http://www.thepunch.com.au/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2013 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/well-that-was-excruciating-barnaby-joyce/ Barnaby Joyce dug himself so much deeper into his I wipe my bum with the productivity commission hole today that it’s in danger of collapsing in on top of him. The ABC’s Samantha Hawley this morning took apart the new opposition regional development and water spokesman limb by limb in an interview on AM. You can listen to it here. Warning, you might be hiding under your desk by the end. tors@thepunch.com.au (Tory Maguire) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/well-that-was-excruciating-barnaby-joyce/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/well-that-was-excruciating-barnaby-joyce/#item2745 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 23:20:22 +0000 Well that was excruciating http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-much-abuse-can-you-take-from-the-church/ At breakfast yesterday my two-year-old daughter wanted to “read” me the Easter card she got from a relative. “One day, they went in the forest, and then they were finished. The End,” she said, looking up from the card. “Now you read it to me.” So I did. The greeting was: Easter time is here again That lovely time of year When we especially think of those We hold especially dear So naturally you’re thought about And wished the nicest things – All the special happiness A joyful Easter brings! I’m enthusiastic about explaining things to her so I was about to drop a few sentences somehow explaining Easter was really about God, but a thought crossed my mind and stopped me. I have no tolerance left for the Church’s protection of child abusers, its silencing of victims and failure to adequately apologise or explain why it failed to act against paedophiles. Why, I asked myself, should my daughter be exposed to these men in frocks and their beliefs? For someone raised as a Catholic this is an arresting thought. Even though its dogma is world-renowned it may still be hard to grasp, for anyone not brought up with it, the all-or-nothing way Catholicism requires you to accept, without question, the authority of the Church. Put simply, if you don’t accept the Church you’re not Catholic. colganp@thepunch.com.au (Paul Colgan) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-much-abuse-can-you-take-from-the-church/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-much-abuse-can-you-take-from-the-church/#item2744 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:00:22 +0000 Well that was excruciating http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/labors-nasty-habit-of-polling-booth-rorts-must-end/ It’s said that all’s fair in love and war. But when it comes to elections in a democracy like Australia, you’re supposed to play by the rules. Australian electoral law is intended to guarantee a level playing field; an open and transparent political system that will accurately reflect the will of the voting public. Yet in last week’s state election in South Australia we saw Labor conducting a centrally orchestrated con job that assailed the very foundations of our democracy. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Michael Ronaldson) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/labors-nasty-habit-of-polling-booth-rorts-must-end/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/labors-nasty-habit-of-polling-booth-rorts-must-end/#item2735 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:55:22 +0000 Well that was excruciating http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/man-vs-masterchef/ With My Kitchen Rules coming to an end, news of the return of MasterChef couldn’t have been timelier. For quality cooking shows, within a few short months, we’ll have gone from a smorgasbord to a piddling entrée. Let’s face it – five minutes of Fast Ed each week is not gonna cut it.  And if, like me, you’re a regular viewer of Man vs Wild, starring wilderness survival expert, Edward ‘Bear’ Grylls, you’ll have an extra reason to celebrate: you can toast the return of your appetite. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Steve Wilkinson) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/man-vs-masterchef/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/man-vs-masterchef/#item2734 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:50:22 +0000 Well that was excruciating http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-cameron-and-the-good-old-boys-could-still-lose/ More than eighty years separate the publication of Evelyn Waugh’s first novel and the Tory campaign for government in the British election, but the two are oddly connected. The narrative spring that sets ‘Decline and Fall’ in motion is the expulsion from Oxford of its hapless hero, Paul Pennyfeather; and the reason he’s expelled is an act of bullying by the members of something called the Bollinger Club. They “debag” him (pull down his trousers and pants) and force him to run around the quadrangle. He’s caught, ‘sent down’ as they say at Oxford, and left with no choice but to take a low paying job teaching at a seedy prep school, where his humilations grow steadily worse. