Snow in Aurukun
Malcolm Turnbull’s famous excuse for not wanting to touch section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act – ‘it is not…
Snow in Aurukun
Malcolm Turnbull’s famous excuse for not wanting to touch section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act – ‘it is not…
Whatever happened to Sir George? A festive finale for an eventful year
Many (well, several) of you asked me what happened to George, the supermarket chairman who was the anti-hero of my…
How to put a positive spin on the bizarre events of this year
This is going to be a positive, optimistic column. I promise. Because, look, let’s be honest, I’ve been a bit…
Don’t try to be liked, and buy your steak at Aldi – the lessons I’ve learned in 2016
Merry Christmas everyone. Here are some things I learned — or relearned — in 2016. 1. That which does…
Why I’m telling my son about the sky fairy
After we were married, my husband and I went on honeymoon to Mexico. We drove across country east to west,…
A year of revolution
Few years will live as long in the memory as 2016. Historians will ponder the meaning and consequences of the…
The Spectator’s Notes
‘Are you Charles Moore of The Spectator?’ I answered to that description. ‘Well,’ said my questioner, ‘I am worried that you’re…
Cosy catastrophe
When I was a child in the 1970s, the two big excitements of the run-up to Christmas were first the…
Hangovers
Although drinking excessive levels of alcohol is up there with Olympic cycling and democracy as things the British excel at,…
Julia’s Baby
Julia should not have come to the wedding. That much was clear as soon as she arrived. Late, she was,…
Diary
Novelists can’t merely tell cracking tales. We’re supposed to save the world. At the University of Kent, a student implored…
Australian notes
In her defence of her wretched Human Rights Commission, Gillian Triggs boasted that the Commission has been processing some 22,000…
Rock’s quiet right-wingers
They will be sitting there right now, listening tearfully to the song for one last time on their dinky little…
Trevor Goddard: the end of a grand innings
When stumps were drawn at the Wanderers on January 26th, 1965 the Springbok captain, Trevor Goddard, was 11 runs shy…
Green-left legerdemain doesn’t make religion relevant
It has long been obvious that the political agenda of some Catholic organisations and schools rest solidly within the Green-left…
The High Court should affirm the people, not the government, are truly sovereign
Why has there been such a long-term decline in maths and science learning in our schools, and in the qualifications…
Presenting… The 2016 Nannies
Animal rights group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was the winner of the 2016 Nanny State Awards, for…
Jessie
Jessie Margaret Noble, formerly Dingle, died in Bundaberg last week, November 29, 2016 to be exact. She was 97. Who,…
Silent night, godless night
Almost 30 years ago, fresh from Hawaii, I visited my daughter’s grade one class in Brisbane to show off my…
Freedom of association: sanity succeeds on Spring Street
On Tuesday afternoon, Victoria’s upper house of Parliament voted down the Labor Government’s Equal Opportunity Amendment Bill. The Bill was…
Voltaire, Waleed Aly and the 18d trope
It has been a dismal year for the commanders and foot soldiers in Australia’s war against so-called hate speech. In several recent ground operations, the massed forces of contemporary…
John Key’s class act
There’s a photo taken in South Africa after Nelson Mandela’s funeral. Three Anglosphere PMs, Tony Abbott, Canada’s Stephen Harper and…
Daniel Andrews digs in against freedom of association
The restricting of freedom of association and freedom of religion is back on the agenda in Victorian Parliament this week.…
What’s gone wrong in South Australia?
What’s gone wrong in South Australia? For much of the population, not very much, really. Most services are quite good, infrastructure development has…
