Yep today is a total tech disaster day! Finished off with a trip to local IGA. First register went into training mode, it couldn’t be persuaded to move out of that. Second register decided it had enough a shut down. I managed to scrape through on the 3rd register before the next disaster!

Exclusive: Misfeasance case paves way for robodebt action A damning judgement of ‘highhandedness or cynical disregard’ by the Medicare watchdog has established a new front for civil litigation of public servants named in the robodebt royal commission.

New misfeasance in public office decision dropped. A cracker: Judge awarded $2m in damages, including v. rare punitive exemplary damages, against former head of Medicare watchdog. Matters are RARE. Wins rarer. A boon to potential Robodebt + other cases. www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/health/...

February 2 is World wetlands Day.
So, I'm posting this photo I took of a black swan at a local wetland area.
(One of my all time favourite photos, btw.)
#worldwetlandsday

The muted response to the Perth bombing exposes a pattern of national indifference A failed bomb attack in Perth on Invasion Day drew little attention from the media and public. It shows Australia has long been selective in its sense of danger.

This is good …

The muted response to the Perth bombing exposes a pattern of national indifference www.crikey.com.au/2026/01/29/p...

Report: Feels Like We Should Be Making A Bigger Deal About Someone Throwing A Homemade Explosive Device Full Of Ball Bearings At Aboriginal People On January 26th WENDELL HUSSEY | Cadet | CONTACT As the nation greets 2026 head on, many have confirmed they are still trying to wrap their heads around the media landscape for this year. This comes after a couple ...

Straight up excellent reporting from Betoota here.
#auspol
www.betootaadvocate.com/report-feels...

Historical heatwave sets all-time records as temperatures exceed 49C The heatwave gripping south-east Australia reached day four on Tuesday and is now unprecedented in many regions.

The heatwave gripping south-east Australia reached day four on Tuesday and is now unprecedented in many regions.

Ouyen may have hit the highest recorded temperature in Victoria’s history – and some fear it could get even hotter As the temperature nears 49C in the Mallee region, residents take refuge in air-conditioned rooms * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast In the slanting, late-afternoon summer sun, the fields around the small Australian town of Ouyen – almost 450km north-west of Melbourne – turn the colour of honey. The edges shimmer with silver, that old cruel trick of feigning water where it hasn’t rained for weeks. Summer is always hot out here in the sparse, flat Mallee, but this year is shaping up to be particularly harsh. Just two weeks ago, on Thursday 8 January, Ouyen got to 47.5C. On Monday it reached 44.3C. Continue reading...

Ouyen may have hit the highest recorded temperature in Victoria’s history – and some fear it could get even hotter

Why Troy Cassar-Daley wrote a song for a long-dead Wiradjuri warrior Country music star Troy Cassar-Daley didn't know anything about First Nations warrior Windradyne. But once he learned more, he was determined to sing his story home.

Country music star Troy Cassar-Daley didn't know anything about First Nations warrior Windradyne. But once he learned more, he was determined to sing his story home.

How public school students will start the year

“One teacher lamented that not only would her students not get a fancy bus driving them door to door, they would have no bus at all. The recent privatization of bus services has led to the cancellation of the route that used to go past her school’s door.”
satpa.pe/uMhlZ1x

The Great Silencing Last week it snowed heavily twice in Paris, turning the city into a frigid, monochrome fantasy land over three days, and at the weekend I popped into the Musée Marmottan Monet for a spot of impression...

Some thoughts on Adelaide Writers' Week and the moment we find ourselves in. It's all just so grinding. rick-morton.ghost.io/the-great-si...

Few words.
My @smh @theage cartoon

Ten Sydney Harbours’ worth of threatened species habitat approved for destruction in 2025, report finds ACF analysis finds amount of habitat approved by Albanese government for land-clearing hit a 15-year high last year

This has to stop! Australia is turning into an unliveable (moonscape) country at a furious rate. The environment MUST figure into all policy making and clearing must stop now!
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

In 2024 you all combined to write and complain about the NACC's Robodebt non-investigation

Over 1000 people complained

It's time to make yourself heard again

Take 30 secs or 30 mins to write to the Adelaide Festival board about their actions

Voice your complaint

Be heard

Share this far & wide

Donate to Tarcombe animal shelter and and Dr Robyn coy, organized by Ellie Stubbs Tarcombe Wildlife Shelter and Dr Robyn Coy Have Lost Everything Yesterday… Ellie Stubbs needs your support for Tarcombe animal shelter and and Dr Robyn coy

Sharing this, in case you would like to help.
Tarcombe Wildlife Shelter has lost everything in a fire.
Terrible to read the details 😞
www.gofundme.com/f/tarcombe-a...

