Memo to NGOs: put down the begging bowlAt its annual conference earlier this month, a prominent NGO took the unusual step of asking for public input on what it could do better. Improving community engagement struck a nerve, writes Annmaree O’Keeffe.
October, 2011
theatre reviews 
The Love of the Nightingale — Opera Theatre, Sydney
Richard Mills composed and conducted The Love of the Nightingale, a homegrown and slightly oddball buccaneering opera, writes Llloyd Bradford Skye.
film reviews The Thing — frosty ET-infused thrills
Director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr’s unofficial remake of John Carpenter’s ET-on-ice classic The Thing has more gore and less suspense but still achieves a compelling level of psychological intensity, writes Luke Buckmaster.
album reviews Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto — when it’s good, it’s very good
Somewhere along the line Coldplay became a byword for musical mediocrity. That label isn’t fair, as their latest album Mylo Xyloto demonstrates, writes Neil Walker.
The harsh realities of Steve Jobs
A new Steve Jobs biography may not contain any huge revelations, but it paints the late tech guru as a genius on one hand and a tough, spiteful industry heavyweight on the other, writes Dan Lyons.
Gillard rallies Commonwealth against Europe
Crikey media wrap: Julia Gillard will open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth today with a warning to Europe that it needs decisive action to cope with its financial crisis.
Should Gillard formally apologise to West Papua?
The Gorton government betrayed the people of West Papua in the late 60s by putting an end to their claim to sovereignty. It is time for Julia Gillard to seriously issuing a formal apology to its indigenous people on behalf of Australia, writes NAJ Taylor.
Newspoll: support falls for carbon tax
The latest Newspoll offers the government a mixed bag: its best 2PP result since May but a 10-point net decline in support for the carbon tax since late July, writes William Bowe.
Occupy Melbourne: a strategic failure for Robert Doyle and the police
Camping in Melbourne City Square was almost sure to be seen as a provocation by a Lord Mayor whose tone has eerily channelled a private school headmaster’s, writes Peter Chambers.
News Corp AGM: no doddery old men, or foam pies
Rupert Murdoch was pretty fast and combative, much better than the doddery old man at the parliamentary committee.
Essential: meh on the republic, but fired up about Qantas
Voters blame Qantas management for its dispute with unions, today’s Essential Report finds. But support for a republic isn’t going anywhere.
Bolt’s fear and loathing … of the pokies, of course
Andrew Bolt — forced to correct the record over the weekend the weekend for his law-breaking articles on nefarious light-skinned Aborigines — also has a long, proud history of commentating on Australia’s pokies legislation.
Oxfam board no longer in hands of members
In a significant move by one of Australia’s most high-profile aid organisations, the board of Oxfam Australia will now be appointed rather than elected by its 2300 members.
How the internet messes with the game of media and party politics
The problems the media and politicians face run deeper than the disgruntled voters and empowered readers: society is being rewired by the internet.
The punitive-minded police state cranks up for CHOGM
The honour of hosting this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting fits in perfectly with the Perth’s idea of itself as a cultural and economic powerhouse.
The Baillieu Dump: when $1m for consultants is a super idea
The Emergency Services and State Super has spent nearly $1 million employing more than 20 consultants to review its management and business strategies, writes Ross Williams.
The Baillieu Dump: more accountability, but same tactics from Ted
Swinburne University’s journalism program and Crikey are teaming again to bring you the Baillieu Dump, in an effort to scrutinise the workings of the state government, write co-ordinators Andrew Dodd and Sue Green.
€360b souvlaki in the back of the room refuses to go away
Europe should be preparing for an orderly default for Greece, with money to backstop banks and countries such as Spain, Italy, Belgium and even France. No other path of action is realistic any more.
Adding up Monsanto’s InterGrain investment
It’s no secret Monsanto wants to increase the 19.9% share it bought in WA’s crop-breeding company InterGrain last August, writes Lisa Roth, of student publication 3rd Degree.
The Power Index: in a sports-mad nation, who’s the most powerful?
The country’s two biggest footy leagues may have just staged their respective grand finals, but there’s no off-season for the powerbrokers running sport. Not when there’s a quid to be made. We don’t have to tell you that sport is a pretty big deal in this country, but we’ll lay down some figures anyway: 7.6 […]
Does the Tax Commissioner deserve a pay rise?
Pay increases should gbe linked to improvements in service delivery to Australian taxpayers, writes Chris Seage, tax consultant and former ATO audit manager writes:
Death of Gaddafi: we like the crazy ones the best, they’re not as scary
By succeeding to overthrow and, eventually, kill Gadaffi, the Libyan people sent a message to the world.
Death of Gaddafi: winning the war, but what about the peace?
Muammar Gaddafi’s death brings to a close the war for liberation that has wracked Libya for much of this year, but pushes to the forefront a host of new issues.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: The birth of ‘liberated’ Libya
Crikey readers have their say.
