A few weeks ago, I stood on the beach and watched the most perfect scene: my twin sons paddling for a wave, crouching, standing, then catching it towards the shore. The sun was high, the ocean like velvet – except for the rolling breaker and its fraying white fringe. On the horizon, a container ship … Read More
Sydney grandmother Alice Chan is small, petite and softly spoken. A delicate jade pendant hangs around her neck. She’s one of the last people you’d expect to be working up a sweat on a bench press or a lat pulldown in the gym. But two years ago, a regular bone scan showed she had osteoporosis … Read More
My first love, Daniel, is dying. The cancer has returned, and the prognosis is not good. He has about six months to live, two years at the most. I’m in Melbourne on business, and I meet an old friend at a pub. She has heard the news from a mutual friend but she is not … Read More
Risdon Prison just outside Hobart is one of the country’s most notorious jails. It’s known for its infamous inmates, including Port Arthur killer Martin Bryant and criminal-turned-celebrity Mark ‘Chopper’ Read. It’s frequently the scene of riots, sieges and suicides, and prisoners’ groups claim that human rights abuses happen on a daily basis – from food … Read More
The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area rises soft and blurry beyond the Sydney metropolis. On a clear day, you can see the city from its ancient sandstone ramparts and hear aeroplanes banking. How wild can it really be? Very wild indeed. Its southern section (an area of 220,000 hectares that has the Great Western … Read More
To some, Islamic veils are expressions of faith. To others, they are symbols of oppression. Either way, they continue to spark debate. The latest controversy has flared in Europe, where first Belgium and, perhaps soon, France, will pass laws to stop Muslim women wearing the face-covering burqa or niqab in public. The author of Belgium’s … Read More