HE'S back: "If the first intro I’ve written since COVID-19 blighted our lives is a bit enigmatic, please trust me. I’m glad I saw 'Bellbird', a delightful, sensitive and informative film set on a NZ sheep and dairy cattle farm." DOUGAL MACDONALD is reviewing movies again. On Page 20.
Columnist MICHAEL MOORE cites two examples that highlight the ACT's planning and development problems. "To what extent do the governments and the planning systems counter the greed of developers?" he wonders.
"SINCE becoming Treasurer in 2011, Andrew Barr has turned the level of net debt from a negative of $736 million to $3.1 billion this year, that is, an increase of $3.8 billion. This was before the coronavirus pandemic." Depressing but important writing from JON STANHOPE.
Prof CLIVE WILLIAMS has worked with several American police forces – including the LAPD, NYPD and Chicago PD – and says policing in those jurisdictions is enormously challenging. He analyses the US race riots on Page 12.
SUCH is modern life that the chore of scrolling one’s streaming service for new programs can be a painful bore. Columnist NICK OVERALL suspects the end is in sight with one new “streamer” doing it for you. Trick or treat? Only the future will tell.
"IT takes just two government ministers to postpone an ACT election. This is an astonishing power," reveals political columnist MICHAEL MOORE. "This extreme power is in place for unusual and disrupting circumstances such as… a pandemic!
NICHOLE OVERALL looks at the long journey for women to represent the federal electorate of Eden-Monaro. Now, after 119 years since the seat was created, their moment has finally arrived.
"IT is clear that as a community we failed Jonathon Hogan at every stage of his short and tragic life," writes JON STANHOPE as he shares the sad story of the demise of another young Aboriginal man the system failed to save.
WENDY MACKLIN says isolation is causing people to become quite weird especially when her friend Judy whispered into the phone: “And do you know what? I haven’t worn a bra for a week!”
POLITICAL columnist MICHAEL MOORE writes that the Canberra Liberals have credibly maintained a united community voice in the fight against coronavirus, but the gloves are off and the election campaign has begun around schools and secret union deals.
Columnist JON STANHOPE despairs: "Here's another first for the most progressive government (self-declared) in Australia… a young Canberra man facing a range of serious criminal charges has been denied, against his serious objections, a right to a trial by jury." And there's more.
IN a deft piece of whimsy, Canberra academic CLIVE WILLIAMS sees a lot of upside in the downside of self-isolation, likening it to being retired without feeling obliged to have your time taken up volunteering for good causes.
I DO miss having a glass of wine with a friend at a bar as a way of stepping out of the ordinary," bemoans our wonderful and witty wine columnist RICHARD CALVER, craving to step back into the ordinary.
BILL Stefianiak, the former Canberra Liberals leader, has formed a new party to stand up for Belconnen next ACT election. DANIELLE NOHRA finds out why he thinks he's in with a chance. And MICHAEL MOORE has a message for those in quarantine, suck it up!
CANBERRA has saved nothing for a rainy day. The economic hailstorm bearing down on the seven years of debt amassed by the profligate Barr government and its bloated public service can mean only more debt. Before the blame-it-on-coronavirus excuses start, JON STANHOPE exposes the $3 billion budget black hole.
NO one is unscathed by current events. So far for "CityNews" we've had to park our social photographer and, in the absence of cinemas, no reviews from Dougal Macdonald. We're striving for a coronavirus coverage that transcends the usual doom and gloom. See what you think.
OUR world is upside down from the threat of coronavirus. This week we cut through the noise and sharply focus on news and views from trusted writers such as MICHAEL MOORE, MICHELLE GRATTAN and DANIELLE NOHRA.
AS a community, can we let Palliative Care ACT’s therapeutic Life Stories program fail for the lack of funding? The modest program, which helps people who are at the end of their lives tell their stories, runs out of cash at month's end. There must be a sponsor or two out there.
"LABOR was on the front foot commencing the ACT election year. And then it went belly up. After nearly two decades in power they only have themselves to blame." That's MICHAEL MOORE with an instructive column about how the Barr's team is faltering.
"I was stunned... the audited statements showed the ACT’s superannuation liability was $11.776 billion or 51 per cent higher than the amount reported in the 2018-19 Budget". JON STANHOPE at his brilliant best. Page 8.
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Rolling statues temps the danger to rewrite history
"If the framing of the movement to pull down statues was based on sexism instead of racism, there would be very few statues remaining," muses political columnist MICHAEL MOORE.
