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Let’s end this stupid ‘mum’ debate. Right now
Karl Stefanovic’s split with wife Cassandra Thorburn has reignited the stay-at-home versus working mum debate. It’s time to put an end to this damaging nonsense.
Over the hill? Far from it
Hillary Clinton, who turns 69 today, is redefining history, not just by smashing gender glass ceilings, but by reinventing what it means to be an almost-septuagenarian.
Hey ladies, wouldn’t it be great to have a wife?
There’s no question that running a family is bloody hard work. So it’s understandable that Cassandra Thorburn, Karl Stefanovic’s wife, wants to claim some credit for his success.
Is this the end of the theme park capital of Australia?
Even the death of one patron on a theme park ride would be difficult to overcome, but the deaths of four people — how could anyone have the confidence to go on a theme park ride again?
Parents, stand up for your gay children
Australian parents, you have one role in life and that is to love your child unconditionally, writes Irish mother Anne Rigney. If your children are gay, it’s time to stand up.
Casual racism is still racism. And it’s not OK
Among the renovation drama of The Block viewers were subjected to a contestant ridiculing Indigenous culture by wearing ‘tribal’ face paint. This lighthearted racism has to stop.
Is FOMO a good enough reason to have a baby?
It may sound a bit silly and somewhat selfish — to have a baby just because all your closest friends are doing it — but a fear of missing out (FOMO) baby may not be the worst idea.
Open your mouth to order before you stuff it with food
There is a line to be drawn in the pursuit of convenience and this is the place to draw it: Hungry Jack’s Brekk-E-Tag for drive-throughs. What a dumb idea.
Nick Kyrgios needs a hug. He’s obviously hurting
Nick Kyrgios’s behaviour has been poor but his problem is not that he’s rude or that he’s compromised the “integrity of tennis”. It’s that he’s not prepared to talk to someone.
This wasn’t a murder-suicide. It was cold-blooded murder
Killing yourself in the act of killing others does not make you virtuous. It makes you a coward, unwilling to face up to what you’ve done.
It’s not too late to say sorry, David Morrison
As former army chief David Morrison comes to the end of his turn as Australian of the Year, he has done little to stand out, writes Miranda Devine. A simple “sorry” would help.
You should see me in the club... the knitting club
The first rule about knit club is, you must absolutely talk about knit club. The second rule of knit club is you don’t actually have to have any idea how to knit.
Should you be Facebook friends with your boss?
There’s nothing wrong with downing shots at 3am and singing karaoke badly at a dodgy bar. But it’s unlikely you want your boss knowing about it through your drunken Facebook posts.
Tough gun laws work. We can’t go soft on them
Relaxing gun laws in Australia — for whatever political outcomes may be currently desirable — is a terrible idea. People’s fists are dangerous enough.
Madeleine West: ‘Keep your hurtful opinions in the closet’
Far too many people are forced to live half a life, writes The Wrong Girl’s Madeleine West. She hopes her character coming out as a lesbian will inspire positive discussion.
Refugee activists twist the truth. I know, I was there
No one is pretending Nauru is a five-star holiday resort for refugees, writes Caroline Marcus. But misleading the public is no way to engender sympathy for these people, either.
Gun owners are not the bad guys
The rights of licensed shooters have been hard won against constant opposition. Just because guns scare you doesn’t mean the rest of us should have to give them up.
Abbott’s lost cause to fix a failed legacy
Tony Abbott keeps trying to justify bad behaviour as preserving his “legacy”, writes Miranda Devine. But it is not up to Abbott to define his legacy. History will do that for him.
Fast walkers may live longer. But they’re annoying
Research shows the slower you walk, the earlier you’ll cark it but fast walkers are the really annoying ones. If you know one, you’ll understand.
Gable Tostee trial: Casual sex is not a crime
The Gable Tostee trial has drawn social censure around the willingness of a young couple to hook up on Tinder for a night of casual sex. That is not a crime.
I want to travel... without my partner
My partner and I differ over what constitutes a holiday. So I’ve planned a trip with one of my gal friends. But how do I tell my partner I want to travel without him?
Holiday happiness or highway to hell?
New research shows we’re jumping into our cars in record numbers to explore our own backyard. But is the humble road trip the route to holiday happiness or just a highway to hell?
Our carers deserve so much more. Especially respite
The tragedy that faced a young family juggling the complex needs of children with disabilities puts a spotlight on the needs of those who devote every moment of their lives to caring.
Hey, Human Rights Commission: What about the kids?
As the Human Rights Commission investigates cartoonist Bill Leak for ‘racial hatred’, indigenous kids wander the streets alone. That’s the real human rights shame.
We’ve come a long way. But there’s much more to do
On Breast Cancer Awareness Day we recognise the achievements researchers have made to breast cancer survival rates. But we still have a long way to go.
Masculinity is not to blame for domestic violence
We must fight domestic violence by tackling behaviours and attitudes, not by fighting a war on gender identity. Otherwise we risk shaming men simply for being masculine.
Now showing: Shakespeare’s Australian politics
Australian politics is in the midst of a great tragedy whose proportions are as Shakespearean as its language is Mills & Boon. At every level it is confounding and contradictory.
Dear much younger me, I see you
A mother of two sons with autism, Kimberlee Rutan McCafferty, shares this moving letter to her younger self — when it all seemed too overwhelming to cope.
Keep your mortgage stress. I’ll take the smashed avo
If somebody told me brunch dates would have to be sacrificed to buy a home — I’d say take a walk. I’ll keep my “expensive” lifestyle over a mortgage any day.
Why did it take so long to uncover Donald Trump’s abuse of women?
The number of women accusing Donald Trump of inappropriate touching has reached 16. How did a confessed predator this famous get away with this for decades?
If he’s chivalrous, he must be sexist, right? Wrong
“Chivalry is dead” came the battle cry when an AFL player shielded himself from rain and not his partner. Could it just be he didn’t cover her in fear of being labelled sexist?