http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/racism/ 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 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +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/this-is-who-thursdays-event-was-supposed-to-be-about/ The Australia Day event at The Lobby in Canberra has become all about Tony Hodges, Kim Sattler, Barbara Shaw, Michael Anderson, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott, the police and a bunch of idiots who saw fit to hijack the day. It wasn’t supposed to be about them. Our political leaders had gathered at the restaurant to bestow the new National Emergency Medal on 26 Australians who, paid or unpaid, did extraordinary work during the Victorian Bushfires and Queensland floods. In her speech before the event was hijacked by an appalling set of bad decisions the Prime Minister said: “Today we award these Medals to a group of Australians who inspired us with their courage and service during two of the most devastating summers of natural disaster Australia has ever witnessed: the Victorian bushfires of 2009 and the Queensland floods and cyclone of December 2010 and January 2011.” feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/this-is-who-thursdays-event-was-supposed-to-be-about/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/this-is-who-thursdays-event-was-supposed-to-be-about/#item7630 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 So we now know who is responsible for putting Julia Gillard into the most peril she’s been in since she became Prime Minister - her own office. A senior member of the Prime Minister’s team has tonight resigned after it emerged he was the one who tipped off an Aboriginal Tent Embassy contact that Tony Abbott was in the Lobby restaurant yesterday - information that led to the Prime Minister being dragged to her car in undignified scenes that are now world news. Tony Hodges, who was the one trawling the Press Gallery yesterday afternoon trying to sheet home blame for the ugly scenes to the Opposition Leader, is tonight no longer working for the PM. If it wasn’t so disgusting it would be funny. This came a day after a member of senior Cabinet Minister Anthony Albanese’s staff saw fit to send his boss off to the Press Club armed with a raft of fantastic quotes from a Hollywood movie. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/when-is-this-sorry-mess-going-to-end/ So we now know who is responsible for putting Julia Gillard into the most peril she’s been in since she became Prime Minister - her own office. A senior member of the Prime Minister’s team has tonight resigned after it emerged he was the one who tipped off an Aboriginal Tent Embassy contact that Tony Abbott was in the Lobby restaurant yesterday - information that led to the Prime Minister being dragged to her car in undignified scenes that are now world news. Tony Hodges, who was the one trawling the Press Gallery yesterday afternoon trying to sheet home blame for the ugly scenes to the Opposition Leader, is tonight no longer working for the PM. If it wasn’t so disgusting it would be funny. This came a day after a member of senior Cabinet Minister Anthony Albanese’s staff saw fit to send his boss off to the Press Club armed with a raft of fantastic quotes from a Hollywood movie. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/when-is-this-sorry-mess-going-to-end/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/when-is-this-sorry-mess-going-to-end/#item7629 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 So we now know who is responsible for putting Julia Gillard into the most peril she’s been in since she became Prime Minister - her own office. A senior member of the Prime Minister’s team has tonight resigned after it emerged he was the one who tipped off an Aboriginal Tent Embassy contact that Tony Abbott was in the Lobby restaurant yesterday - information that led to the Prime Minister being dragged to her car in undignified scenes that are now world news. Tony Hodges, who was the one trawling the Press Gallery yesterday afternoon trying to sheet home blame for the ugly scenes to the Opposition Leader, is tonight no longer working for the PM. If it wasn’t so disgusting it would be funny. This came a day after a member of senior Cabinet Minister Anthony Albanese’s staff saw fit to send his boss off to the Press Club armed with a raft of fantastic quotes from a Hollywood movie. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-was-yesterdays-drama-ever-allowed-to-happen/ Julia Gillard should be congratulated for maintaining even a shred of dignity after being dragged minus a shoe through a crowd at a speed she couldn’t keep up with. Most Australians were horrified by the images from the steps of the Lobby restaurant, and in turn would have been relieved when a composed PM, with two fresh shoes on, reassured everyone from outside The Lodge that she was fine. She should never have been placed in that terrible position in the first place, and there are many questions unanswered about how and why she was. 1. The location for yesterday’s inaugural emergency services medal presentation was poorly chosen. