http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/jane-fynes-clinton/ Jane Fynes-Clinton is a columnist with Brisbane’s Courier-Mail. She brings a down-to-earth family perspective to our society’s issues. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +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/queensland-best-state-in-australia-discuss/ Monday is Queensland Day, a commemorative 24 hours that has a history older than most white-man milestones in our country. It is older than Federation, older than electricity, but undervalued because we don’t quite know how to celebrate the best place in the world and aren’t big on causing a commotion about ourselves. Queensland Day acknowledges the birth of Queensland in 1859 as a self-governing colony. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jane Fynes-Clinton) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/queensland-best-state-in-australia-discuss/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/queensland-best-state-in-australia-discuss/#item5982 Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:35:12 +0000 Jane Fynes-Clinton | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/this-is-actually-about-a-husband-and-father/ He was a husband, a father, a son, a lover of food and four-wheel drives and a passionate soldier. And now there is a chance that Lance-Corporal Jared MacKinney might be remembered because of the furore that erupted over footage of the Opposition Leader uttering the phrase ``s—t happens’’ during a discussion about how the young man lost his life in Afghanistan. If this incident leads to the downfall of Tony Abbott, it would be a tragedy and another sad footnote in the events surrounding the death of a fine, respected soldier. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jane Fynes-Clinton) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/this-is-actually-about-a-husband-and-father/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/this-is-actually-about-a-husband-and-father/#item5093 Wed, 09 Feb 2011 20:00:12 +0000 Jane Fynes-Clinton | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/hope-amid-flooding-in-brisvegas/ That there are still unexplained and magical elements every day in this deep and complex world is mostly wonderful. It is wonderful, for example, that doctors still cannot tell precisely when a woman will go into labour. The world held its breath early this week, wondering when our own Princess Mary would give birth to twins. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jane Fynes-Clinton) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/hope-amid-flooding-in-brisvegas/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/hope-amid-flooding-in-brisvegas/#item4880 Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:00:09 +0000 Jane Fynes-Clinton | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Afghanistan-honouring-the-dead-by-staying-the-course-/ The picture is seared in the mind’s eye: a moment that cut a beautiful young woman, heavily pregnant with a baby boy, to shreds. A late-night knock at the door revealed two uniformed soldiers, the bearers of the news that her husband, Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney, had been killed in a war zone a few hours before. His bride was shattered. With one sentence, Beckie MacKinney’s world careened off its axis. I know this because I have the privilege of knowing this brave, fragile, amazing woman. And although two weeks have passed since that terrible night, the feeling of helplessness as her friend refuses to loosen its grip. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jane Fynes-Clinton) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Afghanistan-honouring-the-dead-by-staying-the-course-/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Afghanistan-honouring-the-dead-by-staying-the-course-/#item4013 Sun, 12 Sep 2010 20:00:09 +0000 Jane Fynes-Clinton | Author bios | The Punch