Latest Articles
We are encouraged to rely more and more on government officials to do for us what we could equally well do for ourselves—and, maybe more importantly, not to do what might help us solve our own problems.
Sep 08 2024
10 mins
If we imagine a metric called the Pinocchio Scale, which measures the number of lies told by a politician as a percentage of his or her overall public statements, our current prime minister (for want of a better description), Airbus Albo, has moved well into uncharted territory.
Sep 06 2024
5 mins
Australian Imams Stand Up for Sharia
The Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) attracted trenchant public criticism when on December 5 it released a guide on fostering, adoption and guardianship. The Islamic Position on Foster Care, Adoption and Guardianship was intended to provide Muslims with a summary of sharia requirements for these aspects of family life, and to inform foster care agencies about Islamic requirements.
The Australian ran the story on December 8, reporting outrage from the New South Wales Families Minister, Gareth Ward; from the federal Assistant Minister for Children and Families, Michelle Landry; and from Pru Goward, a former sex discrimination commissioner. What attracted the heaviest initial criticism was the guide’s statements that circumcision was an “obligation” (that is, religiously compulsory) for boys, but there was “no obligation for the circumcision of a girl”. This seemed to imply that it could be religiously acceptable to circumcise girls.
In response to an ensuing…
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.
Aug 29 2024
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
Aug 20 2024
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
Aug 16 2024
2 mins
