Chequers scandal threatens to end John Gorton’s prime ministership SYDNEY, Tuesday, 2 July 1968 – When Prime Minister John Gorton arrived at Chequers nightclub he had been drinking – on and off – for most of his day in Sydney. After the formal Cabinet meeting which he chaired, Gorton joined Liberal Party grandees from the NSW…
National symbols – why they matter and how they change Australia Day used to be called Empire Day and then Independence Day. Adding to the confusion the date has changed as well. Some people think it celebrates James Cook’s landing in Botany Bay in 1770 while, in more recent years, it is meant to mark…
The Prime Minister and the Showgirl – A Night on the Town SYDNEY, Tuesday, July 2, 1967 – At 21, nightclub entertainer Liza Minnelli was well on the way to become a famous celebrity. Not in her own right, however, but because her mother was Judy Garland, the most popular female celebrity of the 20th century….
Bye bye Sydney Morning Herald – Hello dumb-ass television The front pages of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in Melbourne told the story: the plundering of Australia’s two most venerable newspapers by Channel Nine and Rupert Murdoch media is done and dusted. The newspapers, with a collective history of news reporting of more…
Part 1: Gorton steps onto the world stage London, Monday, 6 January 1969 It was a typically freezing winter’s day. In the outer London suburbs misty rain was falling steadily. People rushing to work were forced to open their umbrellas and wear raincoats to stay dry. In the city, the rain was more like sleet. It…
Rupert Murdoch poised to raid the ABC Media oligarch Rupert Murdoch believes that the ABC is the best training ground for reporters and technicians. It is a lesson he learned from his fellow tycoon, the late Kerry Packer. When the ABC created “stars”, Packer would swoop with his chequebook. Packer preferred the national broadcaster to…
How Brexit and Trump changed the world Two unrelated events on either side of the Atlantic – Britain’s referendum vote to leave to European Union (Brexit) on June 23, 2016, and Donald Trump’s presidential election victory five months later on November 8 – have changed the face of global economic and politics. Commentators have treated…
Climate clock is ticking away Mort Rosenblum, aged 74, is a prolific American author, award-winning journalist, editor of the International Herald Tribune (1979-1981) and ex-bureau chief for Associated Press (AP) in Congo, Nigeria, Malaysia, Indonesia, Argentina and France. He has furiously condemned those world political leaders who failed to take a stand against climate change…
Hillary Clinton craves another shot at the White House in 2020 Maureen Dowd, the accomplished columnist for the New York Times, has just returned from Australia where she was drumming up support for Clinton Inc to capture the White House at the next US Presidential election. But she herself appears to be conflicted about the…
Sydney Modern: A case study of how not to build an art gallery Ask anyone with any knowledge of the arts in NSW and you will discover an almost unanimous view that the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney’s Domain needs major renovation and upgrading. Everybody agrees with the proposition that the dear old 19th…
