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How Treasury Lost its Intellectual Standing
Before beginning my review proper of Changing Fortunes, several things should be said. First, this book has involved an enormous amount of painstaking research by Paul Tilley—a former Treasury officer—and contains, in its nine appendices alone, a wealth of carefully ordered factual information which, to my knowledge, has never before been made so readily available.
Second, it is accurately described as “a” history of the Treasury. Professional historians would doubtless write the history differently, in terms of coverage or perspective. Nevertheless, and whatever my criticisms below, the book is valuable, being the first real attempt at a history of one of Australia’s great institutions. Greg Whitwell’s The Treasury Line (1986) was valuable but much more limited. The production of the only previous history of the department, The Centenary of Treasury 1901–2001: 100 Years of Public Service (2001), written to celebrate the centenary of Australia’s founding, was…
Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.
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6 mins
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
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23 mins
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
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2 mins