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-was-yesterdays-drama-ever-allowed-to-happen/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-was-yesterdays-drama-ever-allowed-to-happen/#item7620 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 So we now know who is responsible for putting Julia Gillard into the most peril she’s been in since she became Prime Minister - her own office. A senior member of the Prime Minister’s team has tonight resigned after it emerged he was the one who tipped off an Aboriginal Tent Embassy contact that Tony Abbott was in the Lobby restaurant yesterday - information that led to the Prime Minister being dragged to her car in undignified scenes that are now world news. Tony Hodges, who was the one trawling the Press Gallery yesterday afternoon trying to sheet home blame for the ugly scenes to the Opposition Leader, is tonight no longer working for the PM. If it wasn’t so disgusting it would be funny. This came a day after a member of senior Cabinet Minister Anthony Albanese’s staff saw fit to send his boss off to the Press Club armed with a raft of fantastic quotes from a Hollywood movie. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/time-to-fold-up-the-tent/ The Aboriginal Tent Embassy has never engendered any public respect. It has never done anything to bring black and white Australia together. It is sadly fitting then that the 40th anniversary of this illegal assortment of galvo humpies was celebrated with an unprecedented outburst of violence which saw our Prime Minister being dragged along the ground and our Opposition Leader behind a riot shield. The scenes in Canberra represented a new low in the four-decade history of this politically useless eyesore. If it was the intention of its inhabitants to draw attention to the plight of black Australians, they instead invited nothing but scorn. The irrational nature of their conduct was captured in a single quote from Tent Embassy founder Michael Anderson yesterday: “To hell with the government and the courts.” feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/time-to-fold-up-the-tent/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/time-to-fold-up-the-tent/#item7618 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 So we now know who is responsible for putting Julia Gillard into the most peril she’s been in since she became Prime Minister - her own office. A senior member of the Prime Minister’s team has tonight resigned after it emerged he was the one who tipped off an Aboriginal Tent Embassy contact that Tony Abbott was in the Lobby restaurant yesterday - information that led to the Prime Minister being dragged to her car in undignified scenes that are now world news. Tony Hodges, who was the one trawling the Press Gallery yesterday afternoon trying to sheet home blame for the ugly scenes to the Opposition Leader, is tonight no longer working for the PM. If it wasn’t so disgusting it would be funny. This came a day after a member of senior Cabinet Minister Anthony Albanese’s staff saw fit to send his boss off to the Press Club armed with a raft of fantastic quotes from a Hollywood movie. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/change-the-topic-australia-day-is-not-about-racism/ In the past few days, we have had a few prominent and highly regarded individuals coming out to voice their concerns about racism in Australia. They say it is very much alive and kicking. Dr Charles Teo, a very respected neuro-surgeon who has saved many lives, said that racism is still “very much alive in Australia”. Then came Fayia Lahai, a refugee from Sierra Leone in West Africa, who also agreed with Dr Teo’s assessment that Australia has a racism problem. Mr Fayia Lahai was recently appointed to a new body called People of Australia Ambassadors – a body that will give advice to the Government and to the Australian Multicultural Council. Mr Lahai arrived in Tasmania in 2006. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/change-the-topic-australia-day-is-not-about-racism/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/change-the-topic-australia-day-is-not-about-racism/#item7589 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 So we now know who is responsible for putting Julia Gillard into the most peril she’s been in since she became Prime Minister - her own office. A senior member of the Prime Minister’s team has tonight resigned after it emerged he was the one who tipped off an Aboriginal Tent Embassy contact that Tony Abbott was in the Lobby restaurant yesterday - information that led to the Prime Minister being dragged to her car in undignified scenes that are now world news. Tony Hodges, who was the one trawling the Press Gallery yesterday afternoon trying to sheet home blame for the ugly scenes to the Opposition Leader, is tonight no longer working for the PM. If it wasn’t so disgusting it would be funny. This came a day after a member of senior Cabinet Minister Anthony Albanese’s staff saw fit to send his boss off to the Press Club armed with a raft of fantastic quotes from a Hollywood movie. