When you hear the phrase, “theologies of happiness,” what comes to mind? We seek happiness in many different ways, and the various approaches can be grouped into three broader categories: Having: pursuit of pleasure, wealth, security, success. Doing: pursuit of achievement, growth, creativity, service. Being: pursuit of virtue, spirituality, wisdom, loving relationships. However, the world's …
Why do some novelists drop quotation marks?
I recall opening Peter Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang on its publication in 2000 and being struck by the absence of quotation marks around speech. I found it distracting. Dialogue merged into narration, and the visual markers that guide readers through conversations had disappeared. Why, I thought, would an accomplished novelist dispense with such a …
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On the limits of forgiveness
The tragic deaths of five-year-old Katherine and one-year-old Harry in Cabramatta, Sydney, on 17 June 2026 confronted Australians with one of the most painful realities imaginable. Yet amid their grief, the children’s parents publicly expressed forgiveness towards the driver involved. Their response echoed another well-known Australian tragedy. In 2020, Danny and Leila Abdallah lost three …
Freedom of the press and Australian democracy
Freedom of the press is one of the foundational principles of a democratic society. It refers to the ability of journalists and media organisations to investigate, report, publish, question those in positions of authority, and express opinions without intimidation, censorship, retaliation, or undue interference. Yet press freedom is not primarily a privilege exclusive to journalists. …
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Why press freedom matters more than ever
Recent events at the National Press Club have prompted renewed reflection on freedom of the press, one of the foundations of democratic society. The immediate catalyst was an exchange between One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and Guardian Australia journalist Sarah Martin. During questioning following Hanson’s National Press Club address, Martin asked about the employment of Hanson’s daughter …
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