Karen Middleton The South Australian government’s refusal to extend the royal commission into the Murray–Darling finds it accused of collusion with the federal government.

Karen Middleton David Leyonhjelm’s bill to permit the territories to pass assisted dying legislation was defeated despite argument it is as much about territory rights.

Lisa Martin Following a visit to crowded camps of displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh, Coalition and Labor MPs have suggested a special intake of refugees, similar to the deal for 12,000 Syrians and Iraqis, could receive bipartisan support.

Sarah Price The work of Chinese artist Sun Xun explores concepts of time and space, truth and lies – always searching for answers. As the first solo exhibition of his work in Australia opens at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, he talks about the role of the artist. “We live in a lie, in a big lie system. People should jump out from the lie circle and touch the world. It is the modern world’s problem. Where is the truth? I don’t know. In my art, I want to make people think: ‘Don’t believe our world – it is a big lie.’ I am trying to open the door for people.”

David Moyle The window in which to pick artichokes is very short. They go from being young, tender and a joy to prepare to a stringy and tough time-waster, which makes absolute sense considering they are a thistle. This recipe is based on a French preparation – à la Barigoule – which is essentially a preserve cooked in wine, vinegar and oil with the addition of bacon or mushrooms. It’s a very subtle preserve – not quite a pickle – and it can be served as almost a dish on its own.

Ruby Hamad There is no separating racism from the rest of Australian society. Exasperated as white people may be to hear about race, again, your frustration pales next to those forced to live it and fight it. As Labor MP Anne Aly tearfully admitted this week, we are tired of fighting. Tired of claiming our humanity. Tired of waiting for white people to change. Tired of reminding you of our worth. Tired of wondering what is wrong with you and why you still make excuses for this on your watch.

Sean Kelly But let’s not celebrate too hard. It was “important always to call out racism”, Malcolm Turnbull told us. Those are words to live by, but they are certainly not words our prime minister lives by. This points to another problem. We are only able to see the danger posed by such views because we have lived through such horrors before. Even then we will not acknowledge the dangerous parallels with historical prejudice until the speaker helpfully labels them for us. So, what about a disaster we have not yet lived through?

Richard Ackland Next Tuesday, Menzies “Research” Centre executive director and Queensland floods expert Nick “Goosebumps” Cater is hosting a massive spread at Old Parliament House in honour of the memory of Dame Enid Lyons, the first openly female member of the House of Representatives. The exciting part is that the Tasmanian Liberal Senate Team is hitching a ride on the event and at $2200 a head you could have the pleasure of Otto Abetz at your table or, better still, have him waiting on your table.

There is a tendency in Australia to look at our history as a measured march towards some inevitable, fairer ideal. To indulge in the magical thinking that things just get better. The reality is that every step of progress in this country has been fought for, tooth and nail, and despite history’s affinity for rendering their leadership invisible, it has been disadvantaged minority communities that have started these movements for change.

Martin McKenzie-Murray The man who stole a commercial aeroplane in Seattle, and took his life by crashing it, has become a folk hero to neo-Nazi groups and incels, drafted into a poisonous delusion that is becoming mainstream.

Hamish McDonald Turkish lira collapses aft er Trump doubles trade tariffs. Joko Widodo names running mate. Youth protests in Bangladesh. Trump chides Harley-Davidson.

Christos Tsiolkas Where Spike Lee’s films usually brim with passion and intellect, his portrayal of black activism and racism in BlacKkKlansman becomes more slapstick than sinister.

Sarah Price A coffee with a Congolese doctor from a Sydney hospital.

Celina Ribeiro Where once live music thrived in sticky-floored, inner-city pubs, musicians are now being booked for gigs in suburban homes.

Sophia Auld As well as writing prescriptions for medicine, Australian GPs are being encouraged to follow the lead of New Zealand and Britain in “social prescribing”, where formal directions are provided on diet, exercise, meditation and more.

Paul Connolly Port Adelaide’s Justin Westhoff on the machine that is AFL football, the evolution of the game and finding his social conscience.

Cindy MacDonald Test your general knowledge with our weekly quiz.