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
Turnbull’s Greatest Plus
News that Bill Shorten has a book coming out sent me racing for my dictionary and thesaurus. Otherwise, how on Earth would I be able to comprehend several hundred pages of Billspeak?
Can it be four years since loyal Bill declared on Sky News that he supported what his then-leader, Julia Gillard, said about Peter Slipper, while not actually knowing what it was? So, when it came to the crucial leadership vote between Gillard and Rudd, Bill supported Rudd. He said he didn’t think it was his job to be a “public worrywart” in the lead up to the spill. But he seems to have done a good job of that since!
Bill was elected Leader of the Opposition by 40.08% of Australian Labor Party Members. If only the rules didn’t insist on his Parliamentary colleagues having a deciding vote. As Bill said at the time “party members have provided us with unequivocal support” — except for the other 59.92%.
This is the Bill who says he’ll “put people first”. Where else would you put…
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
