Wimbedon champion accused of transphobia
The former Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova has been criticised for transphobic comments after she argued allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sporting tournaments was “insane and cheating”.
The tennis player first drew criticism from activists and trans athletes when she tweeted in December: “You can’t just proclaim yourself a female and be able to compete against women. There must be some standards, and having a penis and competing as a woman would not fit that standard.”
Home affairs department spent hundreds of millions on unvetted security company
Peter Dutton’s Home Affairs Department is under fire after the senate found it awarded a $423 million dollar contract to security company, Paladin, operating out of a beach shack on Kangaroo Island in 2017.
The senate will convene today to question the department about its consideration of the poor debt management of the Paladin’s owner, the inability to begin paying the contract and the lack of alternative bidders.
Equal pay across gender lines for Australian sportspeople
The CEOs of Australia’s leading sports organisations have committed to ensuring elite female athletes are paid the same as their male counterparts.
The Male Champions of Change Pathway to Pay Equality report outlines a systemic approach to achieve equal pay for male and female sports stars involving codes, sponsors and governments.
Male Champions of Change convener and UN special rapporteur Elizabeth Broderick says pay equality in sport will send a strong message to the broader society.
A third of Queensland children not immunised
Queensland children are at greater risk of preventable diseases whooping cough, HPV and meningococcal after more than a third of students elected not to receive free vaccines last year.
Experts say 85 percent of Queenslanders must be vaccinated in order to create ‘herd’ immunity.
Medical director of Queensland Health’s immunisation program says children that miss the school based vaccinations may still access these free of charge from their GP.
Moreton Bay Regional Council accused of creating 'toxic culture'
Former managers at Moreton Bay Regional Council have accused the organisation of systematically targeting staff who questioned management decisions on ethical or governance grounds and fostering a “toxic culture”.
Five former senior staff with widely differing roles and backgrounds separately describe how a small group of executives allegedly abused HR processes to threaten and ultimately get rid of dissenting staff.
Methyl Ethel: Triage
- Jake Webb’s third studio album under the moniker Methyl Ethel, Triage, is his most polished and considered release yet. The suite of tracks embodies its title, taking stock of the experiences that comprise a coming-of-age, without ever slowing into static retrospection. Live, Methyl Ethel have gained a reputation for surrealist, guitar-driven, dreampop prime for festival punters, but the arrangements on the record have been demonstrably pored over by Webb, whose introduction of warm piano tones gives the release a glossy nostalgia.
Seagull: A Voice In The Ward
- Seagull is the creation of Melbourne singer-songwriter Chris Bolton. An alt folk outfit that has been around for almost a decade and a half now, the project has become known for Botlon’s emotionally rich story-telling and detailed, atmospheric instrumentation. The typically melancholic mood of Seagull’s music is amplified on their new record, A Voice in the Ward, which Bolton penned a lot of the lyrics for while in a psych ward.
Chinese Burns Unit: Cash In The Dull Days
- For those with a keen eye, you’ll notice how similar of a style the Cash In The Dull Days album cover is to ones for Frenzal Rhomb, Totally Unicorn, and a slew of their striking, vivid, and slightly nauseating tour posters. Glenno of Chinese Burns Unit regularly puts his penmanship to use creating Australia’s punk iconography. The band's own new release is an unblemished contribution to the culture.
Xiu Xiu: Girl With Basket Of Fruit
- The latest album from Xiu Xiu Girl with Basket of Fruit is an uncompromising record which highlights the relevance and the perpetuation of brutalities, particularly those affecting women, and ultimately meditates on our species impeding doom for failing to address these events adequately. It could possibly their most considered attempt at a cohesive conceptual album with a loosely interwoven symbolism running through it’s mostly cacophonous and rage filled storyline.
Pet Shop Boys: Agenda
- Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have not suddenly got “political”, as some have thought with the release of their latest compilation of new tunes. Pet Shop Boys have been political since they released Please in 1985, with songs about the rise of the yuppie class (Opportunities Let’s Make Lots Of Money) and the decay of the inner city and working class areas (Suburbia).