March 18 – 24, 2023
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Comment
Albert Palazzo
What the nuclear-powered subs deal really means
“The deal is done. On Monday morning in San Diego, the leaders of the United States, Australia and Britain jointly revealed the key details of Australia’s road to becoming a nuclear power – of sorts. President Joe Biden announced that the US will sell Australia three to five used Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines sometime in the 2030s.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Graphic designer John Warwicker
The work of award-winning graphic designer John Warwicker and his multidisciplinary design collective, tomato, is a rhythmic chaos, and a background to the past few decades.
The Influence
Zahra Newman
For celebrated actor Zahra Newman, Louise Bennett’s iconic collection of poems, Jamaica Labrish, is a reminder of the power of owning your own history.
Fiction
Space
“Final plans, he announced, in his very best baritone. He shunted his coffee mug aside and stubbed a blunt finger on the architect’s drawings. Council approved, he added, and gestured to a sheath of papers with unintelligible signatures.
Congratulations, I replied, nodding to simulate excitement.
Lounge chairs and sofa go here. Opposite the TV – 152 centimetres. Home cinema.
That’ll save you, I said.
I wish. Gunna cost a bomb. All this wall is double glazing. From inside you can see the deck and outdoor spa.
Save you going out, I mean. Not for the first time, I worried for my neighbour and his budget.
Lots of natural light. Ceramic dolphins either side of the spa.
Ah, symmetry, I said.”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
Media
“Never watched it.”
The billionaire says he is yet to watch an episode of Succession. It’s a shame: he might find some of the characters quite relatable.
Legacy
“It is a legacy greater than many other prime ministers have left behind them.”
The former attorney-general says history will remember Scott Morrison fondly for setting up AUKUS. More likely, history will remember him for being a power-hungry sociopath whose extravagant incompetence damaged every part of public life.
Court
“Rome was burning and I was trying to put on a brave face.”
The former staffer explains that he was lying to his then girlfriend in a string of text messages tabled as part of his defamation trial. Likening yourself to Nero is a bold strategy, but it was bold of Nero to kick his own wife to death (allegedly) and then marry a castrato who reminded him of her.
Welfare
“I was told about it and then shut it down.”
The former prime minister takes credit for ending robo-debt. If you average it out, you almost forget he started the scheme.
Super
“The vast majority chose not to tap into their super … those who did overwhelmingly demonstrated a lack of foresight.”
The former treasury official details how 2.6 million Australians emptied their super accounts during the pandemic. It is another way the previous government utterly squandered its responsibilities to the poor.
China
“Running around the Pacific Islands with a lei around your neck … is not foreign policy.”
The former prime minister complains that the Albanese government does not understand diplomacy. When Keating wore a lei it was different, obviously because he wore it with a headdress.
ISRAEL–HAMAS WAR
