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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 Follow us on Twitter: @SpectatorOz 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
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Trail away, p7 Big Farmer, p6 BOOKS & ARTS Hammer time, p40 LIFE BOOKS 24 Philip Hensher Write, Cut, Rewrite, by Dirk Van Hulle and Mark Nixon 26 Alice Loxton Young Elizabeth, by Nicola Tallis 27 Jonathan Sumption Remembering Peasants, by Patrick Joyce 28 Lynn Barber Keir Starmer, by Tom Baldwin 29 A.N. Wilson The English Soul, by Peter Ackroyd Caroline Moorhead Empireworld, by Sathnam Sanghera ARTS 32 Calvin Po Will a Labour government let architects reshape housing? 34 Dance Pina Bausch: Nelken; Festival of New Choreography Rupert Christiansen Theatre Dear Octopus; The Addams Family Lloyd Evans 36 Opera Marx in London!; Aleko Richard Bratby Pop Oliver Anthony; Roisin Murphy Michael Hann 38 The gamer Suicide Squad Sam Leith Leaving, by Roxana Robinson 30 Mark Bostridge The Painter’s Daughters, by Emily Howes Mathew Lyons Television The Way; Breathtaking James Walton 39 Cinema Perfect Days Deborah Ross 40 Exhibitions Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind Laura Gascoigne 41 Australian Arts Peter Craven LIFE 43 Foreign life Owen Matthews 44 Real life Melissa Kite Bridge Janet de Botton 45 Aussie Life Simon Collins Language Kel Richards AND FINALLY . . . 42 Notes on… Tunbridge Ware Robin Oakley 46 Chess Luke McShane Competition Lucy Vickery 47 Crossword Lavatch 48 No sacred cows Toby Young Battle for Britain Michael Heath 49 Sport Roger Alton Your problems solved Mary Killen 50 Food Tanya Gold Mind your language Dot Wordsworth 51 Jury verdict against republic Ironic thanks to Albo David Flint CONTRIBUTORS Anne Robinson, who writes this week’s Diary on p5, is the former presenter of The Weakest Link and Countdown. Lionel Barber, who writes about how the West has failed Ukraine on p16, was editor of the Financial Times from 2005 to 2020. Alice Loxton writes about Queen Bess on p26. Her first book, Uproar!: Satire, Scandal and Printmakers in Georgian London, was published last year. the spectator australia | 24 february 2024 | www.spectator.com.au Lynn Barber writes about the joy of Keir Starmer on p28. Her own new book is A Little Art Education, which will be published in May. A.N. Wilson, who writes about the English and religion on p29, is the biographer of Jesus and author of the memoir Confessions: A Life of Failed Promises. iii

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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

Follow us on Twitter: @SpectatorOz

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

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