CRIKEY
I had the amazing opportunity to submit a sample newsletter entry for one of Australia’s political news websites, “Crikey.” It was in the exact same format as their typical entries. It was an eye-opening experience that I was so happy to take part in. One of my favorite parts was making sure that I didn’t spell like an “American.” For example “Color” vs. “Colour.” That was fun!
RALLYING TOGETHER
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Australians take a stand against gender-based violence, and an unsolved shooting startles Melbourne residents
LINDSAY DANEEN APR 27, 2024
THOUSANDS RALLY AGAINST WOMEN’S VIOLENCE (IMAGE: AAP/LUKAS COCH)
THREE THOUSAND STRONG
“Please stop killing us.” “I’d feel safer alone with bears.” “Real men stand with women.” These are not just punchy statements. They are some of the statements written on the signs of the 3,000 men and women who rallied across Australia on Saturday, April 27th to protest violence against women. What Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, referred to as an “epidemic” has Australians angered. According to ABC , multiple events have fuelled anger across the nation. Some of these events have collectively involved the deaths of over 25 women this year. One of the more recent catalysts for the protests was the discovery of a 30-year-old woman’s body in a house fire, with foul play suspected. As reported by DW, the rallies were also ignited by the recent mass stabbing of 5 women at Sydney’s Bondi Junction mall. Reuters reports that Prime Minister Albanese will also participate in a rally being held at the national capital, Canberra, on Sunday.
A SUDDEN LOSS IN MELBOURNE
The city of Melbourne is mourning after the sudden loss of father-to-be, Aaron Toth. According to The Age ($) [Aaron] Toth’s body was found on Saturday, April 27th around 12:30AM with a gunshot wound. The discovery was made on Bride Avenue in Hampton Park, where he died at the scene of the crime. The Australian ($) reports that the victim was likely a target which prompted an urgent police search for a suspect that witnesses say fled in a Ford Ranger ute. This search led police to a burnt-out vehicle in Berwick that has yet to be linked to the crime. Neighbours expressed their shock and confusion to ABC after hearing 4 gunshots just before 12:30AM. One resident stated, “We’ve lived 25 years in this place and never heard of anything like this.”
CRASH CLAIMS TWO
Two lives were claimed on Saturday, when an aircraft crashed in the Mount Beauty section of Victoria. Reports by NDTV state that the aircraft was flying over Embankment Drive at 1:45PM when the collision occurred killing both pilot and passenger. Guardian Australia reported that paramedics treated the pilot and passenger however they both died at the scene. It is confirmed that the deceased passenger was Kate Callingham, a “beloved partner, mother, daughter and friend…” ABC says the 73-year-old pilot, whose name has yet to be released, is believed to be a family friend of [Kate] Callingham accompanying her in the scattering of a relative’s ashes. The pilot, who was flying a Grob G109B Motor-Glider was an experienced and passionate flyer. Mount Beauty Airport closed temporarily following the crash.
CRIKEY RECAP
A nuclear solution for Dutton: You get a reactor! And YOU get a reactor! Everyone gets a reactor!
PETER DUTTON (IMAGE: AAP/LUKAS COCH)
“The Coalition is now badly split over Peter Dutton’s push to build a nuclear power industry from scratch, sufficient to delay what was once trumpeted by his cheerleaders as a bold pre-budget announcement of a new era in Australian energy policy.”
“Ah, late April. The days are getting shorter, the air is crisper. But for Australians with large university debts, it’s also a time of dread, with the government soon increasing those with HECS and HELP debts via indexation.
“For some of us, our student debts may be even larger than this time last year, despite our repayments. For someone with a fairly average student debt of $30,000, this year’s expected indexation rate of 4.7% will add an extra $1,410 to the total amount you’ll have to repay. The ABC has published a helpful calculator to help you work out the extra amount.”
News flash, ABC: Archie Moore’s pivotal art win counts as news
“When Kamilaroi and Bigambul artist Archie Moore won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale last Saturday — the biggest art news in the world — Channel 9’s evening bulletin covered it as news. However, there was no mention of it on the ABC’s 7pm news bulletin. And while the win has since received coverage from the national broadcaster, that its reporting on such a landmark moment lagged behind the commercial station is telling.”
SAY WHAT?
It is disheartening to see the current state of higher education in our country, the mass exposure of students to police violence, and the complete disregard for what USC claims to stand for.
- Brittany Friedman
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Columbia University president criticized for allowing police to break up Gaza campus protests (Al Jazeera)
Russian missiles pound Ukrainian power plants in escalating campaign (Reuters)
Gaza hostage recounts 54 days in captivity (BBC)
THE COMMENTARIAT
The overturning of Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction is an affront to women – Moira Donegan (Guardian Australia): “But the overturning of [Harvey] Weinstein’s conviction was yet another brutal political defeat for the cause of women’s rights, and comes in a post-Dobbs, post- #MeToo era that has been marked by cultural backlash, legal regression and increasingly impassioned popular antifeminist sentiment. His overturned conviction is a symbolic milestone, a marker of the dramatic re-entrenchment of legal and institutional misogyny in our own era, and a reminder of how horribly the feminist ambitions of the late-2010s have been betrayed.
“The reversal of [Harvey] Weinstein’s conviction is the latest in a long line of high-profile spectacles of impunity for sexual-violence perpetrators. Despite all the handwringing about due process and disproportionate punishments that emerged from concerned advocates for the accused in that era, the fact is that very few criminal trials emerged from the #MeToo movement.”
ON A LIGHTER NOTE
Life is better in colour! – According to artist and gallery owner, Carlos Rittner, there is no better way to wake up than in a room full of vibrant colours. This comes from a man who describes European décor as grey and beige. The Mexico City resident explained to Guardian Australia how much he loves his apartment. Once a drab 1940’s office block, this beautiful apartment now looks like a dream with walls framed in cobalt blue paint, a golden pendant Casamidy light framed mosaic, and kaleidoscope inspired floor tiles. But [Carlos] Rittner isn’t thoughtlessly throwing decorations around his beloved apartment. He is intentional, making sure his décor reflects and respects the history surrounding it. “I sleep where there have been more than 1,000 years of tribal revolutions, folklore, conflict, palaces and power.” And who better to hire than interior designer and friend, Jessica Ayromloo, to bring this beautiful history to life in the form of indigenous inspired architecture and 17th-century church influenced tiles. This intentional burst of culture extends into the bedroom where you’ll find an antique headboard that was originally a carved door from Puebla’s Callejon de los Sapos. It is safe to say that this colour-obsessed art teacher whose gallery showcases Chicano and Latin American artists, lives by the theory that there is no beauty without colour. And remember, the best colour in the world is the colour that looks good on you!