kissing boys.’ At first no one reacted. Then, after he’d finished a school visit, Will noticed five missed calls from his agent. A Catholic school, where he’d previously had a speaking engagement, had cancelled his next visit. He was told the content of The Sidekicks wasn’t suitable for Year 7. ‘But it wasn’t the content of the book, it was the content of me.’ ”
Food
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Grilled mud crab with curry butter
“I was lucky enough to recently find myself on an immense cattle station in the Gulf of Carpentaria with a group of friends. We camped, fished, hunted and gathered among the broad biodiversity that existed on the property. As it was the end of the wet season, there were huge and complex river and freshwater systems teeming with barramundi, mussels, crazy birdlife and mud crabs.”
Life
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No one is watching you: Ronnie van Hout
A 30-year retrospective of Ronnie van Hout’s work includes a dazzling variety of distorted sculptural and filmic self-portraiture, with the effect of interrogating what is real.
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Ten years ago, Palestinian immigrant Faris George Jahshan died of kidney failure. His son reflects on the grief he still feels every Father’s Day.
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Pole position: Miss Filly, 31, pole dancer
Philippa Rasidi on pole dancing’s erotic origins and how it became a sport that’s now influenced by gymnastics, parkour and Latin dance.
Books
The Quiz
1. What was the first film to feature fictional British Secret Intelligence Service agent James Bond?
2. Who was the first woman to have a No. 1 hit on the official British singles chart with a song she wrote herself?
3. Do Ethiopia and Kenya share a land border?
4. What part of the human body is the lobulus auriculae?
5. King Idris I was ruler of what nation?
6. Operation Rolling Thunder was an aerial offensive undertaken during which war?
7. Then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull last week defeated Peter Dutton in a leadership challenge, 48 votes to how many?
8. Which Shakespeare play features the line: “The thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now?”
9. Name the former New York mayor and personal lawyer of Donald Trump who last month declared, “Truth isn’t truth.”
10. Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo will drive for which F1 team next year? (Bonus point for naming his current team.)
Quotes
LAW
“Is it seriously to be suggested that middle-aged white men who graduated from the University of Sydney constitute a vilified or demonised sub-class in Australian society?”
The judge throws out Mark Latham’s defence in a defamation case brought by journalist Osman Faruqi. Mark’s right: the terrorists have already won.
TRUST
“The question should be: Do you really trust any politician? To which my answer is no.”
The former deputy prime minister responds to the Coalition’s instability. Certainly, you wouldn’t trust one enough to marry him.
FAREWELLS
“Last week’s events were the last straw.”
The Liberal member for Chisholm announces that she will not contest the next election. It’s unlikely she will find out what it’s like to live on $40 a day but she’s doing her best.
FREEDOM
“I was just told to ‘Shove your freedom of speech up your arse, and fuck off’.”
The policy director at the Institute of Public Affairs recounts a recent exchange with Julian Burnside at a high school event. The QC then reportedly proceeded to give Breheny a wedgie before doing a lap of the auditorium, arms raised, chanting, “Burnside rules!”
IMMIGRATION
“As I understand it, she never overstayed the visa, hasn’t committed any offences, and I thought it was an application of common sense.”
The minister for Home Affairs explains why he intervened to prevent the deportation of a French au pair. He said it was a humanitarian issue, which is conclusive proof he doesn’t understand what the word means.
VISAS
“She has a lot to say, and we have nothing to fear.”
The Australian journalist criticises a decision to deny a visa to whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who he was due to interview on stage. Greste left an Egyptian prison for this kind of freedom.
