August 19 – 25, 2023
News
Comment
Comment
Chris Wallace
Labor pressed for more reform
“Labor Party national conferences – Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has seen a few. He’s been going to them all his life. His attendance at this week’s three-day conference in Brisbane, which concludes today, will be as familiar as putting on an old jumper.”
Comment
John Hewson
Markets have failed on housing
“As someone who has long advocated for relying on market forces whenever possible, it pains me to recognise that market failure has been a major feature of the emerging housing crisis. The failure is apparent in the context of a long-term shift by both state and federal governments away from social housing.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
The Influence
Mark Isaacs
Leonard Bernstein’s virtuosity as a musician and composer – and his courage – was an early model for Mark Isaacs.
Fiction
Three poems by Dorothy Porter
“Dorothy Porter never went anywhere without a volume of poetry. Whether to the local coffee shop or to Antarctica, a book of poems – often several – travelled with her. Reading poetry was among her greatest pleasures and her greatest blessings. It was also one of her great passions. Dorothy lived with passion; she believed it to be an essential component of a rich and creative life. And the greatest of human passions was love. From her first collection of poetry, Little Hoodlum, published when she was just 21, love presented itself as an irresistible topic.”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
Media
“I was the perfect villain.”
The former defence minister describes how she feels she was treated during the coverage of Brittany Higgins’s alleged rape. As Mel Brooks said: “Tragedy is when I cut my finger…”
Politics
“If she is worried about under-performance, her best solution is to buy a mirror.”
The NSW upper house member responds after being dumped from One Nation’s leadership. You know it’s gone too far when an old white man can’t even lead a racist party anymore.
Art
“Vanity ultimately prevailed and I decided to yield to having an official portrait done.”
The former prime minister returns from Washington for the unveiling of his official portrait. The painting appears to show him losing a game of chess to a cat.
Climate
“Let’s not upset many farmers with bird-killing wind generators and massive solar panel stretches.”
The mining magnate offers further criticism of renewable energy. Her view has nothing to do with the billions she makes selling coal.
Deaths
“Hers was an incredibly calm, articulate voice at a time that was very frightening to Australians.”
The health minister pays tribute to the epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws, who died of brain cancer this week. She was 70.
Sport
“I’m going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously.”
The tech billionaire pulls out of a proposed cage fight with Elon Musk. The world will just have to guess who is the bigger loser.
ISRAEL–HAMAS WAR
