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Columnists & Opinion

National Pyjama Day

It’s been described as ‘skanky’. ‘Bogan’. ‘Feral.’ Just mentioning it can draw looks of horror, shock and dismay. “If I see it, I ‘look away’,” one colleague said. “It burns my eyes,” said another. In some parts of the world it’s actually illegal but right here in this city, there are those who move among us, acting as if their appearance is perfectly normal, or they’re not openly crossing social or cultural boundaries to offend,…

How Qatar got the cold shoulder is a hot topic

You know you have a problem when human rights abusers Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with you. The gulf state of Qatar was recently at the centre of a diplomatic row when these Middle Eastern countries cut off all transport routes and diplomatic contact, accusing Qatar of supporting terrorist groups – notably Islamic State – and having a diplomatic relationship with Saudi Arabia’s enemy Iran. Following the Arab…

So long and thanks for all the fish

Passwords. Friend or foe? Let’s go with foe. Exhibit A: 9%vgY2h/Q&7tWx$2jJ Exhibit B: The username or password you have entered is invalid. Well. Which one is it? The username or the password? After a little reading of training manuals written for the ‘brainiacs’ who actually create these responses, one suggested the ‘user’ “might get frustrated by not being able to remember the email address or username he signed up with”. Apparently women don’t use devices…

The outsider and insider and how a senator became a pain

At one stage there was no doubt Senator Rodney Culleton would remain in One Nation. He’d had some early ups and downs but Senator Culleton made it abundantly clear he was there for the long haul. For her part his political leader, Pauline Hanson said she would back him to the hilt. Now it could be said that Senator Culleton has stepped away from that position in so far as he has quit the party,…

French presidential elections bring their own surprises

Surprise! Surprise! 2016 was a year full of it. The unexpected Brexit shaking the core of the European Union, or Russia losing its place in the Human Rights Council while the Saudi Kingdom of beheading, lapidating and belittling women kept its place. Donald Trump a sexist xenophobe made it to the White House leaving Hillary Clinton, her supporter and the world in shock. In France people were observing world events in total confidence that such…

Farewell 2016

This is my last editorial for Dubbo Weekender as I’m hanging up my editor’s hat and pursuing that alluring dream of business ownership under the name of YAF Media. I’ll still be writing anything and everything from white papers, business blogs and Facebook campaigns, plus continuing to freelance for media. So this is goodbye to a great team of writers, whose work and opinions you’ve been privileged to read. I say priveleged because the pool…

Sally Bryant looks back on learning…

You remember when you first learned to walk? God it was hard work and I’ve tended to avoid walking ever since. There were upsides to mastering this new skill, because I never learned to crawl; instead my pre-walking method of getting around was to slide around on my bottom, emitting a frequent call of ‘Toot! Toot!’ I don’t actually remember doing this but there are any number of helpful witnesses who do and they helpfully…
Books for Christmas

Books for Christmas

Many folk will recall Norman Rockwell, a remarkable artist whose works were frequently featured in the “Saturday Evening Post”. Such was his profile that when President John Kennedy was assassinated, Rockwell’s portrait of him was shown on the magazine’s cover. A book that brings to life our recognition of Christmas is “Norman Rockwell’s Christmas Book” in which his art is supported by carols, stories, poems and recollections. It begins with a Bible text from Luke…

Game of drones

If you’ve been eyeing off the latest drones in the hope of finding one under the Christmas tree this year, you might want to consider making a submission to the current federal parliament inquiry into the safe use of remotely piloted aircraft, unmanned aerial and associated systems (RPAS). The Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee were encouraged by the Senate in October to invite submissions and report back on April 27, 2017. The…

Pearson gets the kid gloves treatment for abusive tirade

I’ve been mulling on this. I don’t want to come across all Andrew Bolt, but some recent media coverage of high-profile Aboriginal activist and lawyer Noel Pearson did get me thinking. So this is not so much about race, but about the treatment of powerful players in the media. Readers who’ve previously found themselves here will know me as a typically deluded leftie, with the accompanying sympathy for Australia’s dispossessed underclass. That Pearson’s advocacy for…

2016 Awards

2016 is now drawing to a close thankfully. It has been a year marked by blunders, back flips, inertia and demagogues. The Annual Dubbo Weekender Awards have this year been spilt into two categories – Winners and Losers – with recipients coming from all areas of our nimble, innovative and exciting society and beyond. The judges have harnessed these characteristics to select the winners and losers for the year. WINNERS Four Corners – the ABC’s…
That time of year again…

That time of year again…

Christmas carols, blow-flies, garden sprinklers and the shopping list. The end of December approacheth, the yuletide is just around the corner and we’re doing that seasonal shuffle of winding down to a short festive break, and winding up for the biggest feast on the calendar. Part of me wants to shuck off the shackles of the working year and get ready to kick back for a couple of days of R and R. But another…