Decency? What a plain, alluring quality that seems these days
I loathe election campaigns. It always seems to be about shouty exercises devoid of that good old-fashioned concept called decency.
Columnists
You’ll never want to get out of this car
Porsche’s GT4 RS is is phenomenally loud even before you push a button to make it louder still. But oh, my sweet lord, what a sound.
A toast to the original TV chefs
Remember Jean Bowring, who pioneered TV cooking in Australia? I once got the shock of my life when I bit into one of her cakes.
Ahead of the curve
How might Australia look in years to come? The clues aren’t only to be found in government white papers and scientific reports…
Subaru with something no supercar has
It’s no Ferarri, but at under $40,000, the price of this Subaru BRZ seems ludicrously cheap for this much driving enjoyment.
In praise of legumes
Who wouldn’t mind losing a bit of weight by simply eating a little differently? We can start by adding more legumes to our diet.
The art of ageing fabulously
In my 80s, barefoot on a beach in a kaftan? Bring it on!
This $65,000 Volvo is simply faultless
Admitting you drove a Volvo used to be like telling people your penis had stopped working. But while I wasn’t paying attention, its image changed.
Elephant in the room
We were sitting in his study when Kerry Packer made a confession. “I’ve had a phone call from Idi Amin,” he said.
![--FILE--Chinese PLA (People's Liberation Army) soldiers march past the Tian'anmen Rostrum during the military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing, China, 3 September 2015.After enduring the smallest budget increase in six years, China's military is looking to beef itself up with spending set to jump up to $233 billion by 2020. The 2020 Chinese defense budget will signify a 60% increase from this year's budget of a mere $146 billion, and it will be almost double the $123 billion budget of 2010, according to report by IHS Jane's, a British publishing company specializing in military information. The increased budget is partially explained as a response to increasing regional tensions stemming from territorial disputes in the South China Sea that most recently saw the \\"unlawful seizure\\" of a US Navy underwater drone and apparent military installations popping up on artificial islands in the sea, in a move that China's Defense Ministry has cast as arming the \\"slingshot\\" against an aggressor \\"flexing his muscles outside [the] door.\\" \\"A key trend in [the Asia-Pacific region] is the shift from a traditional focus on territorial defense towards power projection,\\" said principal analyst at IHS Jane's Craig Caffrey to CNN. \\"This is new for the region and is likely to increase military-to-military contact between states.\\" Spending for China's military increased by just 7.6% this year, a far cry from the double-digit increases that had been the norm for a number of years. The last single-digit increase in Chinese military spending was 7.5% back in 2010.](https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/55d3ad4b8fecd54fed73fd7ba57f660f?width=650)
What’s the way forward for Australia?
The US and China dominate. Our problem is we have built a way of life that assumes military support from one and export income from the other.
‘Irresistible’: Take a bow, Elon Musk
I finally got my hands on a Tesla Model 3. It’s one of the original electric vehicles – and still the best.
Blood on their hands
Cinema has been celebrating the pornography of violence for decades. No wonder the Oscars turned ugly.
Kids and screens: I got it wrong
Screens have got my kids through the hardships of the past two years. So after years of railing about this issue, I’ve recalibrated.
![1973. A senior officer of the Public Works Department, Mr Mel Read, with his typist Mrs Allana Derek, in their open landscape office. The dept has set up an experiment in open landscape office planning in on of their areas in No. 2 Treasury Place. Public service. Offices. NEG NO. FG25047 [Herald 25/7/73] #hsinstagram](https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/4b09033f2d2aa7b8e8c266726b107a11?width=650)
The march of progress
First to go from our office landscape was the typist. Since then, the way we go about our work has changed beyond recognition.
The five-star Ferrari: ‘It’s perfect’
I love this superb hybrid supercar so much, I’m giving it the perfect score.
Rahimi’s feast
It started with a back-breaking session picking grapes with the local Afghan community — and ended with a brilliant feast.
Breathe it all in
So to a feast of the open window – and do you open up your own car to the world as you’re driving, particularly in the bush?
Vale Bill, the perfect grandpa
Bill Smith was the perfect grandpa. Gruff, gentle and kind. He seemed ancient to me, as gnarled and wrinkled as an old tree.
Talkin’ ‘bout an evolution
From hippies to hipsters, it’s almost as if there’s a survival instinctto evolve, to adjust to the times and create new social mores. Why?
Kia’s giant stylistic statement about its future
Kia flicks the design switch with its electric EV6 – and there’s frenzied demand in Australia, despite the $67,990 price tag.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/weekend-australian-magazine/columnists/page/33