I speak of truth, not grievance. Yet that is not how it has been reported.

Racism is a crime. Racism is violence. And I have had enough.

I am writing this because no one at the ABC — whose producers invited me onto their coronation coverage as a guest — has uttered one word of public support. Not one ABC executive has publicly refuted the lies written or spoken about me. I don't hold any individual responsible; this is an institutional failure.

This is the last column I will write for the ABC for a while.

On Monday night I will present my Q+A program, then walk away. For how long? I don't know.

I take time out because we have shown again that our history — our hard truth — is too big, too fragile, too precious for the media.

Our stories are sacred. Yet the media has turned public discussion into an amusement park.

I want no part of it. I want to find a place of grace far from the stench of the media. I want to go where I am not reminded of the social media sewer.

Our source will remain anonymous.

There's an overall modest increase in spending, but only because of food items - the only categories to record growth on last year (we've gotta eat).

But imagine you're operating a business in these markets;

Jewellery (down 21.1%),

Home Furnishings (down 17.5%),

Electronics (down 15.9%) and

Lodging (down 14.8%).

Apparel (down 9.1%)

Fuel and Convenience (down 8.9%) 

Here's the positive spin the Retailers Association put on it;

https://www.retail.org.au/media/australian-retail-sales-up-2-6-year-on-year-despite-declines-in-most-categories

TAMPONS AND SANITARY PADS IN MEN'S TOILET

Sydney university.

Decline of Western civilisation accelerates. pic.twitter.com/vbIPluFStG

— Dr David Adler (@DrDavidAdler1) May 18, 2023

A 95-year-old dementia patient is fighting for life after being tasered by police who found her armed with a knife in a nursing home at Cooma in the NSW Snowy region. 

Only the people who were there know what happened ... witnesses, the Police, and the woman - and there'll be plenty of inquiries to find the answers. 

So why the need for this waffle from the NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley?

We understand NSW Police have declared a critical incident investigation and will take whatever action is appropriate.

Our thoughts and best wishes are with Mrs Nowland and her family.

  

Fergus Taylor

Office of the Hon Yasmin Catley MP

Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism

Ever heard of staying out of it?

Whatever happened, the police have a tough enough job without politicians sticking their heads in. 

Why the need for mealy-mouth waffle?

From the notes I'm receiving this doesn't have unanimous support - here's a good example:

As a member of Crim Bar Assoc I can’t believe Hallowes believes he can speak/show support on my behalf in regards to political matters. 

The Victorian Criminal Bar Association supports the proposal to amend the Australian Constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the First Peoples of Australia by the establishment of the Voice.

As the Uluru Statement from the Heart recognised:

Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future.

The unacceptable over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody persists notwithstanding that more than 30 years have passed since the landmark final report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. That report examined the many ways in which our criminal justice system failed to deal justly with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons. It also examined the disadvantages that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons confronted, disadvantages that frequently continue to inform the prevailing circumstances when First Nations persons come before our criminal courts.

Whilst criminal justice primarily falls within the province of State legislatures, it does not do so exclusively. Moreover, the Commonwealth has wide scope to make laws on matters relating to, or which affect, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons. The Voice would provide a mechanism by which First Nations persons could communicate their views on such matters. The Victorian Criminal Bar Association – whose membership consists of barristers who prosecute criminal cases, barristers who defend persons charged with criminal offences and barristers who do both – considers that mechanism to be a fair and proportionate measure which has the very real potential to address injustices that are so often seen by those of us who practise in criminal law.

David Hallowes SC

Chair

Victorian Criminal Bar Association

https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/changes-if-you-get-family-payments?context=22136#:~:text=From%2010%20July%202023%2C%20if,from%2085%25%20to%2090%25.