I met Albo at Sydney Uni when I joined the Labor Club (not the party, just a university club).  Anthony was already a big personality then and he impressed me with his passion and his incredible ability to remember not only everybody's name but also any details of any conversation with them, no matter how short - I guess that's a talent necessary for future politicians.  Years later I answered a colleague's phone and Albo on the other side recognised me by my voice.. and we were not even friends.  I met him once more at a Union function which he attended with Julia Gillard and his then wife Carmel Tebbut and despite a gap of 32 years he continued a conversation we had last time I saw him at Uni.

Not to worry, ScoMo will offer some electoral sweeteners for middle and upper income earners, will scare the pants off the remaining of the voters with whatever horrors he will accuse the Labor party that they're planning and to top it off he'll beat his chest on border control and how clever they are with the ..... economy! That should assure his party enough votes to continue to keep his do-nothing government feeding in the taxpayers' trough for another three years. 

@ruf.bear Hillsong has also attracted a number of prominent people like our current Prime Minister and music stars (some became famous through Hillsong) which raises their profile much more than their size does.  

Thank you Chelsea for highlighting this.  I, as a typical middle-aged male,  took Holly's initial request if it's ok to hug Brooke as her being cautious because of Covid and I thought "ah that's nice".  During the photo-shoot again I took Holly's checking on Brooke's comfort, as her being considerate and polite but it did not cross my mind at all that this is how consent looks like!  It is so easy, simple and yes,  you are right, sexy.  Thank you again for making it clear for us the mere males.  

Of course ScoMo has a plan! It's the same plan I had for retirement when I was much younger, spend most of my money, put little in savings and wait for the big lotto win to retire!   Similarly ScoMo will do nothing other than hope, maybe a miracle again, that a future technology will help us meet the target - long after he's gone from politics and the need to worry about the effects of global warming. 

"There is no comparison between the Holocaust and the restrictions that have been put into place in order to try and protects society’s most vulnerable."   Indeed any such comparison is incredibly distressing.  Furthermore the Nazi's considered the vulnerable as a burden on society and made sure they got exterminated, which makes that comparing compulsory wearing of masks and other restrictions to fight the pandemic even more absurd. 

If a middle ranking public servant made decisions benefiting a family member or a person he/she had been in a relationship without declaring a potential conflict of interest they would have been dragged in NSW in front of the ICAC or if in the federal public service they would have been severely reprimanded, demoted or fired.  The Premier was in relationship with Daryl Maguire for 5 years without declaring to her colleagues any potential conflict of interest in awarding millions of dollars to organisations in his electorate.  It is that simple, the Premier failed the probity standard she is expecting all her employees to comply with.  Despite that, the decision to resign from both her job and her seat was hers and cannot be blamed on ICAC.

Finally everyone (at least the viewers of SAS) what an awesome person Jana is! As an athletics and Olympics nerd I was not one of those who jumped on the drama Jana bandwagon and I cannot express how much satisfaction I get from this "I told you so".  The media was cruel on her, created feuds out of nowhere and were very critical of her when she did not make the Olympic finals - it seems to be the fate of any confident outspoken woman not meeting the high expectations placed on them. 

As a parent it alarmed and upset me hearing Jet saying that he feels he's never good enough.  Almost all parents want their children to be happy with who they are and what they are achieving, that's enough.  

@rush I agree that it felt ghoulish.  I can also see the usefulness of this type of session in team bonding and knowing each other's weaknesses which is why it is part of the training, normally it is not broadcast to a whole country but that's the deal they entered.  The whole process has changed my perceptions of the contestants, yes the narrative is edited but I think the producers have tried to show the complex personalities and vulnerabilities of each recruit.  

What a waste of island bench space by putting large sinks and even a stove top (Tanya and Vitto). Island benches are the heart of our kitchen, family and friends sit around them so you need maximum space so unless you have a huge bench it's a sin to waste space putting sinks and stove tops.  I agree with the judges on Mick and Mitch's kitchen, you cannot have a huge house with four bedrooms and no walk in pantry.  Yes draws are great for a smaller house or even apartment but in that kitchen there wasn't even enough room for the pots and kettles! 

@guest2 in the past the Union demonstrations were about work safety and work conditions.  The mob demonstrating the last few days has been campaigning against measures that aim to increase the workers' and community safety i.e. they are trying to undo any union gains in that area.  There might have been some unionists there but make no mistake this issue has been hijacked by elements who actively work against unions. 

Jana Pittman! She patches up the recruits, supports them emotionally, talks openly about postpartum incontinence, aces most challenges and she even remembered the number on the helicopter. What a legend.  Huge respect. 

I am afraid that you are right, our compassion these days is reserved only for the select few.  Maybe it is social media and the noise the few are making, maybe is the fear of the Morrison/Joyce government of losing swinging voters to One Nation and other fringe parties, maybe it is a ploy from Scott Morrison hoping to wedge the ALP with an eye to next year's election - whatever the reason he has not the backbone Malcolm Fraser and Bob Hawke displayed when they gave asylum to so many more Vietnamese (most of them boat people, a demonised group these days) and Chinese, despite opposition from the usual suspects.  Even Tony Abbott, the one with the three word slogans, gave asylum to 12,000 Syrian (albeit most of them Christians) refugees.  Not only Morrison will give asylum to such a measly low number of refugees but he will not give the Afghans who are here on TPVs permanent residency, condemning them to a life of uncertainty and inability to bring their families here - Fraser would be turning in his grave now'

@snorks the main reason we stayed in Afghanistan since 2012 was to prove ourselves a valuable US ally, even though we knew that the war was unwinnable. That's been well documented by whistle-blowers who paid with their liberty for their attempt to inform the Australian public.  

Whether this person is a covid denier or does not speak English is immaterial.  He wouldn't have made it all the way to Byron Bay if the business and premises he visited on the way enforced QR code checking.  You don't have the green tick, then we cannot serve you or let you in our premises.  Considering that in the Byron area certain business will not allow people to come in wearing masks I think he would have found it easy to get around there.  That's what happens when we slacken off or believe conspiracy theories perpetuated by geriatric shock jocks and Coalition politicians. 

Thank you for that brief portrait of Patty Mills outside the court. It is clear he's been one of the most inspired and appropriate choices for a flag-bearer of the Australian team in the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics.  May he stay well and strong to continue his amazing work.

It has always puzzled me why a word referring to a woman's anatomy should be considered the worse swear word in the English language.  There is not an equivalent reaction when anyone is called the male equivalent.  I know many women who use that word to take its sting away from it and make it a word of empowerment when will TV and media catch up to this?

I grew up in a country that had experienced dictatorships, arbitrary detentions and disappearances, where police were feared and acted with impunity. This shaped my political views and attitudes and had we been in the same situation 38 years ago I would have most likely joined these protesters as a young uni student.  But I still find it difficult not to be angry at this mob, because most of the people I argue with have not experienced that level of oppression, are educated and have access to a plethora of resources, something that was not around 40 years ago.  What's worse many of these deliberately target minority and disadvantaged groups for their recruiting, it started with the previous election (printing and distributing misinformation about the ALPs policies in community languages), continued with blaming greenies and a world government for the bushfires , got worse during the US presidential election and has reached frenzied heights with Covid and the lockdowns. Same people all the time, recruiting others to do their dirty work.  I cannot and will not forgive those. 

Love your funny recaps so much that I started watching the show.  I agree it is one of the most wholesome shows on TV at the moment, brings laughs, tears and fuzzy moments all the time.  Last night my wife and I were hysterics with the fitness class task, we love the geeks and the beauties more and more.