By this author
Clive Palmer feeds chooks, Canberra goes bizarro
blog
After almost 24 hours of head-scratching, journalists all around the country have fairly uniformly labelled Clive Palmer’s press conference the most “bizarre” media event in parliamentary history. Last night Palmer, a man who has made …
House Rules
Gambling
On a Thursday morning in July 2012, in a near-empty Supreme Court room in Melbourne, Justice Paul Coghlan said that three Crown Casino bouncers should be tried as soon as possible, “because people are still visiting Crown Casino.” The bouncers …
Let’s talk about censorship, baby
blog
Archer Magazine bills itself as Australia’s first journal of sexual diversity. Using a combination of arty photography and revelatory think pieces, the charter of the magazine is to explore the myriad kinks and preferences of sexually active …
Raiding the Piggy Bank
blog
It’s been a fortnight since the most vicious budget in recent memory, and it has this week been suggested that it will affect not only the old, the sick, the poor and the young, but also the country’s dead university students, victims of child …
Remember When Hypocrisy was Offensive?
blog
Treasurer Joe Hockey has made good on his threats to launch defamation proceedings against three Fairfax newspapers. The “Treasurer For Sale” story that ran in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The …
The Best Day of Our Lives
blog
“I’ve seen the disaster that this government has done for itself by saying one thing and doing another, Jon. I don’t want to be like that. I really don’t. If we do win the election and we immediately say, oh, …
Cambodian Holiday
blog
Last week Immigration Minister Scott Morrison told Fairfax Media that he was trying to expand the “club” of nations willing to take refugees who, despite being apprehended by Australia, will not make Australia home. This week Phnom …
Blockheads
blog
The Lego Movie, the computer animated adventure comedy by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, is a masterpiece. It is an American-Australian co-production, and while the accents and voice actors are American, the moral of the story, that ordinary Lego …
Having fun with your ABCs
blog
The ABC is expected to settle a defamation case with News Corp columnist Chris Kenny this week, following ABC Managing Director Mark Scott’s formal apology for controversial sketch that aired last September on The Chaser’s The Hamster Decides …
Knights and Dames: A decisive step backwards
blog
Tony Abbott yesterday announced a bold, innovative plan to deal with pressing issues from the past century. Without consulting his cabinet or party room, the Prime Minister has decided to reinstate the old honours system that was done away with in 1986. …
MH370: The story without closure
blog
‘Families of Missing Flight Passengers Just Hoping Media Gets Closure It Needs.’ As reported by The Onion, speaking on behalf of the families of the 239 individuals on board flight MH370, Sarah Wan made the following statement: “The …
Scott Ludlam’s West Wing moment
blog
I flew to the United States this week, and when I switched my phone on in LAX all of my social media feeds were buzzing about a political speech that’s straight out of The West Wing, or, more recently, Borgen. On Monday night …
Television villains
blog
Within two days of visiting New York City for the first time, like millions of young Australians before us, my boyfriend and I vowed we would move there as soon as possible. It wasn’t the food though, that had us trawling real estate listings, or …
