David Penberthy
Dave grew up in Adelaide’s southern suburbs and attended a really nice public school, Marion High, which was subsequently bulldozed during the tyrannical reign of Liberal Premier Dean Brown. He fell into journalism while not studying law at the University of Adelaide. He joined The Adelaide Advertiser as a cadet journalist in 1992 and spent his first few years on the newspaper as education reporter, industrial reporter and state political reporter.
In 1996, shortly after the election of the Howard Government, he was posted to Canberra to head the Advertiser’s parliamentary bureau. In 1999 he moved to Sydney to join The Daily Telegraph as state parliament bureau chief, a position he held for three years before his appointment as chief of staff and then as opinion editor and roving columnist for the paper. In April 2005 he became editor of The Daily Telegraph, a position he held until November last year. He is now the editor-in-chief of news.com.au and The Punch.
When not writing about stuff or reading stuff other people have written, he can be found at home in the kitchen cooking traditional dishes from Mexico, where he lived for a year in 1986, and which after a few tequilas he will wrongly cite as his place of birth.
Articles by David Penberthy
Victory of spivs guarantees decades of defeat
About 20 years ago Australia was captivated and appalled by the secret footage of a bunch of senior Sydney police…... Read more
You can stick your apology up your bum
Tim Mathieson owes us all an apology. He should apologise for apologising for his remarks about prostate cancer this week.…... Read more
Downer must stop playing footsies with the public
It is now crystal clear what Alexander Downer’s vision is for South Australia. Total uncertainty. The former Foreign Minister must…... Read more
Censorious laws treat us all like children
It was one of the most confronting Australian news images of 2012. A little boy holding a placard reading “Behead…... Read more
A really honest liar
Over the years there have been plenty of “tell-all” interviews by disgraced public figures which haven’t actually told us anything,…... Read more
The true(r) history of the Kelly Gang
Around 200 people are expected to gather for a church ceremony in Wangaratta, Victoria, today at which bushranger Ned Kelly…... Read more
Five bucks says you’ve loved this summer of cricket
If your household is anything like mine, I’ve got five bucks that says your kids now know a hell of…... Read more
Is it time to rest the Australian selectors?
The cricket calendar is so jam-packed these days that there is little point talking of a “summer” of cricket as…... Read more
There is nothing wrong with policy based on emotion
There is a view among those who argue in favour of the status quo that governments should never adopt policy…... Read more
I’ll defend our rights to be rude and stupid
Research is everything in journalism so I am happy to be able to report that for this piece I spent…... Read more
Make way for Assange, the political stuntman
There is no more reliable indicator of mainstream opinion in Australia than the ABC program Q&A. Here’s how it works.…... Read more
Plenty of outrage but much of it misplaced
Those who are jumping on the bandwagon and directing their fury at a couple of giggly radio hosts over the…... Read more
Can’t we all just stop thinking about the children
In these frazzled and time-poor times it is difficult to juggle the competing demands of feeding the children and getting…... Read more
The party at the end of journalism
A few days ago I sent an email to a workmate reflecting on my dutiful attendance and his blessed absence…... Read more
In 2013, NSW Labor’s stench will eclipse Baillieu’s sloth
Voters are a smart lot and can readily distinguish between state and federal issues come polling time. But there are…... Read more
The sorry business of our growing apology culture
Anyone who has ever had an argument would attest that there can be value in offering an apology even though…... Read more
Suffer little children amid the sheer horror of a brief test
It has come to the attention of the authorities that school is placing some youngsters under so much pressure that…... Read more
At last, science finally comes out swinging
A few years ago the second man to walk on the moon, octogenarian scientist and astronaut Buzz Aldrin, was confronted…... Read more
A nation of uncouth bastards
By now there would hardly be a person in Australia who has not seen the video of that shocking pair…... Read more
The frenzy to click makes us forget what matters
The Americans call it Monday morning quarterbacking, describing the self-appointed experts who stand back after the event and sagely offer…... Read more
Is it really worth risking this reckless spewfest?
