The Punch

Throughout history millions have urged us to ‘make love, not war’ and an important voice has just joined this choir.

On Tuesday, Australia’s former Army Chief, Peter Leahy, suggested that the defence budget should be cut and redirected towards its diplomacy and aid programs – and no, he wasn’t wearing flares or dreads.

Continue reading "Former army chief says ‘make love, not war’" »

Thanks to the way Tony Abbott announced his maternity leave plan, thought bubbles seem to be in vogue this week so here’s one for a breezy Friday brainstorm.

Mandatory clown suits for social welfare recipients. What do you think?

The key benefit, as argued by the person who thought of it first, is that people on welfare will be making the country happier as everyone likes looking at clowns. (Stay with me.)

Continue reading "Clown suits for dole bludgers – could it work here?" »

Like most females, I am prone to that odd bit of judgment. With the exception of close friends’ birthdays, I forego trashy clubs in favour of nights out at great restaurants.

My fashion icons are from days gone by, so I’m more inclined to emulate the feminine styles of Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly than look for dresses that barely skim my thighs. And although I love the odd cocktail, I am particularly cautious about how far I go for a drink, lest I wind up trashed anywhere – particularly on the internet.

Some would say I’m a little tightly wound, but after my latest social networking discovery, I couldn’t care less about their opinions. And that’s because my recent discovery had me questioning things I’d accepted as fairly concrete aspects of life in the modern day and age, and in the Australian society.

Continue reading "Uncovered meat, Facebook and a simmering melting pot" »

Join The Punch’s tipping comp and tip against other Punchers! Sign up here and enter the league code 439453.

With the NRL and AFL seasons almost upon us, The Punch has fortuitously stumbled across an ancient parchment. Feasteth thine eyes upon it, and you too shall dwell in the promised land of tipping milk and honey… or some such.

1. Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy (well the Muslim Sabbath day of Friday, anyway)

Friday is the day upon which thy tips must be submitted. At the setting of the sun, thy tips shall be deemed inadmissible.

Continue reading "The 10 commandments of footy tipping" »

Where are the women warriors on Paid Maternity Leave? The most extensive, economically significant policy proposal to support working women in decades is put forward by a major political party… so where are the feminists and women’s groups?

Why is there such a conspicuous silence from those who “whooped” and figuratively threw streamers when the Rudd Government finally announced its Paid Parental Leave plan (which turned out to be little more than a re-badging of the baby bonus with an administrative nightmare for small business thrown in)?

Where are Eva Cox and Sharan Burrows? 

Continue reading "I am woman, no comment." »

Take a look at my bookshelf:

Judging from the available space, any books purchased after 2013 will need to be stored in the fridge.

You can see why an electronic book reader might appeal. I’m a serious book lover so have had some resistance to the idea of an e-reader. But I bought an Amazon Kindle late last year and have now been using it – alongside regular books – for about three months. I know the world needs another kindle review like it needs another Britney Spears crotch shot, but I feel obliged because I promised on twitter that I’d share my thoughts after I’d given the kindle a decent workout.

Continue reading "Well readhead: Take a look at my bookshelf" »

“In this world,” Benjamin Franklin famously declared, “nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” A few hundred years on, corporate Australia seems hell-bent on making a liar out of him.

Death is still holding out -so no need to fear a business-suited army of the undead just yet—but the taxman has well and truly been given the slip, with billions of dollars from the public purse funneled through loopholes, lurks and perks.

Treasury figures have revealed that over the last decade more than half of all companies paid less than five per cent of their total income in tax: a far cry from the hefty amount individual taxpayers are slugged.

Continue reading "Debunking the myths of corporate tax" »

Welcome to another brief sojourn through the hot bakes and juice stands across our sun-drenched country.

Readers of Suburban Tales would know the love affair the people of Melbourne seem to have with the humble turtle.  A couple of weeks ago, we reported on one such reptile who spends quality time attached to a harness being taken for beach walkies. 

A blissful existence for any animal, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Continue reading "Suburban Tales: Turtles and nudie runs" »

The biggest thing in science right now is smaller than you can imagine. Nanotechnology is a brave new world containing the likes of carbon nanotubes and buckyballs which promises an array of technological advances every bit the equal of the information revolution: better medical treatments; lighter, more efficient building materials; tougher sporting equipment.

An example of nanotechnology is the production of antimicrobial bandages which are covered in nanoparticles of silver ions that at the nanoscale are anti-microbial by attaching to microbes and preventing their cellular respiration, thus destroying them.

The result is a bandage which doubles as a medicine when used to dress a wound.

Continue reading "Nanotechnology: The biggest little thing going" »

When Tony Abbott announced his paid parental leave policy on Monday, I – like many of those at the International Women’s Day celebration hosted by Manly Council – was taken by surprise. For the 15 minutes before he took my place on the podium, I had been speaking about the challenges Australia faces in creating a society that better values children, and in particular the need to better support the critical dual contribution of mothers in exercising their skills within the workplace and nurturing the next generation of Australians at home. 

Much has been written this week around the pros and cons of Tony’s policy, most of it scathing and very little of it constructive. What impressed me were his opening remarks that seem to have been lost amid the frenzied discussion his announcement generated in the media.

Having been associated with the infamous statement back in 2002 that compulsory paid maternity leave would be introduced ‘over this government’s dead body’, I was heartened to hear Tony’s admission that he had since learnt, from research and a variety of sources close to him, the critical importance of the early years and the attachment of mother and baby in laying the foundations for the social and economic future of the nation.

Continue reading "Maternity leave: why progress depends on values" »