Keywords: Elizabeth Young
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AUSTRALIA
There is a story that the king, having learned surfing at Bondi, introduced the sport to Tonga. I asked if he was ever fearful of sharks. 'There is nothing to fear,' he said. 'Look them straight in the eye like this!' At which he squared his shoulders in a demonstration of regal might which I shall never forget.
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AUSTRALIA
- David Cappo
- 06 March 2012
21 Comments
The Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children Inquiry has set a new benchmark. A particular challenge to churches is the recommendation regarding mandatory reporting for clergy and church personnel. Any equivocation on this would be viewed with disdain by the community.
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AUSTRALIA
- Ellena Savage
- 28 October 2011
22 Comments
The fact the Queen is a very nice lady doesn't negate her inherited privilege, her arbitrary powers, and the fact her reign isolates many Australians. There is a myth that Australia is a larrikin nation. But we are a nation not of provocateurs, but of conformists.
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AUSTRALIA
- Moira Rayner
- 26 October 2011
17 Comments
In a simpler time a visit from our head of state seemed to make us feel better about ourselves. Like many Australians, I hold dear the old lady, but have no fear that democracy will shatter when her life and the monarchy slowly come to their natural end.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Gillian Bouras
- 18 May 2011
7 Comments
My sons had their bedtime stories for years, but had to become used to my saying 'Just a minute' while I raced to the end of a page or chapter. Now grown, my technophile youngest had a most surprisng reaction to the marvellous present sent to me recently.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
Hatred against paedophiles and fantasies of violent retaliation are stoked by gossip around dining room tables. Snowtown portrays the evil that humans are capable of under mundane circumstances, and the devolution of morality when it is nourished by sick ideologies.
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AUSTRALIA
- Sarah Burnside
- 09 February 2011
7 Comments
There is evidence that, far from its stated aim of 'normalising' remote communities, the Intervention is in fact counter-productive. A few days out from the anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations, the question hovers: when will the Intervention end?
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 02 February 2011
A mess of maps and photos pinned to his wall reflects his obsession. A series of close calls and violent altercations reveal his rising desperation. His love of his family bolsters his conviction while allowing him to retain his humanity.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
Look at her, at the child cradled across her arm, replete in milky sleep, perfectly composed; At how her fingers fuss over his perfumed skin, The cool heal of her palm.
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AUSTRALIA
- John Warhurst
- 11 November 2010
12 Comments
Nine prime ministers have been observant Christians. Two have been conventional Christians. Ten have been nominal Christians. Five have been articulate atheists or agnostics. One was a nominal atheist or agnostic.
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RELIGION
- Andrew Hamilton
- 14 October 2010
4 Comments
It is possible to represent MacKillop as a brave woman, a feisty woman, her own woman, a feminist before her time, a woman who resisted clerical tyranny, a scourge of pedophilia and an activist for the poor. Each of these descriptions misses what was central in her.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 17 June 2010
Adoption is shown to be a tumultuous process, as joyful and painful in
its own way as pregnancy and birth. Lucy is unable to
conceive, but suspects that the motherly bond is about much more than
biology. Her husband Joseph, by contrast, values biology greatly.
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