Venice opens up to outsiders
THE outsider is coming in. That's the main message of the Venice Biennale this year. And it matters. This brobdingnagian sprawl of a cultural beano is more than just a brain-addling, eye-befuddling,...
View ArticleGender not a party tool
THIS week Julia Gillard's appeal to women to vote for Labor as the party that represents women has put gender in the political limelight again. It had died down somewhat, post the October misogyny...
View ArticleMore polar bears, despite decreasing sea-ice levels
POLAR bear numbers at the Davis Strait, near the Arctic Circle, have increased since the 1970s and may have reached a maximum population size. The threat to polar bear numbers due to melting sea ice...
View ArticleAborigines thrive in working heart of Australia
IN the nation's desert centre, a steady transformation is under way. When the Indigenous Land Corporation controversially bought the Ayers Rock Resort for $300 million in 2011, it employed just two...
View ArticleFasten seatbelts, we're in for a bumpy ride
THE lead-up to the apocalypse probably will feel like this. As the Gillard government trudges towards its destiny on September 14, an eerie sense of unreality pervades Australian politics. All the...
View ArticlePeople are fed up with continued growth in asylum-seeker numbers
THE Australian people are completely fed up with the boatpeople saga. Chief among their concerns is a decent humanitarian desire to stop the drownings that accompany the people-smuggling trade. But...
View ArticleOdds shorten on Bill as Brutus
THREE times in three years, Julia Gillard has forced federal Labor MPs to choose between her and Kevin Rudd. Each time they have chosen her. As psychological and guerilla warfare consumes the...
View ArticleShorten must tell her it's time to go
TWO weeks before Julia Gillard challenged Kevin Rudd for the prime ministership, Bill Shorten went to see the then deputy prime minister. Shorten told Gillard that she needed to challenge Rudd, in the...
View ArticleNSW wary of WA schools offer
THE O'Farrell government will examine the tripling in federal funding for West Australian schools under the Gonski reforms, to ensure the offer does not disadvantage NSW, which was first to sign up to...
View ArticleNorthern Territory to water down laws that lock up habitual drinkers
THE Northern Territory will today announce major changes to proposed laws that would lock habitual drinkers in treatment centres with guards, two days after Julia Gillard wrote to Chief Minister Adam...
View ArticleState rules grounds out of bounds for Peter Garrett
THE Queensland government banned federal Education Minister Peter Garrett from visiting two schools in Brisbane yesterday because it did not want them and their students to become backdrops for...
View ArticleNew food labels to help beat obesity as star system proposed
A RADICAL new health star-rating system will be printed on the front of all food packages as part of a planned federal government campaign to cut obesity. The plan will be put to state and federal...
View ArticleBullying regime to swamp industrial relations body
THE academic who helped draft and develop the Fair Work Act has warned that the nation's workplace tribunal risks being swamped by the Gillard government's new bullying regime and Labor should have...
View ArticleJulia Gillard warned on return to misogyny tactics
PLAYING the misogyny card failed to deliver for Julia Gillard last year and risks further undermining her shaky support now, pollsters have warned. The Prime Minister railed against government by...
View ArticleLara Giddings warned on tampering with Gonski
TASMANIAN non-government schools have warned they will campaign "hammer and tongs" against the Gonski reforms if Premier Lara Giddings secures an improved deal that favours the public sector. Ms...
View ArticleState threat to slug health funds
NSW is threatening to levy private health funds an extra $80 million in next week's budget in retaliation for drastic cuts to the amount they will pay for private rooms in public hospitals. The levy...
View ArticleChildcare union warned off over wages recruitment
THE childcare workers union has been warned by the Employment Department not to tell workers they need to be members to be eligible for Labor's $300 million boost to wages in the sector. In a...
View ArticleTables turn: menu just an 'in-house' joke, says venue owner Joe Richards
A MENU that demeaned Julia Gillard - and was used yesterday to attack Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey - was reportedly mocked up for the amusement of the venue's owner and never hit the tables of a Liberal...
View ArticleGillard slaps down MPs doubting abortion wisdom
JULIA Gillard has stepped up her gender war against Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party as her bid to make abortion an election issue opened splits among Labor MPs and sparked fresh doubts from internal...
View ArticleCommunity thrives in language hot spots
SYDNEY is a linguistic amalgam, stitched together by migrants who have settled in suburban hot spots where they prefer to speak a language other than English at home. There are officially more people...
View ArticleMob boss trial of James 'Whitey' Bulger hears of cash, bodies
HE was a crime boss who "did the dirty work himself", a callous "hands-on killer" with crooked allies at the FBI, an arsenal of weapons and a capacity to utter a wry aside as he dispatched victims...
View Article'PM's rhetoric not matched by gender action', says Eva Cox
JULIA Gillard is cheapening a worthy cause by attempting to politicise gender, according to prominent feminists who pointed to the Labor government's murky record on the issue. Feminist Eva Cox said...
View ArticleJulian Assange case could hinge on Ecuador ambassador change
ECUADOR is to replace its ambassador to London, stoking speculation that there could soon be a breakthrough in the year-long dispute over WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is holed up in the...
View ArticleWhen kiss and tell's enough for an ovation
COMEDIAN Ben Elton told Julia Gillard she was doing a superb job in battling misogyny and leading the nation. Local MP Melissa Parke described the Prime Minister as one of the most successful...
View ArticleIranian reform group in tandem
IRAN'S reformist candidates have joined forces to consolidate votes before tomorrow's presidential election, further complicating the regime's plans to dictate the result. Former vice-president...
View ArticleMurdoch urges corporates to step up in breast cancer fight
NATIONAL Breast Cancer Foundation patron Sarah Murdoch and chief executive Carole Renouf say it's time for corporate organisations to step up and help raise much-needed funds for breast cancer...
