CONTENT
i Leading article
Watchdog consumers iv Faint heart never won fair lady
How Peter Dutton can win James Allan v Forget Aquarius
Age of Incompetence Judith Sloan vi Albo the lethal lorelei
Labor’s border farce continues Rebecca Weisser vii Real climate science
Two reports Ian Plimer viii Keeping up with the neighbours
Indonesian elections Kevin Andrews ix China’s economic handicap
Communist party self-interest Michael Collins x Subversion within NZ
Not for the first time Amy Brooke xi Naval gazing
It’s corvette time Tom Lewis xii And the award for best hypocrite
EGO is a dirty acronym Noel Yaxley
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Spectator Australia letters to the editor and enquiries: editor@spectator.com.au
Science’s unsung hero, p12
THE WEEK
3 Leading article 4 Portrait of the Week 5 Diary The best and the worst of Venice Anne Robinson 6 Politics Can Labour win over the farmers? Katy Balls 7 The Spectator’s Notes
What is Prince William thinking? Charles Moore 11 Rod Liddle Kids and smartphones:
an inconvenient truth 13 Douglas Murray
The myth of the Gaza genocide 14 Barometer Children voters,
holiday lets, over-the-top dining 19 Ancient and modern
No rookies in the republic 17 Mary Wakefield When trans rights trump babies’ rights 21 Letters Putin’s plan, Rishi’s road tour and the lure of evangelism 22 Any other business
Bombed-out bank shares are a failure of modern capitalism Martin Vander Weyer
The making of Keir Starmer, p28
8 Work farce
The new jobs crisis Kate Andrews 9 John Mole
‘Punch and Judy Revisited for Anna’: a poem 10 Rock bottom
In Blackpool you see the welfare crisis at its very worst Max Jeffery 12 Killer breakthrough
DNA profiling is a great British success story Matt Ridley 14 Putin’s British prisoner
Vladimir Kara-Murza is languishing in a Siberian jail Lisa Haseldine 16 Who dares wins
Ukraine is in dire need – and the West must respond fast Lionel Barber 18 Tall story
An ancient synagogue is under threat from developers Christopher Howse 20 Testing times
Cricket is the best antidepressant Mark Mason 23 The Vintage Chef Olivia Potts
Cover by Sarah Dudley, illustration by Ben Davis. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, John Broadley, Natasha Lawson, Mark Wood, Robert Thompson, Adam Singleton, K.J. Lamb, Grizelda, Matt Percival, Kipper Williams, Wilbur, Nick Newman. www.spectator.co.uk Rates for a basic annual subscription in the UK: £119; Europe: £195; Australia: AU$349.99; New Zealand: NZ$409.99; and AU$409.99 in all other countries. To order, go to www.spectator.co.uk/A151A or call 0330 3330 050 and quote A151A. Editorial and advertising The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Fax: 020 7681 3773, Email: editor@spectator.com.au (editorial); letters@spectator.co.uk (for publication); advertising@spectator.co.uk (advertising); Advertising enquiries: 020 7961 0222 Subscription and delivery queries IPG Media PO Box 610, Kalamunda WA 6926, Australia. Tel: 1800 809 233. From NZ: +6189 362 4134. Email: spectator@ ipgmedia.com.au Spectator Australia advertising Tel: +44 (0)20 7961 0222, advertising@pressholdings.com Spectator Australia marketing William Delmont, Tel: +44 (0)20 7961 0004. Email: wdelmont@spectator.co.uk. Spectator Australia Distribution enquiries Tel +61 (0)8 9362 4134. Vol 354; no 10,200 © The Spectator (1828) Ltd. ISSN 0038-6952 The Spectator is published weekly by The Spectator (1828) Ltd at 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP Editor: Fraser Nelson Spectator Australia Editor: Rowan Dean editor@spectator.com.au ii the spectator australia | 24 february 2024 | www.spectator.com.au