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Mark Colvin) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-cameron-and-the-good-old-boys-could-still-lose/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-cameron-and-the-good-old-boys-could-still-lose/#item2743 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:48:22 +0000 Well that was excruciating http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-boy-who-was-better-than-the-beatles/ The thing about Alex Chilton is that he was a musician from the south of the United States. The hardest part of that sentence was to put this brilliant, idiosyncratic, iconoclastic, genius singer, songwriter, musical innovator, guitarist in the past tense. Chilton died in New Orleans on St Patrick’s Day from a heart complaint. He was on his way to Austin, Texas to play at the South by South West music conference and festival. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Dennis Atkins) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-boy-who-was-better-than-the-beatles/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-boy-who-was-better-than-the-beatles/#item2733 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:45:22 +0000 Well that was excruciating http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rehab-1916-style-for-a-future-prime-minister/ The ABC drama “Curtin” put into focus the life of John Curtin – one of Australia’s greatest Prime Ministers. Like so many people, alcohol was Curtin’s greatest challenge. He had grown up around it with his father running several pubs. But it was during his time as the Victorian Secretary of the Timber Workers’ Union that Curtin’s fondness for the demon drink grew into a major disability. According to his biographer David Day: “the culture of the male-dominated union movement was steeped in beer” and Curtin was steeped in the culture. Suddenly in November 1915 Curtin resigned his post. He went briefly to work for the Australian Workers’ Union and then was appointed the organiser of the anti-conscription campaign being run by the Congress of Australian Trade Unions. The work was stressful and intense and his drinking continued and became worse. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Richard Marles) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rehab-1916-style-for-a-future-prime-minister/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rehab-1916-style-for-a-future-prime-minister/#item2739 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:43:22 +0000 Well that was excruciating http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/buyer-beware-cause-business-is-getting-its-way/ With consumers already being let down so badly on grocery issues by Mr Rudd and his Competition Minister Craig Emerson, you’d think that they would do better on basic consumer law issues. Well, you’d be very disappointed as Minister Emerson has presided over a continual watering down of consumer rights in the vital area of unfair contract terms. Unfair contract terms may prevent the sale of items like this We know or should know about unfair contract terms. We more commonly know them as the “fine print” in consumer contracts. These are the nasty terms of the contract that stack the contract well and truly in favour of the larger party, commonly a big business. Banks use unfair contract terms as do mobile phone companies. Car hire companies and your local gym also try to stack the contract terms in their favour. Unfair contract terms are also found in contracts that small businesses may have with larger businesses. Small businesses also deal with banks, mobile phone companies and car hire companies. In this regard, small businesses are also consumers of basic goods and services. Sadly, small businesses can also get hit with unfair contract terms in franchise agreements, retail leases and supply agreements. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Frank Zumbo) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/buyer-beware-cause-business-is-getting-its-way/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/buyer-beware-cause-business-is-getting-its-way/#item2742 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:40:22 +0000 Well that was excruciating http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-31-03-2010/ Welcome to Wednesday @ The Punch Harold Wilson won majority vote in the British House of Commons today in 1966. kippistl@news.com.au (Lucy Kippist) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-31-03-2010/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-31-03-2010/#item2737 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:30:22 +0000 Well that was excruciating http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/generally-alarm-bells-should-ring-if-people-pose-like-this/ Just a hunch, but if a mate ever asks you to snap a pic of them with their favourite high-powered weapon, you might want to reassess your friendship - and possibly call the police. As give aways go, snaps such as this one of Daniel Cowart, who’s just pleaded guilty to plotting to kill Barack Obama, are a bit of a no brainer. Just in case no-one was alarmed by the enormous great gun he’s holding, Cowart helpfully had a Swastika tattooed on his upper arm and shaved his head. tors@thepunch.com.au (Tory Maguire) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/generally-alarm-bells-should-ring-if-people-pose-like-this/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/generally-alarm-bells-should-ring-if-people-pose-like-this/#item2736 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 03:15:22 +0000 Well that was excruciating