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/charlie-teo-and-the-race-to-shut-down-important-debate/ In one of his inspired monologues some years ago the great Sam Kekovich set his mind to the question of Australian racism. “I’m no racist,” Slammin’ Sam thundered. “In fact some of my best friends should be sent back to where they came from.” Sam’s hilarious analysis was born out last week when the extraordinarily gifted Australian neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo made the fairly unremarkable observation that some Australians were prone to displays of prejudice. Teo added the deadly accurate footnote that the peculiar characteristic of Australian racism was that the moment anyone noted its existence, even with the stated qualifier that it only involved a minority, they were howled down. As if to prove his point, Teo was immediately smashed up by readers of websites throughout the land as a knocker, a hand-wringer, a whinger who should probably bugger off back to wherever he came from. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/charlie-teo-and-the-race-to-shut-down-important-debate/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/charlie-teo-and-the-race-to-shut-down-important-debate/#item7592 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 So we now know who is responsible for putting Julia Gillard into the most peril she’s been in since she became Prime Minister - her own office. A senior member of the Prime Minister’s team has tonight resigned after it emerged he was the one who tipped off an Aboriginal Tent Embassy contact that Tony Abbott was in the Lobby restaurant yesterday - information that led to the Prime Minister being dragged to her car in undignified scenes that are now world news. Tony Hodges, who was the one trawling the Press Gallery yesterday afternoon trying to sheet home blame for the ugly scenes to the Opposition Leader, is tonight no longer working for the PM. If it wasn’t so disgusting it would be funny. This came a day after a member of senior Cabinet Minister Anthony Albanese’s staff saw fit to send his boss off to the Press Club armed with a raft of fantastic quotes from a Hollywood movie. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-need-a-strong-constitution-to-tackle-racism/ It will be a shameful day for Australia if it does not change its Constitution to both prohibit racial discrimination and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The proposed changes are, individually, both worthy and overdue. But together they become complex enough to threaten the success of any referendum. The recommendations are to remove the “race power” section, prohibit racial discrimination, but allow positive discrimination “for the purpose of overcoming disadvantage, ameliorating the effects of past discrimination or protecting the cultures, languages or heritage of any group”, to recognise indigenous Australians in the Constitution itself (rather than in a preamble), and to acknowledge indigenous languages. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-need-a-strong-constitution-to-tackle-racism/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-need-a-strong-constitution-to-tackle-racism/#item7572 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 So we now know who is responsible for putting Julia Gillard into the most peril she’s been in since she became Prime Minister - her own office. A senior member of the Prime Minister’s team has tonight resigned after it emerged he was the one who tipped off an Aboriginal Tent Embassy contact that Tony Abbott was in the Lobby restaurant yesterday - information that led to the Prime Minister being dragged to her car in undignified scenes that are now world news. Tony Hodges, who was the one trawling the Press Gallery yesterday afternoon trying to sheet home blame for the ugly scenes to the Opposition Leader, is tonight no longer working for the PM. If it wasn’t so disgusting it would be funny. This came a day after a member of senior Cabinet Minister Anthony Albanese’s staff saw fit to send his boss off to the Press Club armed with a raft of fantastic quotes from a Hollywood movie. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-biggest-bigots-are-the-buggers-who-blame-bigotry/ “Opinions are like orgasms: mine matters most, and I don’t care if you have one.” I’m not sure where I first read this, but it seems to typify public debate in Australia, where opposing parties love to discredit an argument by giving it a label: racist, sexist, chauvinist, insensitive, homophobe, ignorant… In philosophy classes, this type of argument was called an ad hominem, and it’s only reward was an F, but in public debate it’s a timesaver, a cheap political point. Remember when Bill Heffernan questioned Gillard’s leadership because she was “deliberately barren”? Same deal. