Julia Thornton
Julia Thornton is an unashamed Gen X, post modernist and iconoclast. Trained in public relations, she spent 13 years in government and corporate communications and knows a disaster when she sees it.
She lives in Queensland with her husband and daughter, both of whom appreciate her keeping her maiden name, where she writes and dabbles with her own microbusiness.
Articles by Julia Thornton
Anna’s flood of empathy won’t wash with the public
Queensland finally is in real election mode and I finally saw an election ad on television last night. During a…... Read more
Politicians don’t have to live in their own electorates
How far do you commute to work? One hour? Twenty minutes? Do you work from home? Where’s head office? Do…... Read more
The QLD election decoded
We’re off to the polls on 24 March. If you’re confused about what’s happening in Queensland with our State election,…... Read more
Is it naughty or nice to keep the Santa lie alive?
I don’t usually quote Rodney Adler. He’s not really my type of role model. But he said something during the…... Read more
A lack of smacks is behind the attacks
Child psychologists everywhere will hate me for what I am about to say but I hope they take a good…... Read more
The benefits of being an invisible woman
Every woman hits a time in her life when she suddenly becomes invisible. I am at that age. Except yesterday.…... Read more
Try before you buy. Then buy.
Queensland retailers are revolting. Well, they’re fighting back against the trend of people who enter their shops, try on their…... Read more
Cringe. Julia and Tim are off to the Palace
It’s been a long time since I heard anyone bag Queensland the way they used to. Wayne Goss (Queensland Premier…... Read more
It’s political correctness gone maaaaaaad!
It’s been a big week this week for the politically correct. Tracey Spicer is worried her children are being indoctrinated…... Read more
Don’t let today’s technology control you
It’s no secret that I am a fan of Facebook. It should be no surprise that I like it. I…... Read more
It’s going to take more to keep mothers working
I find it amazing that policymakers have oversimplified the paid parental leave debate, saying it will increase the workforce participation…... Read more
One woman’s junk mail is another’s goldmine
Since November 1 to December 9, our household has received 121 pieces of junk mail. Why am I counting this?…... Read more
But seriously, where will the NBN cables go?
I love progress. I’ve got an IPad and a desktop computer. I shop online. I work from home. I even…... Read more
How many kids is the right number of kids?
I remember reading sometime late last century that the Chinese were producing a generation of Little Emperors. The only child…... Read more
The metric system works, let’s use it all the time
In 1971, Australia converted from the Imperial measurement system to metric. That was 39 years ago. In fact, the last…... Read more
Girls, with the right to drink comes the need to do it safely
You don’t grow up in Brisbane with a name like Thornton and not know who Merle Thornton is. For those…... Read more
When it comes to women’s fashion, size does matter
For those of you with dirty minds or obsessed with margins, you might want to skip to the next article,…... Read more
Hang time: Government limbo’s not entirely new
On Friday my daughter turned 2. By the end of the month, she may have had more Prime Ministers in…... Read more
Workaholics always end up losing in the end
I make no apology for being lazy. If there’s a corner, I’ll cut it. If there’s a fast way, I’ll…... Read more
It’s understandable Gillard doesn’t get it on gay marriage
I’m relatively proud of what I’ve achieved professionally and personally. I wrote a letter of complaint that got me a…... Read more
I hope I didn’t buy a $1000 calculator with WiFi
In an old episode of MASH, the doctors are talking about missing television, in particular missing watching Milton Berle at…... Read more
The tale of a bad mother
Frown on me. Put me in the corner, stone me or just hang me: I chose not to breastfeed. I…... Read more
The labour movement’s about as healthy as its tree
It was a pretty cruel act: killing the Tree of Knowledge at Barcaldine. Take away your own personal political views…... Read more
QLD’s got it right on daylight saving, the other states don’t
By now the debate over whether Queensland should have daylight saving might have filtered down south so you could all…... Read more
A super idea for supporting new parents financially
There is no point in complaining to my parents about what the Rudd Government has done to people in higher…... Read more
Childless singletons - the grass is always greener
I have the overwhelming feeling that I should ‘put up my dukes’ and rstep outside with Carrie Mille, who seems…... Read more
Road deaths - statistically, boys, it’s not good
A strange thing happened when I became a parent. I started to get upset when I saw stories like the…... Read more
Once a Grubb… what’s in a name and can you defy yours
Well, Tiger Woods’ long-standing mistress is a woman who’s last name is Grubbs. Does that say it all, or what?…... Read more
The movie is never as good as the book
Watership Down – remember it? It was a cartoon about bunnies on a common in England. Fiver has a weird…... Read more
Yes, books are great but we said that about CDs
Don’t you just hate it when you’ve bought a new toy and before you’ve even got it out of the…... Read more
What’s in a name? Everything when you think about it
For a few years now I’ve noticed a weird phenomena with names where a person ends up in something associated…... Read more
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Up to the minute Twitter chatter
Ukraine song pinches chord progression from The Verve's Bittersweet Symphony. Fo real #sbseurovision
RT @GerardDaffy: @antsharwood all the talk over there is the grannies will win.they entered to get a church built,feelgood story
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
Abbott’s crass logic: trash the Parliament in order save it
An email was sent to almost every politician in Australia this week saying that someone should cut off…
Our special forces don’t always need special treatment
We admire them, but we’re not entirely sure why. We allow them to operate in the shadows; we rarely…
A good holiday is about unrest, not rest
Like a fat full-stop, it lay in my hand. A small orange – not exactly fresh, but purchased anyway…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
Michael S says:
"A teacher at Geelong Grammar had criticised her for using words that were too long, which had left her confused and had made her doubt her ability to write essays. She became ''quite distressed'' when her English marks began to fall." I can sympathise. My scholastic mentors conveyed to me a causal relationship… [read more]From: Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone
Change Up! says:
I have no problem paying my taxes. As a single, childless person on a very decent income, I can afford it and not have my life severely altered. Plus I understand that my taxes paying for things like schools, childcare and infrastructure is ultimately a good thing. A better community is better for me… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more
