Tag: state politics
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The friggin’ frigates farnarkel
The scene: Captain’s quarters, onboard a Royal Australian Navy frigate, somewhere off the coast of Outer Harbor, Gulf St Vincent. Able Seaman Jenkins knocks timidly on the cabin door. Captain: Come. Jenkins enters the cabin, snaps to attention and salutes. Permission to speak, sir. As you were sailor. Remind me of your name again. It’s…
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Populist policy-making leads to a free-for-some
The last time News Corp’s daily print newspaper dragged a cardboard cut-out around Adelaide, it was a world away from its recent attempt to cash in on Taylor Swift’s enormous fan base. Rather than taking a cartoon Taylor on a tour of the city’s sights, back in 2016 the cut-out campaign was targeted at a…
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Voters shouldn’t have to study the fine print on politicians’ promises
All you are is mean And a liar, and pathetic And alone in life, and mean And mean, and mean, and mean. So ends Taylor Swift’s song called, funnily enough, “Mean”. It sounds better than it looks. I had toyed with writing an entire column on politics using just lyrics from the global pop supernova’s…
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I’ll lament the loss of election posters on Stobie poles – and David Speirs might too
“My name is Tammy Bowling. You all know my dad, Big John Bowling. “Dad is running for Laurel County Jailer. You know my dad is Laurel Co. jailer now. “I would probably have more time with dad if he did not hold public office. And sometimes I wish he wasn’t jailer. “But he wants to…
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Twenty-five years after his death, Don Dunstan remains SA’s biggest influence
We are still living in Don Dunstan’s South Australia. It’s nothing short of extraordinary that this can be said. Today, 25 years on from his passing – and approaching half a century since the end of his administration – it’s challenging to name a person who has had a greater influence on the life and…
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A few tinnies short of a slab: Who’s really the ‘local’ in key by-election?
The $20 slab of beer moment is one on-air gaffe that refuses to drown in its own sorrows. In a previous life, behind the microphone, I took an innocent stab at the price of a slab of beer. Twenty dollars sounded about right. It was so wildly off the money listeners never let me forget…
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What’s next for bland state Labor? Maybe not even they know
The shortlist for the greatest question ever asked in a movie stretches to infinity, and beyond. It’s a question that will send you down one of those social media rabbit holes, emerging blinking like a bunny in the headlights, wondering where another wasted hour of your life has gone. It’s hard to go past the…
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Why Adelaide needs a new gallery for 21st century art
The Art Gallery of South Australia is South Australia’s flagship for the visual arts. Its exhibitions and its collections are critically acclaimed. It is a huge cultural attraction, providing free cultural experiences for both visitors and the Adelaide public across all generations. Any cultural policy with respect to the visual arts should start with the…
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In a glittering shade of beige, here are the Corduroy Awards
Kevin Corduroy never expected much and so was rarely disappointed. The now-retired, superannuated public servant was happy to remain a lowly ASO1 -Administrative Services Officer Level 1 – from the day he joined the state’s public service fresh from Daws Road High until his retirement at the age of 59 years, 11 months. That was…
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Greetings from Planet Politician
Table 29 wasn’t quite at the back of the Panorama Ballroom, but it wasn’t at the front, either. It proved to be an unlikely location to uncover proof of the existence of parallel universes, right under our noses on North Terrace. Who would have guessed? The observable universe has a diameter of 93 billion light…