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The Monthly | Australian politics, society & culture

DAILY OPINION

Friday, July 21, 2023

Bad reputation

Forget the Commonwealth Games – Australia’s international reputation has long been shabby


Essays  Right arrow

Indigenous rights

A firelight stick on the hill

As momentum builds to this year’s referendum, the man long regarded as the ‘Father of Reconciliation’ reflects on a life fighting for a better Australia

A firelight stick on the hill
The voice and our inauthentic heart

Indigenous Australia

The voice and our inauthentic heart

Racism, the Murdoch media and what success or defeat for the voice to parliament means for the stories we tell

The colour of money

Federal politics

The colour of money

Are the teals, representing some of the nation’s wealthiest electorates, our best hope for addressing inequality?

Whistle while we work

Law and order

Whistle while we work

Exposing criminality at work is a moral act, but with whistleblower laws failing to protect those who speak up, lawyers are seeking novel solutions


Online Latest  Right arrow

Margot Robbie as Barbie. She is smiling in the centre of the frame, dressed in a pink checkered dress, with matching earrings and a necklace made of white daisies, and surrounded by an array of pink items, including a mirror and hairbrush. In the background can be seen palm trees, mountains and a perfect blue sky.

Film

Life in plastic: Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’

Margot Robbie is exceptional as the classic doll brought to life, but the film’s feminism is entry-level

Megan Davis and Anthony Albanese are seen standing at podiums bearing the Australian coat of arms, while members of the First Nations Referendum Working Group and members of the Albanese government stand behind them. People are listening to Megan Davis as she speaks.

Indigenous Australia

A dialogue for time immemorial

The voice seeks to bring together First Nations and the Australian people to repair the original grievance of this place

Kate Chaney, wearing an oatmeal-coloured jacket and a mint-green shirt, stands against a background showing the green benches of the House of Representatives. She is wearing a neutral expression.

Issues and policies

Donation reform here at last?

Caps on campaign spending and political donations may finally be addressed, following a new report

Lily-Rose Depp and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye are seen in character in The Idol. They are both wearing sunglasses and sitting together on the red leather seats of what looks like a vintage car, with Tesfaye’s arm around Depp.

Television

Sex doesn’t always sell: ‘The Idol’

Plus, Sarah Snook shines in ‘Run Rabbit Run’, the second season of so-bad-it’s-almost-good ‘And Just Like That’, and ‘I’m a Virgo’ delivers social commentary with absurd humour

The Nation Reviewed  Right arrow

Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe, pictured in front of large graph

Economics

The high cost of Lowe inflation

The RBA refuses to hear that interest rates won’t control inflation, and people are suffering as a result

Illustration of suited man directign another suited man to leave

Federal politics

Van damned

The events surrounding Senator David Van’s expulsion to the crossbench show the Liberal Party still has a problem with attitudes towards women

Illustration of people sleeping in camp beds and snoring musical notes, keeping one person awake

Music

Yawn fest

Travelling to Dark Mofo to pursue a good night’s sleep in the company of Max Richter, an orchestra and 350 housemates

Illustration of vendor filling cup to sell drink to customer

Society

Chai standards

Pining for an authentic Indian street-corner chai leads the author to a gastronomic carpark in Geelong

Arts & Letters  Right arrow

Detail of Maria Lassnig, ‘Zwei Arten zu sein (Doppelselbstporträt)’, showing two head and shoulder portraits

Books

The female unique: ‘Art Monsters’ and ‘The Other Side’

New books on women’s art from Lauren Elkin and Jennifer Higgie explore the expression of monstrosity and the marginalisation of spiritual experience

Detail of Pierre Bonnard, ‘Coffee’, 1915, oil on canvas, showing woman at table drinking coffee with dog on lap standing front legs on table

Art

Emotional virtue: ‘Pierre Bonnard: Designed by India Mahdavi’ and ‘Rembrandt: True to Life’

Concurrent exhibitions at the NGV survey the intense realism of Rembrandt and the emotional power of colour harnessed by Pierre Bonnard

Image of Melissa Barrera in ‘Carmen’, singing in front of red curtain

Film

Gilded feet have got no rhythm: ‘Carmen’

Paul Mescal and Melissa Barrera’s lack of chemistry exemplifies Benjamin Millepied’s unrestrained Mexico–US border rework of the classic story

Noted  Right arrow

Cover of ‘Wifedom’

Books

Anna Funder’s ‘Wifedom’

Is the story of George Orwell’s mean and selfish treatment of his wife complete without the literary achievements his behaviour permitted?

Cover of ‘Forgotten Warriors’

Books

Sarah Percy’s ‘Forgotten Warriors’

A history of women’s overlooked contributions to wartime combat and the disempowerment delivered under the guise of chivalry

Life sentences Right arrow

Flowers being watered

‘You don’t have to like people, only love them’

An observation from Father Bob Maguire – and an antisemitic man in need of charity – taught the author a valuable life lesson

Podcasts  Right arrow

7am

Beyond PwC: The big consultancy rip-off

Chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Middleton on the big four consultancies – and why one contract between Deloitte and the Home Affairs department had to be terminated.

HOST Ange McCormack
GUEST Karen Middleton

7am

Albanese’s media blitz as Voice support drops

Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno, on the official cases and why Anthony Albanese is feeling the need to go on a media blitz.

HOST Ange McCormack
GUEST Paul Bongiorno

Read This

Tony Birch Doesn’t Believe in Luck

Award-winning writer and historian Tony Birch grew up listening to stories from his nan, Alma.

HOST Michael Williams
GUEST Tony Birch