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Editor's note
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The insults have been coming thick and fast of late, with Labor running hot on “Mr Harbourside Mansion” and “Top Hat Turnbull”, while the PM has labelled Bill Shorten a “sycophant” and a “man who abandoned workers”. And while the voting public may find the trading of barbs to be generally distasteful (if sometimes amusing), Frank Bongiorno explains that personal insults have a long history in Australian politics.
Our first Prime Minister, Edmund Barton, was known as “Toby Tosspot”, while the “affable” attached to Alfred Deakin could be used with affection or sarcasm. In the modern era, there has been none more effective at the political insult than Paul Keating: who could forget him saying, when asked about an Andrew Peacock leadership comeback, “can a souffle rise twice?”
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Amanda Dunn
Section Editor: Politics + Society
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Top story
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The insults have becoming increasingly personal, but they don’t always work.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Frank Bongiorno, Australian National University
Creating epithets for political opponents has a long history in Australia – and when it works, it can be devastating.
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Politics + Society
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
Shorten might have done better to have said, "I stuffed up – that's my recommendation, it's not yet our decision", and summoned a shadow cabinet meeting immediately to fix the matter.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The way Australian politics is conducted now - abrasive, shallow, personal - is a known turn-off for voters. So why don't the politicans change?
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Amy Maguire, University of Newcastle
Australian national Antonio Bagnato is on death row in Thailand as that country resumes executions. The federal government must use all diplomatic means to push its anti-death penalty stance.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
In announcing the retreat, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann reaffirmed that the government remained committed to the cuts, and cast the July 28 byelections as a referendum on them.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The bill makes it easier for states and territories to seek help from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to respond to terrorist and other violent occurrences.
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Health + Medicine
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Penelope Bryant, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute; Cheryl Anne Jones, University of Melbourne; David Burgner, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute; Nigel Curtis, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
There may be additional long-term health harms from antibiotic exposure in early life and before birth, including an increased risk of infection, obesity and asthma.
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Alessandro R Demaio, University of Copenhagen
Preparing healthy meals can be difficult. Here's what a doctor recommends.
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Environment + Energy
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Paul Harvey, Macquarie University
We can safely say goodbye to most single-use plastics. But they do have essential uses in some areas, such as for medical or scientific samples, or storing food for humanitarian aid.
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Arts + Culture
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Mridula Nath Chakraborty, Monash University
Whether being called 'curry munchers' or pigeonholed as authorities on a dish largely invented by the British, diasporic South Asians are emulsified in a deep pool of curry.
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Alexandra Wong, Western Sydney University; David Rowe, Western Sydney University; Teresa Swist, Western Sydney University
The loss of creative spaces to development is pricing Sydney artists out of the city. But they could be encouraged back with new cultural policies.
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Business + Economy
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Kathryn James, Monash University
The complexity of the reforms might jeopardise the necessary cooperation of overseas businesses, and place consumers at risk of paying wrongly charged GST.
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Jayanthi Kumarasiri, RMIT University; Christine Jubb, Swinburne University of Technology; Keith Houghton, Australian National University
Company directors have been put on notice about their duty to consider and disclose climate change risks. And to do that properly they need to call on the expertise of accountants.
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Cities
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Dorina Pojani, The University of Queensland; Jonathan Corcoran, The University of Queensland
Urban planners often hope bike-share schemes might reduce reliance on cars and help with congestion. But very few of those who use share bikes have switched from driving.
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Science + Technology
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David Vaux, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute; Peter Brooks, University of Melbourne; Simon Gandevia, Neuroscience Research Australia
Without a national office for research integrity, Australia risks losing scientists and research funders to countries with more robust setups.
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Adam Ni, Australian National University
The Huawei case shows there is a real trade-off between economic and security imperatives for Australia when it comes to working with Chinese tech companies.
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Aaron Drummond, Massey University; James Sauer, University of Tasmania
A study investigating the psychological effects of loot boxes in video games shows that such mechanisms are similar to gambling.
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Featured jobs
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University of Melbourne — Parkville, Victoria
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Featured events
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192 Wellington Parade, Melbourne, Victoria, 3002, Australia — Association for Sustainability in Business
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221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria, 3125, Australia — Deakin University
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30 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia — Monash University
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