News

How do you cure a cancer like Rupert Murdoch?

“You might call it the Foxification of News Corp. It is literally undiluted, partisan propaganda. They support and cover up for their mates. They bully their enemies.”

Mike Seccombe Pressure is mounting against News Corp, led by former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd. They say democracy is damaged by the company’s ‘propaganda’ and ‘vendettas’.

News

News

Exclusive: Government refuses to release staff bullying report

“It is disgraceful that a taxpayer-funded report was kept secret from the people whose lives it affected the most.”

Karen Middleton As questions are asked over power imbalances in ministerial offices, a report into alleged bullying is being withheld from a staffer who was sacked after making a complaint.

News

Biden looks to square the Oval Office

Richard Cooke It is likely a Biden presidency will change the world. The question is: will it change it quickly enough?

News

The politics of Joel Fitzgibbon

“More than once, people have said to Anthony, ‘When you let [Fitzgibbon] behave that way, it makes you look weak and it makes him look like a protected species.’ ”

Karen Middleton As Joel Fitzgibbon quits the Labor frontbench over climate policy, some in the party question whether a longstanding friendship with Anthony Albanese allows the maverick to get away with too much.

News

Progress on Covid-19 vaccines

Rick Morton This week, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced it had produced an effective vaccine for Covid-19. It is one of four vaccines to which Australia has now secured access.

World

Suu Kyi on target for re-election in a landslide

Jonathan Pearlman Joe Biden prepares to take lead on coronavirus. Fiji invites president-elect to Pacific Islands Forum. Ethiopia on brink of civil war.

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Opinion

Opinion

Arash Rahnama
A letter from detention: Help before my soul is gone

“I am in very bad situation which is unexplainable, like a bird in the cage. When you open the cage after a long time, the poor bird cannot fly anymore. It has lost the wings of its heart for flying.”

Opinion

Paul Bongiorno
Political climate changes with Biden win

“Australia’s political leaders were among the first to declare their faith in America’s democracy when the Biden victory in the presidential election became clear. They realised that what was at stake was the credibility of a nation that for the past 75 years has claimed to be the leader of the ‘free world’.”

Diary

Gadfly
Christian lessons

Richard Ackland It was time for a few heads on pikes, or should that be Poles? Sadly, it is those adornments to public life, The Christian and The Tudge, who got piked. There’s nothing quite so enjoyable as seeing lecherous, hypocritical politicians squirming in the Four Corners spotlight. Alan Tudge, whose name comes straight out of Dickens, expressed “regret” – most likely he regretted being a family-values man who got sprung.

Letters, Cartoon & Editorial

Cartoon

Read

Editorial
What rhymes with colonial theft?

It is striking that this week, NAIDOC Week, the most substantial government discussion of Indigenous rights was the New South Wales premier proposing we change the word “young” to “one” in the national anthem, as if the legacy of colonial theft could be solved in half-rhymes.

Letters

Biden, his time

Thank you, Mike Seccombe, for the cool-headed analysis of the anti-democractic structural flaws of the United States electoral system (“One small hand clinging to everything except reality”, November 7-13), …

US engaged in democracy

Mike Seccombe characterises record voter turnout in the US election as an “ugly outcome … proving the nation remains as divided as ever”. That is a strange conclusion to draw. Is civic …

Read More

Culture

Profile

Stage doyenne Nancye Hayes

Jinghua Qian After almost six distinguished decades in a notoriously fickle industry, Nancye Hayes is still captivating Australian theatre audiences with her indomitable mix of sass and charm. “Some people can’t stand musicals, but they’re joyful and moving. Music is very emotional and touches people.”

Music

Hey u x

Shaad D’Souza New Zealand Spotify star Benee is preternaturally talented, but her debut album isn’t enough to drag her out of sludgy easy-listening playlists.

Books

Sofie Laguna
Infinite Splendours

Louise Milligan
Witness

Dolly Alderton
Ghosts

Life

Food

Chicken mousseline sausages with petits pois à la française

Annie Smithers

Sport

Ezi Magbegor shoots to the top

Luke Dodemaide Australian basketballer Ezi Magbegor rolled with the punches of a tumultuous 2020 and emerged as one of her sport’s biggest stars. Now, as the WNBA champion embarks on the WNBL season, her sights are firmly set on the Tokyo Olympics.

Puzzles

The Cryptic

Crossword No. 327

The Quiz

1. Charles, Prince of Wales is also Duke of Rothesay and Duke of …?
2. How many teeth should an adult human have?
3. The Dodecanese are islands belonging to which European country?
4. How many hours are in 15 days?
5. Was actor Sean Connery born in Glasgow or Edinburgh? (Bonus point for naming the film for which he won an Academy Award.)
6. In the NATO phonetic alphabet, the letter ‘p’ is assigned which word: (a) papa; (b) peacock; or (c) Peter?
7. The headquarters of the audio streaming provider Spotify are in which city?
8. True or false: Eight presidents of the United States have died in office?
9. Bruce Pascoe re-examines colonial accounts of First Nations people in Australia in the book Dark …?
10. Whose album, Folklore, recently became the first of 2020 to sell a million copies in the US?

Click through for answers.

Quotes

Interruptions

“[Interrupting] Sorry. How this ban is referred to, I think, is quite dismissive of the seriousness of the issue, and I would ask media to stop referring to it in that way.”

Scott MorrisonThe prime minister interrupts Anne Ruston as she begins to answer a question about her experience of misogyny in the government, which she said [interrupted].

Location

“Lawyer’s Press Conference at Four Season’s Landscaping, Philadelphia. Enjoy!”

Donald TrumpThe United States president announces a bizarre press conference at a small landscaping firm in suburban Philadelphia. Like Trump’s own life, it was stuck between a crematorium and a sex shop.

Faith

“When you lead out of an empty place, you make choices that have real and painful consequences.”

Carl LentzThe Hillsong pastor who baptised Justin Bieber is sacked for cheating on his wife. These things happen, but especially to evangelicals.

War

“This will be difficult and hard news for Australians, I can assure you.”

Scott MorrisonThe prime minister announces a special investigator will be appointed to consider allegations of war crimes committed by Australian troops. It’s a happy change from prosecuting the journalists who broke these stories.

Gambling

“The agreement between Crown and the government suggests any action taken ... could trigger a compensation claim.”

Justin FieldThe independent MLC introduces a private member’s bill hoping to limit payments to Crown should an inquiry recommend strictures on its trading. As they say in New South Wales, the lower house never wins.

Politics

“His deep, varied experience and capacity to work with people all across the political spectrum is precisely what I need.”

Joe BidenThe president-elect announces Ron Klain as his chief of staff. Klain is famous for his role as response co-ordinator in the 2014 Ebola crisis, which will come in handy for a country bleeding from its eyes and ears.