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
Bryan Coleborne: ‘Woodwork Teacher’
Woodwork Teacher
Starting each class with his well-worn saw,
“One minute per week per boy perhaps,”
Charlie kept his most cutting comments
For the boy with the clumsiest job:
“I’m looking for a bit of scrap timber,
Hintendorfer, bring out your teapot stand.”
He held the class in the vice of his taunts:
“Let’s see if the Board of Education
Will straighten you out. Bend over the bench, boy.”
And while he never threw mallets or chisels,
As Eric did in the room next door,
The crowning achievement of his career
Was to master the art of swinging the cane
At the tips of the joints for the greatest pain.
Bryan Coleborne
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
