May 6 – 12, 2023
News
Comment
Comment
Craig Foster
Charles III and the future republic
“Today, May 6, 2023, King Charles III will be crowned king of Australia and 14 other realms. It will be the first such ceremony in seven decades and the first in living memory for most Australians. It is clear the passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September last year has opened space for important conversations long avoided in Australia. ”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
Albanese with the kingmakers
“With the prime minister in Britain to attend the coronation of our unelected head of state and the treasurer back home doing last-minute bean-counting ahead of Tuesday’s budget, the Greens’ Adam Bandt seized the moment to pose the key question confronting Australia: What kind of country do we want to be? ”
Comment
John Hewson
A climate of fighting change
“If the world is to avoid catastrophic climate change, a complete transition away from fossil fuels is inevitable. So it stands to reason that shareholders and investors in fossil fuel companies should pressure boards and management to address this inevitability.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Director Margarethe von Trotta
After 50 years at the forefront of feminist filmmaking, director Margarethe von Trotta is back with a cinematic work about the brilliant Austrian poet Ingeborg Bachmann.
The Influence
Will Gregory
Listening to Wendy Carlos’s revolutionary Moog versions of J. S. Bach as a child sparked Will Gregory’s enduring love for the synthesiser.
Fiction
Fake water, 1986
“Four nights a week he sits in the dismal concierge cage and fills postcards to Sydney; a junk store haul of faded linen scenes showing The Palisades, The Chrysler, Cleo’s Needle, and woodsy upstate hamlets he’ll never visit, won’t get north of the city save for the once, taking the Amtrak to Niagara in the new year: winter woods flanking the rail lines all a naked, brittle magenta, the Hudson frozen solid at its banks with great shards of ice heaped up in violent confection, while he swallows bad coffee and nurses his heart like a busted fist. ”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
Leadership
“We are very up-front in terms of recognising that the customer experience was not where we wanted it to be.”
The incoming chief executive of Qantas draws a pithy comparison between her priorities for the company and the state of your luggage after a flight.
Manners
“But I respect people for whoever they are. And it’s up to people to be respectful.”
The prime minister, in an awkwardly chummy exchange, manages to exempt whatever Piers Morgan is from the obligation to behave respectfully.
Movies
“Putin is a great leader for his country and the people love him.”
The director pays tribute to the Russian president while promoting his new film. Both this statement and his four-hour documentary are further evidence, if we needed any, of his inability to self-edit.
Speeches
“We don’t have time.”
The Liberal Member for Hughes cuts off an Aboriginal man’s request to speak at a “community consultation” on the Voice. In fairness, she may just have developed a keener appreciation of life’s brevity after two hours listening to Tony Abbott and Joe Hildebrand.
Sport
“I have got an absolutely open mind; the name of the Tasmanian team should be owned by the people of Tasmania.”
The incoming AFL chief executive announces plans to allow the Tasmanian people to name the state’s AFL team. Which is a nice consolation for spending $240 million of public money on a new stadium that no one needs.
Diversity
“It was the diversity in that community which made for some seriously interesting people-watching.”
The performer praises the guest list at the wedding of Kyle Sandilands and Tegan Kynaston, which was apparently more inclusive than the groom’s Australian Idol panel.
ISRAEL–HAMAS WAR
