THEY SAID
"I went off the rails."
Nene King, giving evidence in the County Court trial of her former friend, Colin Hahne, who she accuses of taking more than $40,000 from her in 2009, about her life after her husband was killed.
"Sending 90 children to dangers of Nauru is child abuse. This is a big test for Malcolm Turnbull, will he authorise it or do the right thing?"
Tweet from Senator Sarah Hanson-Young about the refugees, including babies and children, being sent back to Nauru.
"That is this huge cloud hanging over him. That he will be returned to an absolutely traumatic and devastating environment for him."
Paediatrician Karen Zwi, risking prison time to reveal the traumatic case of a five-year-old boy threatened with being sent back to Nauru, where his alleged rapist is still being held.
"We hardly ever see young children and adolescents so traumatised by life that they would want to take their own life. But in Nauru and in detention centres where kids have been kept, sometimes for most of their life, we see very young children who just can't take it any more and try to kill themselves or wanting to hurt themselves, or saying things like, 'I may as well just jump off the roof'."
Paediatrician Hasantha Gunasekera, also in contravention of the Border Force Act, which stipulates that anyone working in an immigration facility faces up to two years imprisonment for publicly revealing the goings on inside the centres.
"Quite frankly, I was shocked and surprised."
Sussan Ley, Minister for Sports, about finding out that in many sports, female athletes travel economy class and stay in lower cost accommodation than male athletes, who travel in business class.
"[A double-dissolution is a] live option."
Malcolm Turnbull to Coalition MPs.
"And the Prime Minister is considering a double disillusion . . ."
The admirable Carrie Bickmore, on The Project.
"You know, if it gets a little boring, if I see people starting to sort of, maybe thinking about leaving, I can sort of tell the audience, I just say, 'We will build the wall!' and they go nuts!"
Donald Trump on what gets his supporters going.
"He's on a horse that's bolted and he might need to perform an awkward dismount."
A Liberal MP, feeling that Scott Morrison is stuck on increasing the GST and will have to back down soon.
"Many of us are at the end of our tether as a result of what seems like the government's intention to send children to Nauru. So we're reinventing, or rediscovering, or reintroducing, the ancient concept of sanctuary as a last-ditch effort to offer some sense of hope to those who must be feeling incredibly hopeless."
The Anglican Dean of Brisbane, the Reverend Dr Peter Catt, saying he was opening up St John's Cathedral in Brisbane to the asylum seekers faced with being sent back to Nauru this week.
"Let's drop the bull shit not allowing deaths at sea = compassion. Slowly driving refugees to insanity and suicide also = compassion. OMG"
Veteran political journalist Paul Bongiorno tweets.
JOKE OF THE WEEK
A bloke walks into a bar and orders 10 shots of whiskey. After they're poured he drops them all down one after the other.
The bartender comments, "Wow, I've never seen anyone drink that much whiskey that fast before!"
The bloke responds mournfully: "Well you would too if you had what I have."
Bartender: "I'm sorry to hear that, what do you have, if I might ask?"
"Fifty cents." the bloke answers.
TFF9045
I note with interest that the fiery interview my Missus, Lisa Wilkinson, did with Clive Palmer on the Today show on Friday morning led the nation's news websites: 'Australia thinks you're a joke': Wilkinson on the attack; Lisa Wilkinson's merciless grilling, etc. And it was indeed fiery, with Lisa up Clive for the rent for such things as failing to pay redundancies to the sacked workers of his nickel company, even though the same company could find $6 million to donate to the Palmer United Party – something that Mr Palmer, completely ludicrously, denied being aware of. (<> Clive? The company you own, writes a cheque for that kind of freight, to the Party you run, and you don't know about it, either way? I call bullshit.) Anyhoo, I do hate to give Mr Palmer any advice just on principle, but if I may, it is this: when you have done the wrong thing, talking over Lisa and getting angrier than her just doesn't work. Making dinner, doing the washing up unprompted, and taking out the garbage before making yourself very scarce indeed, by walking the dog, does. We have a spare dog, and doghouse, if you need one? And the detergent is beneath the sink, in the cupboard on the right.
TFF8945
Two of TFF's former biographical subjects have been in the news this week, with former "Magazine Queen" Nene King in court action in Victoria, trying to recover money she alleges she lost to someone living with her for a brief time, who she trusted, only, she alleges, to be betrayed. One saving grace is a couple of friends who were close to her before she became famous, stayed with her throughout, and are still close to her now. I have been in touch with her this week, and she remains extraordinarily stoic.
As to Kim Beazley, who has just returned from six years as our man in Washington, TFF dined with him and our wives on Tuesday at Machiavelli and he is in fine form, considering his next step. At 67 he has declined an approach from several people in WA to re-enter federal politics, and will put his considerable energies into academe, various boards, and perhaps, the speaking circuit. His major passion remains the Australian-American alliance.
TFF8945
Too long for quotes, but too strong to leave out, here is Senator Penny Wong, in an essay on how Australia's attitudes towards gay marriage and gay parents have changed for the better.
"I can sense change ... in the thoughtful messages my partner, Sophie, and I received on the birth of our daughters; in the kindness of strangers stopping me in the street to ask after our family; in the attitudes of a man in work gear, extending a calloused hand, telling me how wonderful it is to be a parent, and a woman in the market handing our four-year old another biscotti ..."
She also took direct aim, however, at those who still don't get it.
"The 'think of the children' argument is among the most hurtful in the marriage equality debate. It posits that gay and lesbian relationships harm children, that gay and lesbian parents are bad parents."
Bravo.
Twitter: @Peter_Fitz