View ArticleAdd a splash of red and watch the sale price soar
ARTISTIC genius and masterful brushwork are all very well, but for a painting to fetch the highest prices it needs to have a splash of red or, at the very least, some blue. Philip Hook, senior...
View ArticleAustralia's Ashes hopes in ruins as team implodes on and off field
IT is difficult to think of any Ashes contest in recent years in which one of the teams has been in more of a mess before the series, on and off the field, than Australia are right now. News of David...
View ArticleRappers be schooled on grammar, fo' realz
LYRICS such as "My heart bleeded, girl" and song titles such as The Way I Are help to explain the poor standing of pop in the eyes of many grammarians. Now, though, it appears that the music industry...
View ArticleDuchess of Cambridge considers hypno-birth for royal baby, magazine says
IN 1853 Queen Victoria gave birth to her eighth child after inhaling chloroform from a handkerchief for an hour. Now the Duchess of Cambridge is reportedly considering a rather more natural way of...
View ArticleRudd won't dance to the PM's tune
THERE is only one way Julia Gillard can silence her many internal critics, and it will not be through lectures or intimidation. All she did by effectively telling them on Tuesday to stop leaking...
View ArticleKevin Rudd resisting pressure to move on leadership
KEVIN Rudd has flatly ruled out a challenge to Julia Gillard's leadership, insisting he will consider a move only if a broad cross-factional delegation asks the Prime Minister to resign. The...
View ArticleRudd delegation ready to visit Gillard after 'first strike'
A DELEGATION of senior Labor figures backing Kevin Rudd's return as prime minister is planning to call on Julia Gillard today to urge her to resign or to call a ballot for the leadership, according to...
View ArticleRudd's date with destiny looms
THE Labor Party is heading towards a change of leadership next week. Julia Gillard's supporters and defenders are slipping away, and Kevin Rudd faces increasing pressure to drop his unrealistic...
View ArticleNation's strength is its embrace of diversity, says Kevin Rudd
KEVIN Rudd has thrust himself into the debate on immigration policy, urging an end to intolerance of different cultures and a celebration of a multi-faith Australia. Mr Rudd's comments at a public...
View ArticleOusting shows the lessons of Rudd lost
THE Victorian Liberal Party has learned nothing from the problems faced by federal Labor. Removing a first-term incumbent leader should have been taboo after the turmoil that followed federal Labor's...
View ArticleStop acting the victim, Tony Abbott tells Julia Gillard
TONY Abbott says Julia Gillard needs to stop acting like a "victim" in relation to the gender debate as he accuses Nicola Roxon of showing bias towards Peter Slipper. The Opposition Leader today said...
View ArticleRudd's proven defence best yet
THE best chance for reviving the Australian Defence Force may lie in the return of Kevin Rudd to the prime ministership. All the commentary on changing from Julia Gillard to Rudd has understandably...
View ArticleAustralia bets on performance-related play in Ashes
SCANNING the Australian newspapers this week was an exercise in confusion: was the squad to be announced at the State Library of New South Wales or the Royal Mint; was it to include 16 or 17 players,...
View ArticleShorten may be ready to lead
WORKPLACE Relations Minister Bill Shorten is manoeuvring to take over the leadership of the federal Labor Party from Julia Gillard. He's possibly even doing this with Gillard's knowledge. The...
View ArticleIan Botham tips 10-0 Ashes burial for Australia
ENGLAND great Ian Botham says rain is probably the only thing stopping Australia being beaten 10-0 in back-to-back Ashes series this year. As Australia flopped to a 48-run loss to England in the...
View ArticleResult not such a done deal yet
YESTERDAY the writs were issued for the West Australian election, and for Labor the task of winning at first glance looks nigh impossible. Opinion polls point to an electoral wipeout for the...
View ArticleBleeding hearts ignore the complexity of the asylum-seeker issues
WHAT are the real ethics of boatpeople policies? Malcolm Fraser, Phillip Adams, Dennis Altman, John Hewson, Christine Milne and the entire refugee lobby have described the policies of both Kevin Rudd...
View ArticleShorten on path to replace Rudd
FEDERAL Labor is likely to hand the leadership to Bill Shorten after a devastating election defeat on Saturday as it seeks to put the Kevin Rudd era firmly behind it. Senior Labor sources across the...
View ArticleMPs, public servants to get 2.4pc pay rise
JULIA Gillard's salary has been pushed over $500,000 for the first time after a pay rise for politicians that could be followed by another by July next year. Login to read the rest of this article...
View ArticleBill Shorten 'wants top ALP job'
BILL Shorten has told colleagues he wants the Labor leadership, as his key rival Anthony Albanese continues to weigh his options ahead of a caucus meeting on Friday to decide the issue. Sources said...
View ArticleBill Shorten stands and vows to maintain the carbon rage
BILL Shorten has publicly declared his candidacy for the Labor leadership as his supporters gear up for a ballot against Anthony Albanese under controversial new party rules that could mean a 30-day...
View ArticleLycra or not, Abbott has a mandate
CIAO amici. Australia's fifth prime minister in less than six years - the unlikely, unpopular yet eminently electable, successfully rebranded Tony Abbott - is charged with ending the soap opera and all...
View ArticleShorten given short shrift on social media
BILL Shorten has revealed that he will run for the Labor leadership, but social media users have cast doubt over whether he is the best person to take the party forward. Twitter has been reserved in...
View ArticleLogjam leaves tax reforms stalled
MAJOR budget reforms have hit a legal logjam, as the Gillard government struggles to legislate its promises, prompting complaints that the delays are fuelling uncertainty and distorting business...
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