Latest Articles
Australians, especially those who trust the ABC, will be surprised how this heartland American sees Trump, the nation and world
Oct 12 2024
12 mins
ABCers know their jobs are safe and that, for all Dutton’s fulminations, no government will insist on reform, let alone cut the broadcaster loose
Oct 12 2024
5 mins
Companies, universities, law societies and other bodies cast a Yes vote as the only decent thing to do. Equality of all citizens be damned
Oct 12 2024
15 mins
Watching
Wristwatches on her ankles, two each leg
Metal-stretch bands worn bracelet and high-arm
Sixty-plus, shift-dress flapping from bone-peg.
We sit, three high-school girls minding cool charm,
“You are so beautiful,” she says to us,
“Wish I had had a daughter just like you.”
My two friends watch her: stained dress, hair a muss
Rush off to class, struck-dumb: old face, hands true
I sit hooked by praise, and her grip on time
Those small hearts ticking “always yours” appeal …
Thirty years later, childless, out of time
I watch males look past me to seek new deal
All men’s watches hugging her legs and arms
Like motorised muscles—all date, warm palms
Many will disagree, but World War III is too great a risk to run by involving ourselves in a distant border conflict
Sep 25 2024
5 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
