THE NATION REVIEWED

“There are things of which Lee Rhiannon can be proud, including opposing the immoral Vietnam War and [South Africa’s] apartheid. But nowhere does she acknowledge how dreadfully wrong she was about the Soviet Union, nor express regrets for her gullible admiration of this abominable system. In failing to deal with her history honestly, Rhiannon places a question mark over her suitability for any leadership role …”

In the Monthly Comment, Mark Aarons identifies a wave of fundamentalism within the Greens in the wake of NSW Greens’ controversial Middle East policy. While the Greens seek to attract support for their “new politics” – free of dirty tactics – the BDS campaign has revealed an ideological conflict within the party’s national and state leadership.

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Plus, in “Speech Bubbles”, Christine Kenneally asks if the Australian real estate bubble has burst; in “Will to Live”, Robert Drewe becomes Gulliver in a world of ants; and, in “Owners of Australia”, James Kirby surveys the history of Australia’s ‘rich list’.

THE MONTHLY ESSAYS

“John Howard used to say that the Liberal Party was best served when the conservatives ran the show and the moderates were (on occasion) listened to. But after years of conservative dominance of the Liberal Party, there really aren’t moderates who know what issues set them apart.”

In “What’s Right?”, Peter van Onselen looks to the conservative and liberal “wings” of the Liberal Party (factions are all but denied) to determine the key players of the future. Will the Howard era essentially be continued under Abbott, or will a new generation of Liberals – Generation Next – inject the party with a burst of ideological life?

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“Chris Lilley doesn’t just want to make us laugh; his plan is to tickle us illicitly until we do, then reprimand us for being so heartless.”

In “Can We Be Heroes?”, Peter Conrad critiques the comedy and politics of Chris Lilley in anticipation of his new series, Angry Boys, to be aired on ABC1. Conrad scrutinises Lilley’s cast of characters – his “monsters” – to learn of their dreams and aspirations, their struggles and contradictions. Lilley delights in creating their discomfort, and ours.

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“Every Papuan person wants independence, this is not a problem that is going to go away, it’s only going to get worse. If the international community doesn’t help us, West Papuan people will slowly perish while fighting for the independence we deserve.”

 – Sylebus Bobby, West Papuan activist

In “Spirit of Independence”, William Lloyd-George takes a rare journey to West Papua. He is escorted to the jungle camps of the West Papua National Liberation Army where he talks with rebel soldiers about their struggle, and their unwavering hopes for liberation from Indonesian rule.   

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Plus, in “Two Reflections on Japan”, Hugh White and Lian Hearn offer thoughtful perspectives on the recent tragic events in the island nation.

TRAVEL SPECIAL

“No memory of any other time. No past or future, or feelings. Just a flesh shell with weather inside it, clutching a mountain, so elevated in spirit I wanted to let go and be pulled away by a gust and blown to obliteration, free. This was the bliss talking. I felt perfected.”

In “The Sound of Silence”, Craig Sherborne discovers bliss while walking the 53-kilometre Milford Track in New Zealand’s Southern Alps.

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“I’m a sucker for the offer to have a happy snap taken with a baby tiger. Only as the creature is lifted dully into my arms do I realise it must be drugged and am instantly filled with regret, though the photo does make us look like the best of friends.”

In “Holiday on Ice”, Linda Jaivin feeds the beasts at the Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin, north-east China, and visits the city’s winter wonderland attraction, a festival of ice and snow sculpture.

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“Very few places enter the language to become words in their own right, and almost mythological. Timbuktu is one of these – synonymous with exotic, inaccessible remoteness.”

In “To Timbuktu and Back”, Rodney Hall journeys to the remote, age-old town on the edge of the Sahara Desert, Mali, to witness first-hand the unearthing of the greatest ancient library in the world. 

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Plus, in “Tide of Improvement”, Robyn Davidson searches for an authentic health retreat; in “In the Fjords”, Drusilla Modjeska meets with old friends in Tufi, PNG; in “Letter to a Bulgarian Friend”, Alex Miller recalls his impressions of Sofia; in “Wanted for Loitering”, Janette Turner Hospital wanders the labyrinthine paths of Central Park; in “Beastly Travels”, Sonya Hartnett explores the animal world; and, in “The Quiet Peninsula”, Nicholas Shakespeare enjoys good company on Freycinet Peninsula, Tasmania.

ARTS & LETTERS

“He’s the scavenging opportunist every serious artist has to be. You don’t need to know this to see his filmed images are intensely beautiful, done with a care and finish and a calmness unlike anything else you think of as video art.”

In “Lessons in Unlearning”, Peter Robb meets the internationally acclaimed multimedia artist Shaun Gladwell prior to the opening of his new solo show Shaun Gladwell: Stereo Sequences at ACMI, Melbourne.

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“Tanner’s book is chilling because he admits his profession’s complicity in blurring the line between politics and soap opera.”

 In “Too Much Information”, Andrew Charlton reviews Lindsay Tanner’s new book, Sideshow: Dumbing Down Democracy, a damning treatise on the effect on political life of the current dangerous interplay between media and politics.

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Plus, in “A Grand History”, John Hirst reflects on Mark McKenna’s new biography of Manning Clark; and, in “Broken Communities”, Helen Garner considers two new Australian films, Snowtown and Mad Bastards.