Once upon a time in Cairns, I got out of bed and went to put my foot in a slipper. I was just in time to stop myself making contact with the back end of a giant, white-tailed rat the cat had lovingly tucked inside. He had dined on the front end. I thought my … Read more

Let’s face it, Australia is known as the land of big things and weird animals. You can’t even go to Bunnings at Ballina without being confronted by a giant prawn, and a parfait at the Big Pineapple was the pinnacle of perfection when we were kids. There are people who trek from one big thing … Read more

Can empathy training really help Liberal MP Andrew Laming? Of all the weird and wonderful potions that have come out of government, this one has the shine and shimmer of snake oil. I’m not saying there’s nothing in it. What I am saying is that my admittedly basic research shows that empathy training is all … Read more

This week I was added to a chat group of journalists I worked with 20 years ago. This was prompted by some strong public words from a former colleague who spoke at a Senate hearing into media diversity. These were women I had spent hundreds of hours with, but in just a few messages, we … Read more

As I write this, there will be Australians at every stage of IVF. There will be couples – and singles – making decisions. There will be women taking folic acid to prepare themselves for pregnancy. There will be people getting injections, having eggs harvested, embryos implanted and most of all, there will be lots of … Read more

Once upon a time, we lived in a town that had a honey man. It was a beautiful town and we lived next door to my best friend and her family. Our children called each other brother and sister. In short, it was a bit of a golden hour in our lifetime. Every now and … Read more

I was sitting on the bench outside the bedroom window the other day, having a happy moment looking at the garden and watching the puppy nosing around, when another world intruded. From inside the house I could clearly hear the start of the Married at First Sight reunion. I’m watching the blue wrens chattering at the birdbath … Read more

It seems it has taken a pandemic to make us all think about where and how we live. And finally, the country hicks who make regional and rural Australia their homes might be seen as making a wise choice, a socially responsible choice, even an ethically sound choice – all the “choices” that are turning … Read more