Lovely to have the lovely @squigglyrick.bsky.social in Crikey's pages today — read his exclusive report on a robodebt architect's senior governance role in the public service.

This Fascist Groove Thing: Sussan Ley, Albo's Joy Division T-shirt and the politics of punk The faux outrage over Albanese's band shirt calls to mind the early battles for the soul (and politics) of punk music.

Excellent piece by @theshufflediary.bsky.social
www.crikey.com.au/2025/10/29/a...

Gravity Let Me Go by Trent Dalton review – ocker crime caper plagued by more than a beleaguered ballsack The bestseller’s fourth novel could have tackled timely questions about true crime – but instead it offers a bleakly retrograde fable about being a good bloke

Catri walked so Beejay could run

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...

Not now Justine

Who killed Meanjin? And why won’t Melbourne University Publishing engage with efforts to save it?

New:
A deep dive with some alarming new revelations on the silencing of one of the few remaining independent progressive voices in Australian media. Who killed Meanjin?

Australia hands half a million to Israeli weapons company, Tesla chair's salary, and an AFL star on Charlie Kirk Plus an Aussie tech founder simply loves the media!

The Department of Defence has announced a new $467,000 contract with yet another Israeli weapons manufacturer.

Who killed Meanjin?

Meanjin’s performance and sustainability were the focus of a review commissioned by MUP in February. The final recommendations of the report, which was never released publicly, did not include closing Meanjin.

Who killed Meanjin? And why won’t Melbourne University Publishing engage with efforts to save it?

"Meanjin’s performance and sustainability were the focus of a review commissioned by MUP. Its report, delivered a month before the publisher’s controversial axing of the 85-year-old journal ... did not include closing Meanjin."

—@nickfeik.bsky.social

www.crikey.com.au/2025/09/16/m...

The company they keep: Where do your MPs invest their salaries? Search our database See which companies and industries are popular with MPs and their families, and check out parliament’s biggest shareholders.

A piece from me and Sean Johnson at @openpolitics.bsky.social today on where this parliament is investing. Plenty of graphs for you to play with, have a poke around!

www.crikey.com.au/2025/09/16/w...

Not today cupcake

I wrote for Crikey about the decision to shut Meanjin down - and to sever a connection to a hopeful progressive vision of Australian culture

Meanjin's 'financial' shutdown doesn't add up

Opinion | Melbourne University Press says it shut down Meanjin for "purely financial reasons". Perhaps the university could have used some of its $273 million surplus to safeguard the seminal journal, @catrionamp.bsky.social‬ writes.

Meanjin's 'financial' shutdown doesn't add up Melbourne University reported a $273 million surplus in 2024 on an operating income of $3.2 billion. It is against these figures that the 'purely financial decision' to close Meanjin has raised eyebro...

Excellent, probing piece today in Crikey by Catriona Menzies-Pike on the closure of Meanjin
www.crikey.com.au/2025/09/08/m...

The Death of Meanjin Price of everything, value of nothing dept.

The Death of Meanjin. a couple of thoughts. open.substack.com/pub/greenwor...

How to report on neo-Nazis without giving them what they want Media coverage of the anti-immigration marches was a 'propaganda triumph' for Australian neo-Nazis, who use media-baiting tactics to spread their message.

Great piece by Crikey's readers editor Crystal Andrews today:

www.crikey.com.au/2025/09/05/h...

Literary journal Meanjin to close after 85 years of publishing Meanjin, a mainstay of Australia's cultural landscape and the nation's second-oldest literary publication, is shuttering after Melbourne University Publishing decided to cease financial support.

Exclusive: Australia’s second-oldest literary journal, Meanjin, is being shut down today for "financial" reasons, Crikey can reveal.

This strangely brings me much sorrow but also much joy

wake up new Dan Andrews gif dropped

In pictures: The reality on the ground at Melbourne's anti-immigration March for Australia 'Not my cup of tea,' one anti-immigration protester said of the neo-Nazi presence at the rally. But that didn’t stop attendees from marching behind them.

Bloody (literally) great photo essay of the March for Australia rally in Melbourne by Emily Grace and Alex Zucco for Crikey.

www.crikey.com.au/2025/09/01/m...

Could this be the death of Australia's nightmarish welfare system? Mutual obligation is one of the last great shibboleths of Australian politics. Now the entire system is under scrutiny with potentially big implications for our welfare system.

Great piece by Ben Eltham today on implications of the ombudsman's investigation into the system that administers income support payment cancellations for jobseekers: www.crikey.com.au/2025/06/12/a...

Labor read the room on Gaza. What does that say about our indifference to Palestinians? Labor's silence on the genocide in Gaza has been simultaneous with its near-total silence on Indigenous affairs since the referendum.

Excellent piece by Bernard Keane today:

Out of the Woods by Gretchen Shirm review – a compelling reflection on bearing witness For her fourth novel, the former lawyer draws on her experience working as a legal intern in the UN tribunal for former Yugoslavia

New from me on Gretchen Shirm

Is Peter Dutton aware that women... can vote? In 2022, Scott Morrison made bungled, offensive comments about women. Three years later, Peter Dutton is just ignoring women altogether.

Ripper piece from @crystaljane.bsky.social today

think I've come across possibly the best word

Time Together by Luke Horton review – old friends, new tensions in this compelling study of middle age A beach holiday is narrated by four different characters as they struggle to slough off their personal ghosts

new from me!!

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...

Trump announces $500B AI investment alongside OpenAI, Softbank, and Oracle Within hours of his swearing-in, US President Donald Trump revoked a Biden–issued executive order aimed at addressing AI risks.

cool cool cool

www.semafor.com/article/01/2...

Interview #225—Michelle de Kretser — LIMINAL “I don’t have the nerve to go back through the novel to examine its sentences; it would feel too close to being confronted with past crimes.”

Excellent interview

www.liminalmag.com/interviews/m...

After a long holiday everyone be sure to wash your passports in the laundry good to remove all germs