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What matters to Australians

A new issue of Griffith Review is out. Timothy M. Devinney (UTS) and Pat Auger (Melbourne): What Matters to Australians: Social, Economic and Political Values. Has any country ever been so kind? The measure of any country is its compassion, and Australians have shown we've got bucketloads of the stuff. The discovery of a swivel gun on a Darwin beach has resurrected claims that the Portuguese reached Australia in the 16th century — does the hypothesis stand analysis, or is it a tantalising myth? Australia creates world's first continental-scale mineral maps. James Rose on Australia’s immigration battle. Why Australia’s Security Council bid was a mistake: Starved of funds, Australia’s foreign affairs department has spread itself far too thinly since Kevin Rudd launched the bid, writes Danielle Cave. Tales of colonial blackbirding have led to renewed ties between Australian South Sea Islanders and Pacific communities. Myths, markets and moral panics: Tony Smith reviews Larrikins: A History by Melissa Bellanta. Coal-fired Australia, buffeted by climate change, enacts carbon tax. Sex Down Under: Zora Simic reviews The Sex Lives of Australians: A History by Frank Bongiorno.