Blog

Remembering Tony Abbott

GetUp! has a new ad about Tony Abbott and his archaism:

... read more

Written by Jacinda Woodhead on 4-08-2010, 7 user comments

We are boat people

When standing on the right-hand side of the political spectrum with both of our major parties discussing the nuances of a boatpeople initiative, it should be remembered that most of us are, or are descended from, boatpeople. Any offshore processing centre is 220 years too late. So, bringing the debate into the present I’m left wondering what is it that we, as an Australian people, are afraid of.

We are all boat peopleOn 21 October, 2001 a little man filled with his own self-importance and pushing for a khaki election stood to launch his government’s election campaign. To compensate for the lack of true policy and direction the then Prime Minster, John Howard, got carried away with his own spin, spitting the vitriol ‘we will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come’. With dramatic US style sensationalist overtones, Howard prodded at the fears of the general public in a post 9/

Written by Mark William Jackson on 3-08-2010, 6 user comments

Almost (not) famous – or published

Here are ten reasons why you shouldn’t despair if you have an unpublished manuscript. These famous rejections are sure to cheer you up:

Possum Magic1. Can you imagine a world without Possum Magic? Apparently many publishers could. Mem Fox's classic was rejected nine times over five years. Little Hush would have remained invisible were it not for Omnibus Books in Adelaide. Originally called Hugh, the Invisible Mouse, Omnibus suggested changing the mice to possums, and the rest, as they say, is history. Since 1983 Possum Magic has sold 3.5 million copies, making it the bestselling Aussie kids’ book of all time. Speaking of magic leads me to … ... read more

Written by Irma Gold on 2-08-2010, 6 user comments