Newsletter
Newsletter 349
Tuesday, August 4th, 2020 Newsletter,Each morning I wake up to some fresh indication that we are headed into a new Cold War – or worse. To learn that the Australian Foreign Minister and Defence Minister were winging ther way to Washington D.C. this week, to assure the appalling Mike Pompeo that we’re going all the way with the USA […]
Newsletter 348
Monday, July 27th, 2020 Newsletter,As of this week the Sydney Morning Herald has asked me to send readers to the version of the art column that appears on the newpaper’s site instead of taking the direct route to my own website. It’s perversely flattering they seem to believe I may be discouraging people from buying the paper on Saturday, […]
Newsletter 347
Monday, July 20th, 2020 Newsletter,As a new surge of cornonavirus cases in Victoria threatens to plunge us back into lockdown, I’m starting to wonder when normal service will ever be resumed – and I’m speaking as someone who has enjoyed the seclusion more than most. The obvious danger of a second lockdown is that many businesses will find it […]
Newsletter 346
Monday, July 13th, 2020 Newsletter,Pardon the cliché, but what a difference a week makes! The previous newsletter anticipated a long, bitter fight to keep the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo, but on Saturday morning I was amazed to hear that the government had backed down from their “non-negotiable” stance and decided the PHM should stay where it is. Almost […]
Newsletter 345
Monday, July 6th, 2020 Newsletter,In all the years I’ve been writing no piece has ever generated a bigger response than last week’s blast on the proposed ‘move’ of the Powerhouse Museum, so I’m leaving it in the headline slot for another week. The feedback was roughly 99% in favour, which should be a source of concern for the people […]
Newsletter 344
Monday, June 29th, 2020 Newsletter,This week is an orgy of issues. The art column looks at the new iconoclasm that’s sweeping the western world, and asks if Captain Cook deserves the bad rap he’s getting from the protestors. A piece for the Blog tries to sum up all the objections to the proposed destruction of the Powerhouse Museum. I […]
Newsletter 343
Monday, June 22nd, 2020 Newsletter,Against my own inclinations I’m at home writing this newsletter when I’d prefer to be at a rally in support of the Powerhouse Museum. The only reason I’m not in Harris Street is a promise to avoid large groups of people while the coronavirus is still active. This is, of course, one of the reasons […]
Newsletter 342
Monday, June 15th, 2020 Newsletter,There is no greater mystery in New South Wales than the Premier’s stubborn desire to destroy the Powerhouse Museum. Even after the COVID-19 lockdown which has drained billions from the public purse – and will continue to do so for months, perhaps years – Gladys still wants to bulldoze a much acclaimed museum, demolish one […]
Newsletter 341
Monday, June 8th, 2020 Newsletter,One of my lockdown projects has been to finish reading The Old Testament, so I felt almost personally affronted watching Donald Trump holding up a Bible (apparently upside-down), in front of St. Johns Church in Washington D.C., having just tear-gassed peaceful protesters to clear a path for his photo op. Like everyone else, I keep […]
Newsletter 340
Monday, June 1st, 2020 Newsletter,As the COVID-19 lockdown continues to dissolve it doesn’t look as if the world is headed towards a new era of peace, love and understanding. Death tolls in South America and many parts of the USA are still rising, while people begin to weigh the slow doom of unemployment and poverty against the quick hit […]