Hey @albomp.bsky.social , are we “all the way with DJT”? Because I think we Australians are going to need a little reassurance from you that this is NOT your idea of a safe alliance either, and that being blu-tacked to a lunatic will not end well for us.
Thanks for your consideration.

Awesome!

The moment the medieval office Christmas party really gets going - 13th century, Getty Museum Collection, Ms. 46 (92. MK.92)

The shrinkage of Australian arts funding Restructures across all levels of arts funding have deprived institutions of money and led some to scale back their ambitions or even close.

Many in the arts sector point to a confluence of factors that are contributing to a decline in funding: post-Covid emergency funds drying up, the cost-of-living crisis, shifts in audience behaviour, as well as increasing operational costs. satpa.pe/KUMKlmg

Morton wins Walkley for “Mean Streak” | Books+Publishing Purchase a subscription to view job ads and other premium content on Books+Publishing.

Morton wins Walkley for “Mean Streak” www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/202...

Single frame. Barnaby exiting a room from which a leg kicks, a hand flipping the bird, another throwing a tomato, an akubra hat and a beetroot flying, and “BUGGER OFF!” and “GOOD RIDDANCE!” Barnaby in melodramatic pose looking back says “Don’t try to beg me - I’ve made up my mind.” In front of him, Pauline Hanson in burqa (dress, legs and high heels showing) arms outstretched, saying “COME TO MAMA!” - eclipsed by Gina Rinehart behind her, long white dress, same pose also saying “COME TO MAMA!”

Barnaby out.
My @smh @theage cartoon.

Going away over summer? Here’s how I prep my garden Leaving my garden in the heat of summer can feel worrying but some simple planning means it misses me less than I miss it.

Leaving my garden in the heat of summer can feel worrying but some simple planning means it misses me less than I miss it.

Disgraceful

The news has been coming so fast, I did another later which might not otherwise see the light.

A national shame: The data behind the killing of women in Australia An analysis of data by the ABC shows 69 women were killed in instances of gendered violence last year in Australia. All but 10 were killed by someone known to them.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02...

Save the CSIRO

Our national science & research agency is now facing more job cuts than under Tony Abbott

Call on the Albanese Govt to fund the scientists & research we need to tackle big issues we face from climate to food security and everything in between

www.davidpocock.com.au/save_our_csiro

So true 🤣

Oh, just saw this ... what a surprise!

Gail Karran recorded the savage beating that killed her. Shocking new evidence reveals how police failed her Exclusive: A secret audio device recorded Bill Karran raping, hitting and choking his wife of 30 years – immediately after he was released, drunk, from a Queensland watch house

We see the exact same "mistakes" and failures—what police call "missed opportunities"—by investigating police officers, over and over and over again. Violent men are believed, trusted, released; women are murdered. #auspol #MVAW #MVAC
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Academics say their net zero costing is being ‘misrepresented’ after Nationals repeat $9tn claim Researchers behind report cited by some in the Coalition say their work is based on various assumptions – largely involving cost to overseas customers, not Australians

In a triumph of hope over experience I am re-upping this fact check while listening to Pauline Hanson on ABC RN breakfast repeating the misrepresented figure

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Single frame. Title: “It’s simple” Sussan Let at podium flanked by David Littleproud and Angus Taylor. She says, “Net zero is not worth the cost*” Below podium is text: “*not counting the cost of: extreme weather events; mass displacement of people from low-lying areas; increased insurance premiums; habitat loss and species extinction; loss of certainty for business; worsened air quality; lack of investment in low-emission technologies; continued subsidisation of fossil fuel industries; loss of food security; (trailing beyond frame) increase in heat related deaths and infectious…”

The cost.
My @smh @theage cartoon.