Tag John Stapleton
A Shakespearean tragedy played out in the Antipodes EVERY DOG has its day. And the most disappointing Prime Minister in Australian history certainly had his. The intoxicating fall of Malcolm Turnbull was a transfixing, delightful spectacle; a Shakespearean tragedy played… Continue Reading →
THE CAR ROSE SLOWLY from the fetid plains. For days, in tormented dreams, he had been a soldier going around a battlefield killing the wounded, firing shot after shot after shot. Most of the victims were already dead and his… Continue Reading →
Will future historians see the Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison era as the period of governance when totalitarian instincts were unleashed? The targeting of journalists is just the beginning of a much greater disaster, writes journalist and author, John Stapleton. Australia’s #RighttoKnow movement barely touches… Continue Reading →
Talent works hard. Genius is compelled. Caitlin Johnstone is compelled. There are more than ten million blog posts published every single day. According to Hosting Tribunal there are 70 million new blog posts each month on WordPress alone. How can… Continue Reading →
By John Stapleton Quiet Australians, so-called. They’ve become an article of faith for a victorious Coalition government. Against the odds, surprising pundits, pollsters and even themselves, the conservatives have just won government once again despite a history of internal division… Continue Reading →
By John Stapleton Australia’s major dental associations have all issued dire warnings about the dangers of travelling to Asia in an attempt to save money on dental work. The Australian Dental Association has produced a number of fact sheets about… Continue Reading →
David Tees has been drawing almost every day for the past 40 years, in a journey which has traversed continents and judicial systems. He was born in London, southern Ontario, in 1972 and moved to Vancouver cresting twenty. I was… Continue Reading →
Humans spontaneously form villages and have an inherent desire to tell stories. Wherever and however people gather, others are sniffing around for money. And predators abound. Twitch is well on the way to becoming the world’s dominant streaming platform; a… Continue Reading →
The sprawling electorate of Dickson in Northern Brisbane is Ground Zero for the coming election; pivotal for the future of the country. Every major media organisation has sent journalists to the seat; almost all of them with an agenda to… Continue Reading →
Like many areas in a rapidly changing Australia, the seat of Dickson in the north of Brisbane straddles many divides. It is also a fulcrum seat which holds a key to the future of the country. It is the electorate… Continue Reading →
Just over a week to go in what is being condemned as the most turgid, dull, boring election campaign in Australia’s history. Daily politicians on both sides announce this, that and the other, all their various empty schemes backed with… Continue Reading →
By John Stapleton Once upon a time there was nothing the Australian media liked more than a good gangster story. Now there’s nothing Australia’s media like more than a celebrity refugee. Crime stories require resources and insider knowledge; feel good… Continue Reading →
By John Stapleton Which master government strategists planned this? With all their resources, money, power and operational capacities, who on Earth dreamed up the idea of making the intelligence community’s Number One nemesis front page news around the world? And… Continue Reading →
The daffodils are out. The cherry blossoms are in bloom. England’s famous meadows are looking their absolute best. And the headlines are all diabolical. It’s spring in the UK and the papers scream “Death of democracy”, “Cabinet in crisis”. Day… Continue Reading →
Thomas Kuegler is just having way too much fun. All the while attracting millions of followers and fulfilling a Millennial’s ultimate dream — to make a living out of social media. Tom, 25, has become famous largely by simply being himself, infectiously… Continue Reading →
When Dads On The Air, now the world’s longest running fathers’ show, began in 2000 we had no idea we were part of a worldwide trend protesting the treatment of fathers in separated families. We were a small group of… Continue Reading →
They blame climate change. They blame the drought. They blame everyone and everything but themselves. The stench of millions of dead fish, the rotting corpses of kangaroos and sheep, the missing bird life, the farmers who can no longer farm,… Continue Reading →
Lu Guang picked up a camera for the first time in 1980, still a teenager. He was a factory worker in his hometown of Yongkang in China’s Zhejiang Province. After studying in Beijing he became a freelance photographer in 1993,… Continue Reading →
At 89, former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke has declared himself in miserable health and unlikely to last much longer. While he expects the Labor Party, which he led for many years, to win the next election, due by May… Continue Reading →
By John Stapleton So it is done. The Coalition government has admitted defeat. Current Prime Minister Scott Morrison is not there to save the furniture. He’s there to steer his party to electoral oblivion. The ineptitude of the recent Wentworth… Continue Reading →
Let’s face it: this is a tough sell. In the beginning was the Word. Well, there was a radio show called Dads On The Air. We were a small group of that most unfashionable of all people. Separated, sad, angry, overwhelmed… Continue Reading →
Farewell Old Friend Jac Vidgen became both famous and infamous for one thing: his parties. They grew from his lounge rooms in Elizabeth Bay in central Sydney in the 1970s, where I was a frequent visitor, to become truly massive… Continue Reading →
By John Stapleton The Demise of Malcolm Turnbull I am a vengeful god. The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath… Continue Reading →
The Terrible Legacy of Malcolm Turnbull Those Whom the Gods Would Destroy The Coverage Malcolm Turnbull’s Day of Reckoning has arrived. He could have left with dignity ten days ago; doctors advice, spend more time with his grandchildren. But this hapless… Continue Reading →
The Terrible Legacy of Malcolm Turnbull Let Slip the Dogs of War: Coverage The word “crisis” is bandied about a lot in discussing Australian politics right this minute. Nothing the present batch of oligarchs could do to manipulate, suppress or control… Continue Reading →
America’s Wars, Australia’s hypocrisy With his fate set and Malcolm Turnbull’s Prime Ministership in its death throes, it is time to look back across the wasteland of his leadership. The ritual lies of political combat: The Prime Minister has my… Continue Reading →
Australia’s Failing Democracy The Foundation Lie The frenetic efforts of a failing Prime Minister have curled into a frustrated ball of fury. And arguably the worst government in Australian history faces electoral wipeout. The slow motion trainwreck of Malcolm Turnbull’s… Continue Reading →
The Terrible Legacy of Malcolm Turnbull The First Harpoon Strikes the Flank In the petri dish of Australian politics, the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull thrashes in a blood soaked sea. The first leadership spill, on Tuesday 21st August, 2018, precipitated by the… Continue Reading →
A House of Cards Collapses “Mr Harbourside Mansion” was a pejorative term coined by critics within Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s own party. The insult stuck. Indeed it is Turnbull’s often boasted about wealth which has been his undoing. A… Continue Reading →
The Fight Is On At the centre of the maelstrom which has overtaken Australian politics this weekend lies one man: the departing Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Disliked by the public, disliked by his own party, disliked by the public service, Australia’s… Continue Reading →
The leadership is in play. Diabolical polling ensures that. But how Malcolm Turnbull’s prime ministership devolved to the current disaster is a complicated yarn, like the man himself. So let’s begin at the beginning. Rob Hirst, drummer for Midnight Oil,… Continue Reading →
Surveillance in Australia Australia has a government run on announceables. Even without the Budget blizzard, so far in 2018 we have had major announcements on everything from the so-called Gonski 2.0 education reforms, the establishment of an Australian arms industry… Continue Reading →