Great excitement in the right wing blogosphere about this story from Louise Yaxley of Our ABC(my emphasis):
Senator Clinton and Mr Rudd met for 40 minutes in Washington today, discussing the Australia-US relationship, health care, and engagement with Asia.
The Senator also updated him on the progress of the election campaign.
Mr Rudd offered to help if he […]

At last the opposition has shaken off its post-election tristesse and bounced back to the Great Policy Debate. And the inspiration, as I’m sure I don’t need to tell you, is PM-in-waiting Malcolm Turnbull*.
Malcolm has come up with ‘the first significant policy proposal by the Coalition since it lost government four months ago’, according […]

Dear Kevin,
Was it only four months ago that we woke up to the clean sweet air of a Howard-less Australia? How quickly the time has flown. It seems like the ex-roosters have been squatting on the backbench like feather dusters since forever Mr Speaker, reminding us of what a second-rate bunch of nonentities and clowns […]

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry watching the scenes in Question time last night. Lord knows I don’t think the new PM or any of the other members of his front bench is any kind of Messiah (expect more posts on that subject shortly). But jesus christ on a cracker, look at the […]

Not so long ago if you had asked me my nomination for my favourite Australian song, I’d have instantly said “The Ship Song”, Nick Cave.

At some point I heard “Tenterfield Saddler” on the radio this year. The “emu/jackaroo/kangaroo/cockatoo up ahead” business has always struck me as cringingly obvious Australiana and I pushed the whole thing away. Of course I have no such resistance to refrains about coyotes, cowand five and dimes and thank you, yes I am aware of the contradiction. Maybe I pushed it away for other reasons too.

A turning point in Australia’s story. Here is the audio in three parts. (via 12thharmonic.net)
The Apology

The Prime Minister’s Address

Dr. Nelson’s Address

To download the files, please visit my blog here
Recorded from ABC Digital T.V. I will be covering this on my radio show today 4PM Eastern Australia Time. My home country should do similar with the […]

Here’s the apology:
“Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
We reflect on their past mistreatment.
We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations – this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.
The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page […]

I hope the Rudd Government issues an apology to indigenous Australians as soon as possible, so the matter can be resolved once and for all. It’s become a purely symbolic political issue, devoid of any meaning for most people, and the sooner it can be killed off the better. It will be like those apologies […]

What is it with large sections of the population who seem to think the appropriate response to any and every social problem is to lock people up in gaol? Are they totally incapable of rational thought? Maybe they are still locked in the narrow moral confines of early childhood, when if they were naughty they […]

Another gem from the AGE today:
This:

What more can we do? Police’s Road Toll despair

This

Fatal crash ‘traumatic’ say police

This:

A Terrible Toll

Also this and This…

If you phone and drive, you’re also a bloody idiot
Man killed in hit run

Juxtaposed, on page 3, with this absolutely bonza idea!!1!

THE world’s first practical flying car may soon be be zipping over […]