opinion
opinion
politics October 14, 2017
Tony Abbott’s shadow over government policy
The story of the Turnbull government is hauntingly summed up in the Hughes Mearns poem “Antigonish” and its famous line about the man who wasn’t there. This week, the man turned up again. It doesn’t take much to imagine Turnbull recalling the...
editorial October 14, 2017
The government’s response is that it doesn’t care. It will not suspend its flawed system of debt collection. It defends its actions in inaccurately and inappropriately raising thousands of debts against Australians. It feels no contrition or need to apologise.
law & crime October 14, 2017
Hollywood’s disgrace of ‘open secrets’
Let’s start at random, with film director Joss Whedon, accused of years of misconduct by his former wife, Kai Cole. Whedon has long been one of Hollywood’s most vocal self-described male feminists, creating Buffy the Vampire Slayer , giving stirring...
letters October 14, 2017
Karen Middleton’s interview with Mick Dodson (“Fixing the constitution”, October 7-13) demands the long-overdue updating of our constitution to align it with Australia’s international treaty obligations and overwhelming public opinion. The race...
diary October 14, 2017
Gadfly: Weapons of misdirection
It’s comforting to see Julie “Asbestos” Bishop in her tin hat, firing from the trenches. Australia will be in range of Kimbo’s nuclear warheads if he achieves his objectives, Asbestos warned in an op-ed piece for the Fairfax papers. She even threw in the key phrase “weapons of mass destruction” – not given a proper run around the block since the triumphant invasion of Iraq.
diary October 7, 2017
Gadfly: Okay Papists, now let’s get Reformation
Our old comrade in arms, the Most Reverend Anthony Fisher, OP, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, has invited us to a special event to “commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation”. Some may have thought that Roman Catholics are not entirely keen on the Reformation after large chunks of the old church fell off into the arms of Martin Luther.
editorial October 7, 2017
For the premier of Western Australian, Mark McGowan, it is even more straightforward: “We are dealing with the civil liberties of terrorists and I don’t particularly care about the civil liberties of terrorists or potential terrorists.”
letters October 7, 2017
Ray Hadley recently said the refugees going to the United States were dressed as if on a catwalk (Editorial, “Talk of shame”, September 30-October 6). I wonder who Peter Dutton is speaking to when he replies, “We didn’t ask people to hop on the...
economy October 7, 2017
“Tony Abbott has suggested that the military be sent in to operate gas production in Victoria and New South Wales …” Say what now? These days the federal government is difficult to keep up with, having apparently split into its “moderate” and “armed...
editorial September 30, 2017
Peter Dutton does not argue when Ray Hadley says the first refugees to leave Manus for resettlement in the United States, “looked like a fashion show on a catwalk somewhere in Paris or New York”. Instead, he lies.
letters September 30, 2017
Chill out Tony and look at wedding gifts
I grow weary of Tony Abbott and his rear-vision mirror perspective of Australia (Editorial, “The ‘No surprises here’ case”, September 23-29). Just for once can’t he and his conservative fan club look ahead to where we’re going and stop glancing...
