July 22 – 28, 2023
News
Comment
Comment
Julia Banks
Donald Trump and the Liberal Party
“When Donald Trump was elected United States president in 2016, one of the many entrenched right-wing Liberal members in Victoria posted on social media a photo of himself proudly wearing a red baseball cap emblazoned with the words ‘Make Victoria Great Again’. I immediately suggested to several people in the party that this would not bode well, given Trump’s overt racism and sexism, and that they should ‘lose the caps’.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
‘No’ stretch of the imagination
“If you can believe the opinion polls, regional Australia has gone very cold on the idea of a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Rebel Liberal ‘Yes’ campaigner Julian Leeser certainly found a warmer reception in the New South Wales city of Wagga Wagga on Monday, where he attended a number of events promoting the referendum.”
Comment
John Hewson
Dutton’s delusions of grandeur
“Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was desperate to claim a ‘win’ in the Fadden byelection. This was evident in a number of ways – most conspicuously, the negativity of his behaviour in the days leading up to the vote, his focus on trying to blame the government for the cost of living and housing crises, and his anti-Voice strategies.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Actor Geraldine Viswanathan
Geraldine Viswanathan has outgrown her dreams of being Hannah Montana, and is now focused on inspiring the next generation of female actors of colour.
Fiction
Game Theory – Part II
“Maybe I make it big, maybe I don’t.
Maybe I score the goal or maybe I hit the post.
Maybe this goes somewhere or maybe it does not.
Maybe my future lifts the family or they cannot lift their heads in public.
Maybe I am filled with dreams and that is all they remain.
Maybe my destiny is greatness, maybe I rise no higher than the ground.
Maybe I have more money or maybe the money stays the same.
Maybe I leave my friends or I am the one left behind. ”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
Drugs
“I don’t snort cocaine. It’s not my thing.”
The son of the former United States president, presumably named after his father’s penis, addresses the annual summit of conservative group Turning Point USA. Honestly, it made more sense when we thought he was on cocaine.
Politics
“I told her to fuck off because she was being outright rude and nasty and she was baiting me the whole time…”
The senator clarifies what she said to Pauline Hanson in the chamber last month, after outlining her allegations of harassment against another senator. Rude and nasty doesn’t seem to cover it, but then nor did “fuck off”.
Sailing
“I’m feeling alright. I’m feeling a lot better than I was, I tell you.”
The Australian sailor talks to the media after drifting at sea for three months. He survived on raw fish and didn’t once eat his dog.
Law
“The tactics of the ‘No’ case make it even more imperative that the referendum gets up – this is disreputable.”
The constitutional law expert expresses dismay that the “No” case has used quotes from him in its referendum pamphlet. It might have been easier not to launch an ill-informed attack on the Voice to start with, but there you go.
Sport
“I’m really excited, very grateful for the opportunity, and looking to make a mark in something that I’ve had a lifelong passion for.”
The former New South Wales premier is appointed head of the state’s major sporting venues. Add back poker machines and it’s like he’s running the place again.
Deaths
“We are here to mourn a great Australian who served his country and his community with humility and compassion, with integrity and intellect.”
The prime minister remembers Simon Crean, who died unexpectedly last month. He was 74.
ISRAEL–HAMAS WAR
