Letter to the Editor: Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country
DEAR News Of The Area, I WRITE this during National Reconciliation Week. This is the anniversary of the 1967 Referendum which finally recognised the First Peoples who have lived here for millennia and meant that they were included in the National Census as people and permitted to vote. It is also the reminder of Mabo. […]
Letters to the Editor: Actually, no voice should be silenced
DEAR News Of The Area, MS Sandra Bourke (Letters, NOTA, 15 May) sees a letter from Justin Page, spokesperson for Hunter Jobs Alliance in the previous issue as an attempt to silence the powerful and well-funded organisation Advance Australia for which she is the spokesperson. Both organisations have the right to use every legal means […]
‘On the couch’ with Jasminda
DEAR Jasminda, MY new girlfriend sleeps with her dog (Brutus) in the bed. I really like her, but I find this behaviour bizarre and, frankly, a relationship breaker. How do I navigate this? Gerard P. Dear Gerard, The early phase of a relationship is often marked by constant affection, but this should not include waking […]
The Big Screen
NOSTALGIA reigns this week with the release of Karate Kid: Legends. Following the unexpected success of the legacy television (or “streaming”) series Cobra Kai, producers have realised there is a great deal of possibility in this franchise which first came to screens more than 40 years ago. The premise remains familiar: a recently uprooted youth, […]
FLOODS
The Write Direction: Election correction
THE nation decided to stick with the devil they knew in early May, and did so in very clear fashion. Since then, the former Coalition has been cleaning up after the loss. Opposition leader Peter Dutton lost his seat, just like John Howard suffered when his Liberal Government was voted out. Leadership battles for the […]
Letter to the Editor: Worrying signs
DEAR News Of The Area, LIKE many of us, our attention has been recently focused on America and this has raised our attention on its beliefs and culture. I am worrying over the development of legal processes that have been developed by religious groups that are also trying to maintain a financial foothold in various […]
The Write Direction: What do you get for $60m?
WHAT do you get for $60 million? The short answer seems to be very little. Now that the Federal Election is done and dusted it is interesting to look at the cost of advertising in order to see what spending big bucks achieved. Clive Palmer’s new political plaything, the Trumpet of Patriots party, is reported […]
‘On the couch’ with Jasminda
DEAR Jasminda, THE other night, my brother-in-law invited himself over for dinner. However, I had not prepared enough for him (as he was unannounced), and he got annoyed and left. Now he won’t reply to either my husband’s or my messages. How do you suggest I go about this? Normine B Dear Normine, I’m picking […]
