THE WATER COOLER

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie – oh, dear, oh dear, oh dear

HUNDREDS of complaints have followed the release of the latest Australia Day ad by Meat and Livestock Australia, with many saying the ad depicts a vegan’s home being burned. Others have criticized the advertisement’s insensitivity to the Indigenous population on a day marking the beginning of colonisation. The campaign depicts a mission to save Aussies abroad and bring them back to enjoy lamb on Australia Day, with one vegan’s apartment being set alight upon his extraction. Another issue is the name of the operation, Boomerang - in theory suitable to the concept but completely culturally inappropriate under the circumstances. Good luck squirming out of this one MLA.

What’s a favour between friends?

FORMER Prime Minister Tony Abbott has asked his successor Malcolm Turnbull to appoint Brian Loughnane (the husband of Abbott’s controversy-plagued former chief of staff Peta Credlin) as our nation’s representative to the Vatican, as reported by the Australian Financial Review. The requested “favour” comes as we remember Loughnane cited the leadership change as an opportunity to step down from federal director of the Liberal Party amid the controversy which surrounded his and Credlin’s relationship.

Fourth time lucky for Rupert?

MEDIA mogul Rupert Murdoch has announced his engagement to former supermodel Jerry Hall via an ad in the Forthcoming Marriages section of The Times newspaper. At 84, it will be Murdoch’s fourth marriage, so by now he should perhaps know how to sweet talk a girl from Texas, or was it the bulge in his wallet that won Mick Jagger’s ex over? That $17.7 billion net worth? People are still sending their best wishes as Murdoch continues to manipulate the world into his own image. I wonder what the wedding is going to be like.

Zuckerberg takes a jab

AFTER sharing a photo of his daughter getting her vaccinations recently, Facebook founder and gazillionaire Mark Zuckerberg has reopened the floodgates of what should be an old debate. It’s bizarre how a simple act of responsible parenting can send the Internet into a frenzy. The science is sound and it’s disgusting that we live in world where the fear of having an autistic child is greater than that of death from disease. Even if the unvaccinated child fully recovers from disease, they may pass it onto another who won’t.