July 15 – 21, 2023
News
Comment
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
Inside the Fadden byelection
“No one was happier in the federal opposition than Peter Dutton when the embattled Stuart Robert quit the parliament a couple of months ago. Sure it triggered today’s byelection in Robert’s Gold Coast seat of Fadden, but it made clearing out the Liberal stable that much easier.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
The Influence
Jennifer Higgie
For artist and writer Jennifer Higgie, feminist art historian Griselda Pollock revealed the structural exclusion of women artists and their work.
Fiction
A knock at the door
“I wasn’t always here, of course. I’ve lived elsewhere. But I ended up here. My mother was already old then, when I came back home. She simply opened the door and let me in. I had nothing. I didn’t even have a suitcase. It was just me in the clothes I stood in. I’d called ahead, to say I was coming. There was a phone here then. There’s no phone now. I can’t afford it. All right, she said, I’ll see you when you get here. So I got here and she opened the door for me.”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
Health
“You have no right to do that. You are fining me. This is totalitarian. We don’t work like that.”
The singer describes her objections to lockdown restrictions and confirms that she broke them. She’s not Scott Morrison’s favourite artist for nothing.
Music
“He told me the story about how octopuses have their own special gardens under the sea.”
The drummer explains how the captain of Peter Sellers’ boat inspired the song “Octopus’s Garden”. He also explained he was quite stoned at the time.
Media
“[It] will deliver a dedicated news service, providing Australians with up-to-date information and rolling coverage that shares every perspective of the debate.”
The Sky News chief executive confirms the network will launch a channel dedicated exclusively to the Voice. This from a station that thinks First Nations people get too much attention.
Work
“If a person chooses to work from home, whatever the number of days a week, their salary is reduced by the reduction in costs they would have otherwise incurred.”
The former Victorian premier proposes a scheme to get public servants to return to work. It’s a welcome change to sacking them but it’s still not that helpful.
Births
“Can you guess which name my husband chose?”
The wife of former British prime minister Boris Johnson announces the birth of their son, Frank Alfred Odysseus Johnson. In Johnson’s telling, the Odyssey was like one long lockdown party except more of his men turned into swine.
Relationships
“Friendships with women who are in unstable places and from your wild recent past beyond getting a lunch or coffee or something respectful.”
The actor lists behaviours that would cause him to end his relationship with his former partner. And just when we were planning to bring out a line of “I climbed Jonah Hill” shirts.
ISRAEL–HAMAS WAR