Maybe I am just getting old, but I am really struggling to find firm evidence to support the claim that…... Read more
Offending ourselves into a new age of censorship
Being offended has become something of a national sport in this country. That said, there have been a few things…... Read more
Not helping those who can’t, helping those who really can
As government MPs are inundated with thousands of furious emails about our treatment of farm animals, the nation has quietly…... Read more
If it’s arrogance you want, go to Pell
There is a textbook study in how not to handle allegations of systematic child sexual abuse and it was written…... Read more
Shattered nation rallies behind a bunch of sheep
They say that sheep aren’t very bright. Some of their supporters aren’t that sharp either. They don’t seem to get…... Read more
My kind of oddball: Arise, King Charles of Australia
Prince Charles has been ridiculed or reviled for so long that it has been widely assumed that when his Mum…... Read more
Our cup runneth over with betting options
By the end of today Australians will have spent just under $800 million on an event which lasts for just…... Read more
Wot R u doing u numskulls? Our compulsive texting kills
NSW now has the toughest mobile phone laws in Australia where if you do anything other than pick up your…... Read more
PC silliness puts the squeeze on common sense
This just in from the Has The World Gone Mad files: in Western Australia last Thursday, it emerged that a…... Read more
iPhone hell in the Frankenstorm of the Century
One criticism frequently levelled against the media is that we habitually devote acres of space to disasters involving ourselves and…... Read more
Coming to grips with the scourge of fangin’ hoons
There is nothing like an election campaign to get politicians into theatrical stunt mode. State elections often become bidding wars…... Read more
How Hicks turned stupidity into a revenue stream
Sometimes you get the publicity you deserve. For David Hicks the decision to pose up with a rocket launcher perched…... Read more
Our king-hit culture keeps on swinging
It is just over 100 days since 18-year-old Thomas Kelly died from an alleged king-hit while walking down the street…... Read more
Poverty is only a part of the school lunch problem
There are 45,000 households in Australia which don’t have enough money to feed their children. According to figures released by…... Read more
The rights of communities trump the rights of offenders
When the serial child molester Dennis Ferguson attempted to move into the leafy Sydney suburb of Ryde, he defiantly stated…... Read more
As Jones knows, the public is the best regulator of all
Those who are calling for more stringent media regulation fail to recognise that there is already an incredibly powerful regulator…... Read more
Total weirdness is more of an issue than the c-word
Apologies if you are offended by swearing. If you are offended by swearing, click on another article. In the early…... Read more
Meet the latest victim of our dumb digital culture
Anyone searching for evidence that the world is becoming less pleasant and more stupid should look no further than some…... Read more
Act of mass murder failed to change our way of life
One of the nicest blokes I have ever met is an Indonesian journalist called Agus Diatmika with whom I did…... Read more
It sucks in the city as we all shop from the sofa
What will cities look like in 50 years’ time? Given the pace of change you could bring forward the question.…... Read more
It’s time for Alan Jones to stick his pick and stick
The motto by which Alan Jones lives his life is unravelling. The qualities he trades on – blind loyalty, fear…... Read more
No “i” in Swans
The Sydney Swans can now lay claim to the title of being the greatest Aussie Rules football team of all…... Read more
Lee Rhiannon: She can’t handle the truth(ers)
If you asked any normal person to describe the September 11 terror attacks, the word “unbelievable” would be one of…... Read more
The awesome magnetic power of not giving a toss
In analysing the ramifications of last week’s fundamentalist Muslim madness on the streets of Sydney, the more glass-half full observers…... Read more
Tying ourselves in knots to appease the unappeasable
The most repugnant aspect of the protests by radical Islamists in Sydney was that it provided a terrifying insight into…... Read more
Men, and the often fatal battle against stupidity
Some years ago I was at a barbecue at a mate’s place in country NSW. It was one of those…... Read more
The four-day school week
The other day my six-year-old son said something which summarised the time-related challenges of parenting. Don’t worry, this isn’t a…... Read more
Goddess now dancing to a different tune
In analysing the collapse in public support for the Australian Greens, one factor has been overlooked in attempting to explain…... Read more
Others should aspire to this star’s ability and humility
The difference between the winning times in the men’s 50m freestyle swimming finals at the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics…... Read more
Thanks but I couldn’t eat another micro herb
Some years ago an exotic dance venue in Adelaide by the name of Checkmates hit upon a novel lunch promotion.…... Read more
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Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: Hasbro, go straight to gaol, do not pass go
Tim says:
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Superman needs saving
Can somebody please save Superman? He seems to be going through a bit of a crisis. Eighteen months ago,… Read more