Karen Middleton The campaign led by Coalition MPs for special visas for white South African farmers is designed to shore up votes in WA and Queensland.

Abdul Karim Hekmat A Kurdish widower and father of three young girls, Sadoullah Malakooti doesn’t know how he will afford food after his income support was cut by Peter Dutton. Some argue the policy is there to starve out asylum seekers.

Steve Dow Sydney’s lockout laws have ruined the economic viability of the city’s live entertainment culture, a state parliament inquiry has been told, with venue closures and poker machines replacing band rooms.

Kate Jinx

Following the outrage over their “unAustralian” video opus Terror Nullius, artists Dominique and Dan Angeloro reflect on their collective practice as Soda_Jerk. “We always had this idea that we wanted Terror Nullius to be a film somewhere between the arthouse and grindhouse. A piece of art that embraces bad taste or maybe a piece of bad taste that aspires to be art.”

David Moyle This eggplant is a pretty classic Middle Eastern dish, similar to a baba ganoush. The eggplant picks up and holds the flavour of the smoke, while the skin protects it. This technique ends up both smoking and steaming the eggplant.

Marcia Langton While crime rates are declining in Victoria, Dutton made claims about lack of deterrence of crime in Victoria. In a radio interview he said Victorians were ‘bemused’ when they looked at ‘the jokes of sentences being handed down’ due to ‘political correctness that’s taken hold’. In an extraordinary attack on the Victorian judiciary, he demanded that Daniel Andrews’ government pass stricter bail laws and stop appointing ‘civil libertarians’ as magistrates. This is racist bullshit from an old Queensland cop. It is also dangerous. I’d welcome him on the stand at a royal commission.

Paul Bongiorno The same strategic miscalculation was at play when other ministers decided to answer journalists’ questions with the same candour as Dutton. It was simply extraordinary that Treasurer Scott Morrison or Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg didn’t see that the last thing the government needed was them adding to the perception that new leadership would be needed thanks to Turnbull’s failure. The most agile was Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. She said her priority was to focus on the ‘jobs and responsibilities I have now’. The only conclusion can be that the others didn’t do this because they are off and running and want to make sure their colleagues in the party room know what their options are.

Richard Ackland Bookshelves Brandis’s Achilles heel is really holding things up. The famous back end of the well-rounded foot got injured while the high commissioner designate was delivering a fiendish backhand at tennis. The “Big Beast” was meant to take over from Fishnets Downer in early April but as things would have it Fishnets is still on the public teat, and will be there for next week’s CHOGM chinwag in London.

This is a story about Peter Dutton’s willingness to use race to advance his leadership ambitions. Just as Abbott made his first challenge to Turnbull’s leadership on climate change – letting it be known he thought the science was “absolute crap” – Dutton is making a pitch based on his willingness to exploit this country’s racism. The choice is between a man who calls multiculturalism Australia’s greatest success and another who calls refugees paedophiles.

Mike Seccombe Gross underpayment of Australia’s migrant workforce has become institutionalised in a variety of industries, and with the Fair Work Ombudsman under-resourced and unions kept at bay, the government appears unwilling to address the problem.

Hamish McDonald FBI raid on Trump lawyer; Malaysian elections; Espiritu Santo wharf proposal.

Dave Faulkner Confidence Man and Space Invadas both deliver refurbished R&B, but one polishes vintage grooves and the other delivers a fun-packed take on a ’90s dancefloor.

Debra Adelaide Education development officer Zoe Hogan works with Sydney's Asylum Seekers Centre.

Sophia Auld While neuroscience studies are finding differences in the brains of people who are excited by risky behaviour, thrillseekers say anyone can turn fear into a challenge.

Dee Martin Three tiny villages on Italy’s Lake Garda have a World War II connection that has curiously contributed to the preservation of their traditions and peaceful character.

Cindy MacDonald Australian Diamonds’ Caitlin Thwaites on netball’s growing success, joining the Collingwood Magpies and managing her inner demons.

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