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-biggest-bigots-are-the-buggers-who-blame-bigotry/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-biggest-bigots-are-the-buggers-who-blame-bigotry/#item7568 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 So we now know who is responsible for putting Julia Gillard into the most peril she’s been in since she became Prime Minister - her own office. A senior member of the Prime Minister’s team has tonight resigned after it emerged he was the one who tipped off an Aboriginal Tent Embassy contact that Tony Abbott was in the Lobby restaurant yesterday - information that led to the Prime Minister being dragged to her car in undignified scenes that are now world news. Tony Hodges, who was the one trawling the Press Gallery yesterday afternoon trying to sheet home blame for the ugly scenes to the Opposition Leader, is tonight no longer working for the PM. If it wasn’t so disgusting it would be funny. This came a day after a member of senior Cabinet Minister Anthony Albanese’s staff saw fit to send his boss off to the Press Club armed with a raft of fantastic quotes from a Hollywood movie. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/should-we-name-and-shame-online-racists/ The interwebs are a cesspit of bigotry, bullying and racism, hate and snuff porn, and all things dark and evil, right? Right. But, being a human place, they’re also full of wit and wisdom and things of beauty. It’s hard to tell who’s winning, but there’s a bloody interesting skirmish going on. Twitter user @lizsinnott tweeted a screenshot from a Facebook page on which a bunch of racist nongs had posted racist rubbish about an ad for indigenous education. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/should-we-name-and-shame-online-racists/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/should-we-name-and-shame-online-racists/#item7549 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 So we now know who is responsible for putting Julia Gillard into the most peril she’s been in since she became Prime Minister - her own office. A senior member of the Prime Minister’s team has tonight resigned after it emerged he was the one who tipped off an Aboriginal Tent Embassy contact that Tony Abbott was in the Lobby restaurant yesterday - information that led to the Prime Minister being dragged to her car in undignified scenes that are now world news. Tony Hodges, who was the one trawling the Press Gallery yesterday afternoon trying to sheet home blame for the ugly scenes to the Opposition Leader, is tonight no longer working for the PM. If it wasn’t so disgusting it would be funny. This came a day after a member of senior Cabinet Minister Anthony Albanese’s staff saw fit to send his boss off to the Press Club armed with a raft of fantastic quotes from a Hollywood movie. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-09-01-12/ White supremacists from around the world are set to descend on Brisbane in April for the Hammered Music Festival. A day of racist fun in the sun, with skinheads sweating into their jackboots and discussing how Hitler was just misunderstood. It’s entirely legal, although presumably there’ll be a bit of hate speech going on. You’d imagine not too many non-Aryans will turn up and get offended. We really need a collective noun for white supremacists. A nong of neo-Nazies? A disturbance of skinheads? A brace of racists? What’s your favourite collective noun? Share it, and anything else that’s on your mind here. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-09-01-12/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-09-01-12/#item7493 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 So we now know who is responsible for putting Julia Gillard into the most peril she’s been in since she became Prime Minister - her own office. A senior member of the Prime Minister’s team has tonight resigned after it emerged he was the one who tipped off an Aboriginal Tent Embassy contact that Tony Abbott was in the Lobby restaurant yesterday - information that led to the Prime Minister being dragged to her car in undignified scenes that are now world news. Tony Hodges, who was the one trawling the Press Gallery yesterday afternoon trying to sheet home blame for the ugly scenes to the Opposition Leader, is tonight no longer working for the PM. If it wasn’t so disgusting it would be funny. This came a day after a member of senior Cabinet Minister Anthony Albanese’s staff saw fit to send his boss off to the Press Club armed with a raft of fantastic quotes from a Hollywood movie.