Trump's defenders say the old order was inconsistently applied and often ignored. They are right. But the answer to imperfect rules is not no rules at all
Jan 23 2026
14 mins
Andrea Battistoni’s eloquent treatment of Puccini’s score produced one of the best all-round musical Opera Australia experiences in recent years
Jan 23 2026
6 mins
Left versus Right is no longer applicable. A more accurate mapping would be those who support Western values and those who don’t
Jan 23 2026
13 mins
The Coalition has disintegrated, Labor has the censorship laws it always wanted, and voters -- who can blame them? -- are turning to One Nation
Jan 22 2026
7 mins
NEWS
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"That the new speech-crime regime will be applied narrowly, apolitically, objectively and fairly stretches credulity beyond breaking"January 22, 2026
3 mins
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Criticised today by Aboriginal leaders for advocating assimilation, the Voice result strongly suggests a majority of Australians agreeJanuary 22, 2026
9 mins
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In this new Australia that Anthony Albanese and Sussan Ley have given us, being paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get youJanuary 21, 2026
6 mins
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Did you know SUVs are now regarded as a threat to public safety? Oh, health, what crimes are committed in thy name!January 21, 2026
8 mins
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Joseph Banks lobbied without success to found a colony at Botany Bay. Then, suddenly in August 1786, it became a matter of the utmost urgencyJanuary 21, 2026
8 mins
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The SMH reported with an indecent relish sexual assault charges against artist Anthony Lister. When he was acquitted and accusers revealed as liars, not a peepJanuary 20, 2026
8 mins
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Those of malicious intent recognise a complicit government and know there is no depth Albanese & Co will not plumb to appease themJanuary 20, 2026
6 mins
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The contemporary revival of censorship is far more wide-ranging than its typical expression in the past, when its all-but-exclusive focus was on sexual matters. Now you only need to quote selected passages from the Bible (of all books), as Israel Folau can tell youJanuary 20, 2026
18 mins
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They say things need to get worse before they can improve, so maybe our national awakening, our revolutionary moment, is yet to arriveJanuary 19, 2026
6 mins
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After Bondi, his music led me out out of the darkness and back into the dazzling light of humanityJanuary 19, 2026
12 mins
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Those on the gravy train are the leaders. Behind comes the legion of low-info hysterics and chumpsJanuary 19, 2026
7 mins
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To be blunt, a surrogate is a uterus-for-hire. Such women may well be vulnerable to emotional pressure, manipulation, and abuseJanuary 18, 2026
11 mins
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Islamic values are the specific, primary, peculiar cause of anti-Semitism in Australia. Don't expect the royal commission to acknowledge thatJanuary 18, 2026
6 mins
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They cast book sales and per diems upon the ground, so there's at least a slight upside to the literary leftoid luvvie exodusJanuary 17, 2026
10 mins
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Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK have all dispatched troops to Greenland. But seriously, can they counter Trump?January 17, 2026
8 mins
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An invasion presupposes attackers, defenders, military power, and the violent seizure of territory. Nothing like that happened at Sydney CoveJanuary 17, 2026
11 mins
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Had George Pell been an imam rather than a cardinal his ordeal before another royal commission would likely have been much easierJanuary 16, 2026
3 mins
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How ideology, NGOs and process-creep have captured Australia’s land and climate polices to the immense detriment of all but those issuing the green edictsJanuary 16, 2026
10 mins
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Recent hate-speech laws, probably well-intentioned, exhibit parallels to sharia’s slander framework, potentially narrowing discourse on political IslamJanuary 16, 2026
9 mins
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One doesn't need to believe the Third Reich's war-production minister's mea culpas to find his memoir a direct relevance to the West's current woesJanuary 15, 2026
16 mins
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So much as raisethe now-embedded prejudice against boys and men in the context of the feminisation of the society and you are denounced as “misogynist”January 14, 2026
12 mins
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It's not just the brave Iranians fighting to be free who are at risk. So long as the Tehran regime remains we all areJanuary 14, 2026
3 mins
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Going by the record of this and previous Labor governments, it’s beyond dispute multiculturalism and indiscriminate immigration have eroded social cohesion rather than promoting itJanuary 14, 2026
5 mins
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Nearly every aspect of Victoria's bushfire management is dictated by unions and academic theoreticians, not experienced bushfire specialists or rural VictoriansJanuary 13, 2026
9 mins
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Two narrow themes infuse everything: climate change and Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. As a vision for Australian science this is disastrous.January 13, 2026
8 mins
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Here is a call for transparency, accountability, and reform. If governments are to avoid the mistakes of 2020 to 2022, answers are neededJanuary 12, 2026
4 mins
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Individuals of whatever religion are usually decent. Absolutist ideologies antithetical to pluralism and democracy are notJanuary 12, 2026
6 mins
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A Prefect of the Press is an enjoyable, witty and wise novel. Pity about the typosJanuary 11, 2026
5 mins
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Albanese's long-delayed Royal Commission is supposed to identify anti-Semitism's 'key drivers'. Nowhere in its letters patent is there mention of Islam, Muslims or jihadisJanuary 11, 2026
7 mins
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The forever and forlorn hope is that Islam will become enlightened and, in the particular, Hamas will disarm and give up power. How this fantasy persists defies all logicJanuary 11, 2026
6 mins
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Sir Charles lives on through the skills he so willingly shared with many others, but above all, in his legacy of so many fine and easily available recordingsNovember 23, 2025
9 mins
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Whether in the Opera House or the concert hall, Charles Mackerras was one of the most intelligent and exciting conductors of his generation.November 13, 2025
19 mins
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"The state orchestras are machines ... One of my criticisms of them has been that, for a large part, they are drowning in bureaucracy"|November 4, 2025
14 mins
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The Victorian Opera has taken Leoš Janáček seldom staged Katya Kabanová and produced a triumph.October 28, 2025
7 mins
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Fifty-five years on, following major renovations, the Carillon is retaking its place in Canberra’s musical and social life.October 27, 2025
5 mins
Fiction
Dinner for Six
“Well, I had my own small war brewing at the table. I didn’t know what to say and you weren’t doing much to help.”
This week’s Fiction
This week’s Poem
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January 24: ack Sage Fox is a young American even […]January 9, 2025
83 mins
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The September 2024 issue of our magazine is now available! […]October 2, 2024
1 mins
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The September 2024 issue of our magazine is now available via our website and in newsagents. You can click here to view the contents. Digital subscribers can enjoy the PDF and online articles now, and print subscribers will receive their hardcopies in the mail.September 2, 2024
1 mins
