Tag: Australia
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I Grew Up A NewspaperMan
I grew up a newspaperman. My dad was the editor of the Canowindra Star, the local paper in Canowindra New South Wales. He wasn’t the grizzled editor from central casting : think of Perry White in Superman or Benjamin Bradlee in All the Presidents Men. No, he was my Dad (Kevin Whalan) : as he describes…
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The Reverse Golden Rule
Somewhere in Australia, someone is gloating over images of a burning mosque. Before that he or she was fuming over the latest executions from the Middle East. They’re probably thinking this is how much they hate us and this is how we should hate them back. Somewhere in Australia, someone is fuming over images of…
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My Boxing Day Surprise
Without thinking too much about it, I woke up on Boxing Day and decided to see a movie. My choice was (this is a few years ago) , was Return of the King, the final instalment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I just thought I could turn up and get a ticket to the…
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Here Kitty Kitty Kitty (How I Got My Cat Mojo Back)
I’m not a cat person. And here are the sure-fire symptoms. I’m not the one walking down the street like the pied piper having cats follow me. When I walk up to cats and say hello they don’t say hello back. Quite the opposite. So it was with some reluctance that I let myself be…
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Australian Institute of Sledging?
As a cricket lover I’m following the current Test series. My hope is that one more Aussie win will return the Ashes to us. Yet cricket is not a predictable game. And it can be overshadowed by outside issues. Such as sledging. Sledging is sustained verbal banter (truthfully outright verbal abuse) designed to…
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Abbott After 100 Days : Policies versus the Pamphlett
There has been much written about the Abbott Government and its achievements in its first 100 days. They’ve even brought out a pamphlett of their achievements. But if one had studied their election pamphlett, the clues to their performance were already there. And the giveaway is mainly in the presentation and only some of the…
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Anzac Day : Some Reflections
Despite learning about Anzac Day all my life, it wasn’t until recently I found its meaning to me. As a child, I did attend Dawn Service with my Dad. I tried my best to stay awake and not appear bored.I remember reading the plaque which had far too many names for a small country town.…
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Tony Abbott’s Director of Policy Is No Spy
Much has been written and said about the incident between Peter van Onselen and Dr Mark Roberts. But there is another side to all of this. It isn’t that we’ve found out that Tony Abbott has a Director of Policy. That’s way too trite. It is the offer allegedly made to Peter van Onselen. According…
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The LNP Know Nothings : Criticism Without A Solution
If you examine politics sooner or later one finds some trends that repeat themselves. One of these is the LNP’s approach to politics. It is almost completely negative and oppositional. But it is not the first time that this approach has been tried and failed. Let me take you back in time. When One Nation…
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Vale Chrissie Amphlett
It was the early ’80s, and the Cabbage Tree Patch in Wollongong was packed full. Friday night and my brother and I were out to see a band. I drew the short straw and went to get a couple of beers and nearly didn’t make it back. In the end I choose to sip my…
Andrew James Whalan 