Views on the news from Canberra’s top columnists
"Those who want to froth about the inadequacy of this sentence would do well to note that there is no rehabilitation in our ACT prison system. That is the fault of the current ACT Government," writes legal affairs columnist HUGH SELBY.
"Jim asks his acolytes to swap their livery for Nick Cave T-shirts and their rung on the ladder to be shared by those with fewer opportunities." writes Kindness columnist ANTONIO DI DIO.
"Once infrequent, there are now more motions passing through the ACT Legislative Assembly than through the portaloos at the Multicultural Festival," writes SHUSH CAPITAL in this week's KEEPING UP THE ACT.
Here's a new episode of KEEPING UP THE ACT's travel show Getting Away With It. This time your favourite host reports from his latest junket to the UK...
It’s Palestinian leaders who have refused Israel’s various generous offers of statehood and other peace-building initiatives, and who constantly commit or promote terrorism against Israel," says letter writer ALAN SHROOT.
Lowering the cost of living doesn't come cheap, says cartoonist PAUL DORIN.
"The selection of our judiciary is quaint. The community might reasonably expect that applicants demonstrate a capacity to write a decision prior to appointment. That doesn’t happen." HUGH SELBY has some ideas to speed up slow judgments.
"After weeks or months in orbit, astronauts experience dramatic but short-lived symptoms. Many describe an overwhelming heaviness, as if their arms and legs are made of lead." Whimsy columnist CLIVE WILLIAMS looks at weightlessness.
"Disappointingly, the latest data reveals, again, that the ACT is not a high-performing jurisdiction when it comes to closing the gap," writes indigenous advocate JULIE TONGS.
Teachers' union chief Angela Burroughs finds herself in a relentless loop of circular argument with the Minister for Education and Dark Arts Rachel Slytherin-Smith. It's KEEPING UP THE ACT!
"Something basic is amiss when a national newspaper runs an error-ridden, unsubstantiated opinion piece that is intent on undermining community confidence in our judiciary," writes HUGH SELBY.
"Over the next five years the jobs forecast is for 500 new entrants through digital graduate and trainee programs, but with 1800 retirements. That creates a gap of 8190 digital government staff by 2030," say ALEX KOVACESKI & RICHARD CALVER.
"Why worry if a woman in custodial care gets $100,000 medical compensation. It’s only other people’s money," says letter writer ANTHONY HORDERN.
Suddenly everyone's talking about data centres, says cartoonist PAUL DORIN.
"The latest political spin presents the Albanese government as leaders in managing the new Digital Age. But the sad truth is that this government, when given the ball, kicked it into the long grass," writes HUGH SELBY.
As we proudly salute five years of the innovative KEEPING UP THE ACT comic strip, its mysterious creator – Shush Capital – reveals how the strip is technically assembled and the intense human creativity behind it.
"While smart glasses offer genuine benefits in daily life, they also raise a challenging question: How do schools maintain fair examinations when AI becomes almost invisible?" Letter writer DONALD THOMAS raises an interesting issue.
Meet new columnist HAMOUDI AL-SAGHIR, a remarkable young Syrian refugee with a terrible story of survival. In his first column, he shares a glimpse of his confronting past and his youthful optimism as he thrives at studying law at the ANU.
Almost one in five Australians who smoke report going without essentials because of the cost. CORAL GARTNER and ARA CHO explain why cheaper cigarettes aren't necessarily the answer.
