News

Morrison ‘hijacked’ NZ tourism review

“The NZ auditor’s criticisms of Morrison are similar to some of those the Australian National Audit Office would make nine years later in its own report examining the management of Tourism Australia.”

Karen Middleton An audit report covering Scott Morrison’s role in the New Zealand tourism office raises serious concerns over transparency and due process.

News

News

After Bourke Street: no easy answer

“I don’t think the greater community appreciate that this is where we get our intelligence from – members within the Muslim community.”

Martin McKenzie-Murray After three people were stabbed, one fatally, in the centre of Melbourne, terror experts, authorities and politicians are at odds on how to stop ‘lone wolf’ attackers.

News

The flawed strategy for a republic

Mike Seccombe With the debate raging afresh over Australia becoming a republic, the main players seem stuck in 1999 and First Nations people remain largely ignored.

News

The energy blame game

“Under the watchful eye of AEMO, energy generators bid into a stock exchange at five minute intervals, with prices settled every 30 minutes. This is where things get interesting.”

Charis Palmer As the government pushes to legislate for control of energy prices, retailers blame poor policy for rising bills. Meanwhile, experts say, the market continues to be gamed by energy generators.

News

Adoption law changes in NSW

Celina Ribeiro The NSW government’s plan to make it easier to adopt children in out-of-home care has been criticised for not allowing sufficient time for parents to restore their families and for potentially creating a new Stolen Generation.

World

Morrison, China and the Pacific

Hamish McDonald Scott Morrison and Xi Jinping take on international diplomacy in the Pacific. Beijing boosting regional security, not military. South-west Pacific in political turmoil. ‘Soft power’ review under way as case made for Radio Australia’s return.

Opinion

Opinion

Dylan Voller
Kids on country, not in custody

“If we didn’t riot, if we didn’t bring attention to the situation that way, all of these abuses would still be hidden out of sight. No one would know what goes on in Don Dale. Ultimately, we need all youth detention centres shut down and resources and power given to Aboriginal community leaders to develop alternative programs and facilities based on country, to help children who are caught up in violence and trauma to heal.”

Opinion

Paul Bongiorno
Scott Morrison fails to persuade voters

“The question dogging Scott Morrison as he rubs shoulders with world leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Port Moresby this weekend is how long he will remain a member of this exclusive club. By his own admission, the chances are slim. The accidental prime minister – catapulted into the job when a majority of the Liberal Party room 12 weeks ago preferred him over Peter Dutton – is failing miserably. ”

Diary

Gadfly
The Mitch trials begin

Richard Ackland

If you take out all the pages from The Sydney Morning Herald reporting on allegations of inappropriate touching there wouldn’t be enough newsprint to wrap a flounder. The latest revelation is that while the ABC board was at Billy Kwong’s, tucking into the saltbush cakes and crispy skin duck with Davidson’s plums, the then managing director’s back allegedly got rubbed, ickily. Litigation regarding this sort of thing is rampant.

Letters, Cartoon & Editorial

Cartoon

Read

Editorial
Granting injustice

The euphemism in the documents calls the grants “departmental approaches”. Everywhere else in Indigenous affairs, the money has to be begged; here, it is given freely. Possibly because here it can be used to fight Indigenous interests. By Nigel Scullion’s own admission, the money was for “legal fees, effectively … to put forward a case of detriment to the land commissioner”. That is, to object to native title claims.

Letters

More ordinary members needed

Political scientist Nick Economou’s claim that “the ordinary branch member is a big problem in political parties” in Mike Seccombe’s article on neo-Nazi infiltration of the Nationals …

Holding politicians to account

Thank you, Karen Middleton, for yet again doing what a media ought, investigating and asking the hard questions and pulling into the light buried Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) reports. To …

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Culture

Profile

Gillian Flynn’s dark inquiries

Ella Donald Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn developed a taste for the macabre at an early age, but she’s keen to dispel the myth that she is who she writes. She talks about her depictions of deeply disturbed and disturbing women and the release of her latest film project, Widows. “There’s a reason we’re fascinated with domestic-based murders. It allows us to talk about marriage and family and what goes on behind closed doors. It gives us a strange vocabulary and permission to talk about those things we wouldn’t otherwise.”

Theatre

STC’s A Cheery Soul

Steve Dow

STC’s production of Patrick White’s darkly comic A Cheery Soul shows that the story of ‘monstrous’ nursing home resident Miss Docker is a still-relevant examination of the loss of agency in old age.

Life

Food

Spring onion and leek broth with smoked eel

David Moyle

Travel

KidZania, Singapore

Sophie Quick At the KidZania labour-themed fun park in Singapore, children earn pretend money working pretend jobs as insurance agents or pharmacists, while their parents stand in depressingly familiar queues.

Sport

Going off: Sophie Molineux, 20, cricketer

Richard Cooke As she competes in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20, Australian cricketer Sophie Molineux talks about the advantages of being a left-handed all-rounder and why she no longer bowls a wrong ’un.

Books

Barbara Kingsolver
Unsheltered

Jock Serong
Preservation

Niviaq Korneliussen
Crimson

The Quiz

1. Which is the smallest in surface area of North America’s Great Lakes?
2. In which year did Australia introduce polymer banknotes?
3. Along with her diplomat husband Sir Harold Nicolson, who created the world-renowned Sissinghurst Castle Garden?
4. Pastrami is usually made from which meat?
5. Who wrote the novel The Beautiful and Damned?
6. The Guru Granth Sahib is the holy book of which religion?
7. What is the closest star to Earth?
8. Which former Test captain resigned from the Cricket Australia board earlier this month?
9. Which band released the album Living in the 70’s in 1974? (Bonus points for naming the band’s lead singer and who produced the album.)
10. Name the second and third placegetters in this year’s Melbourne Cup.

Quotes

ADVERTISING

“Mr Morrison is the Don Draper of Australian politics, without the talent or the good looks.”

Helen PolleyThe Tasmanian senator chides the prime minister over reports about his mismanagement at Tourism Australia. The comparison is perhaps unfair to Don Draper, who at least got seven seasons.

SAUSAGES

“We recently introduced a suggestion that onion be placed underneath sausages to help prevent the onion from falling out and creating a slipping hazard.”

Debbie PooleThe Bunnings chief operating officer announces controversial new sausage sizzle guidelines. Cargo-shorted, Blundstone-shod dads around the country threatened to boycott unless given written assurances selling veggie sausages would not be next.

YES

“A Yes vote of more than 60 per cent ... It said a lot about our commitment to democracy, equality and a fair go.”

Malcolm TurnbullThe former prime minister congratulates Australia on the one-year anniversary of the marriage equality vote. Like almost everything in his political career, this high point was someone else’s choice.

ROYALS

“It is a privilege for any mother to be able to propose a toast to her son on his 70th birthday. It means that you have lived long enough to see [him] grow up.”

Elizabeth WindsorThe Queen toasts her eldest son. Given Charles still lives under his parents’ roof and their money funds his “art projects”, some may contend he has not, in fact, yet reached adulthood.

QUESTIONS

“The question that remains for me is whether there is any room in this conversation for talking to ... young girls about behaving sensibly and not exploiting their seductive power to ruin the lives of men.”

Bettina ArndtThe commentator defends convicted sex offender Nicolaas Bester. The question remains should we still be listening to Bettina Arndt?

BIRTHDAYS

“We wanted a frog theme ... They told me it could be done.”

Shane HallfordThe Tamworth father goes viral for saying Woolworths’ “pathetic” cake decorating ruined his son’s third birthday. His complaint about the lack of effort is a bit rich coming from a dad who buys a kid’s birthday cake from Woolworths.