‘Unemployed': Nicole Kidman's nepo niece Lucia Hawley reveals she's struggling to find work after leaving Australia for the UK
Lucia Hawley, who previously did hosting duties for digital channel 7Bravo, quit the network last year amid social media accusations that she was a nepo baby.
In her Substack, Hawley detailed how she was getting on with her new life in the UK.
'On June 18, I officially made the move to London. On paper, this is a totally stupid decision, and honestly, frightens me (someone hire me pls),' the TV star wrote.
'I am risk-averse, which means my body quite literally rejects the idea of both moving overseas and being unemployed.'
As to why she leftAustralia in the first place, Hawley admitted: "The first six months of the year were difficult for me career-wise. I lacked direction and faced numerous rejections in the pursuit of something better. This period was pretty taxing on my confidence, and I eventually began to feel like there was just simply not much left for me in Sydney (at least for now)."
Speaking about her current employment prospects, she wrote, "I have moved to a new country and am staring down the barrel of what could be another very gruelling job hunt—ultimately, facing even more uncertainty than I was before."
Hawley also admitted she struggled to part ways with her siblings and her boyfriend Henry, who are still in Australia.
'Saying goodbye to Henry was incredibly difficult (I am traumatized by airport goodbyes). Even harder were the goodbyes to my family — I kissed my little brothers through floods of tears,' she wrote.
Ms Hawley served as social media host for Free to Air TV network 7Bravo, a joint operation between the Seven Network and Bravo TV in the United States.
Following her departure, the show announced in December that former Bachelor star Bella Varelis would take over the reins.
Hawley is the daughter of Nicole Kidman's sister Antonia, 54.
The TV host boasts a close friendship with the Oscar winner, as she recently returned from a lavish vacation in Croatia with her mother and the Babygirl star.
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7NEWS
12 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Brad Pitt's beloved mum Jane dies aged 84
Hollywood megastar Brad Pitt is mourning the loss of his mother Jane Etta, who has died aged 84. Her family confirmed she had passed away peacefully on August 5. A spokesperson for 61-year-old Oscar-winner Pitt has not yet commented. Jane, a former counsellor, raised three children including Brad with her husband, William, in Springfield, Missouri. Her grand-daughter Sydney, the daughter of Pitt's brother Doug, shared a touching tribute on Instagram. 'My sweet Grammy,' she wrote. 'We were not ready for you to go yet but knowing you are finally free to sing, dance, and paint again makes it a tad easier.' She described her grandmother as having 'the biggest heart' and said she loved unconditionally and stayed close with all of her grandchildren. 'She could keep up with all 14 of us grandkids without missing a beat,' she said. 'There was no limit to the love she gave, and everyone who met her felt it. 'I don't know how we move forward without her. 'But I know she's still here in every brushstroke, every kind gesture, every hummingbird. She was love in its purest form. 'We were truly blessed to have her to love on growing up and I know she lives on through each of us.' Just weeks before her passing, Pitt gave a rare shoutout to his mother during an appearance on The Today Show. 'To Jane Pitt — I love you, mum,' he said in June, while waving at the camera and blowing a kiss. Although she kept a low profile, Jane supported her son at several major Hollywood events including the 2012 Oscars and the 2014 premiere of Unbroken, directed by Pitt's ex-wife Angelina Jolie. Pitt has six children with Jolie: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh and twins Vivienne and Knox.


West Australian
16 hours ago
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Brad Pitt's family mourns his beloved mother Jane Pitt in heartbreaking statement
Jane Pitt, mother of Oscar-winning actor Brad Pitt, passed away peacefully at the age of 84 on August 5, 2025, her family has announced. She is survived by her husband William Alvin 'Bill' Pitt, their three children — Brad, Doug, and Julie — and 14 grandchildren. Sydney Pitt, Brad Pitt's niece and daughter of Doug Pitt, shared a poignant tribute on Instagram celebrating her grandmother's profound impact on the family. 'My sweet Grammy, Jane Etta, we were not ready for you to go yet but knowing you are finally free to sing, dance, and paint again makes it a tad easier,' Sydney wrote alongside photos spanning Jane's life. 'If you knew Grammy, you knew she had the biggest heart. She cared deeply for everyone and everything, no questions asked.' Sydney recalled the lessons Jane taught her: 'She taught me how to paint, how to be strong, how to lead with kindness, to love Jesus through everything, and to find joy in the smallest things. She made up the silliest games just to make us laugh, and she believed in fairness, in putting others first, and doing good simply because it was the right thing to do.' Jane often celebrated each grandchild with a 'special day' filled with treats, games, and outings, showing an unmatched energy for all 14 grandchildren. Sydney reflected, 'There was no limit to the love she gave, and everyone who met her felt it. I don't know how we move forward without her. But I know she's still here in every brushstroke, every kind gesture, every hummingbird. She was love in its purest form.' Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Jane Pitt was a former elementary school teacher and counsellor who raised her family in Springfield, Missouri, alongside her husband Bill, a former trucking company owner. Though typically private, Jane and Bill occasionally accompanied Brad on red carpets, including the 2012 Oscars and the 2014 premiere of 'Unbroken.' Jane was also a gifted artist who shared her passion for painting with her grandchildren, creating cherished family memories. Her family honoured her legacy through philanthropy, including the Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Centre in Missouri, funded by donations from the Pitt siblings. Brad Pitt has not made a public statement, but Sydney's heartfelt tribute and the family's reflections highlight a woman whose kindness and creativity left a lasting mark on those who knew her. If you want, I can help tailor this story for different platforms or add quotes from public statements as they become available.


The Advertiser
a day ago
- The Advertiser
The entitlement of the rich leaves the rest of us in the drink
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The marvellous journalist Tina Brown has a very telling story in her latest column on Substack. Very shortly after the attacks on the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, she and hyper-rich, former media mogul and current convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein managed to get into the still-smoking ruins of Ground Zero, she as a journalist, he as a voyeur. "He was itching for the inside track, as if it was a VIP area at a U2 concert. 'Get us in,' he commanded Matt Hiltzik, his comms guru and fixer, who could have secured an all-access pass to Kim Jong Un's private compound in 20 minutes, if that was Harvey's demand. "It was raining, so the dust stuck to our feet as we tramped past the ghostly figures of ash-covered first responders and gazed up at the anguished, twisted metal that was once the Twin Towers. It was here, in this epic site of tragedy and loss, that I heard Harvey yell at his Afghan driver, 'Assan! Get me a Diet Coke!' It arrived, of course, but was deemed 'not cold enough'." Tina Brown's observation is: "Everyday asshole behavior becomes a badge of power." Forgive the crudity and the American spelling - but I think she has a point. Not all rich people behave badly, but there is an unattractive sense of entitlement among many of them. Where once the rich behaving badly seemed disgraceful, now it seems a badge of pride. Think of Jeff Bezos' disgusting wedding, which, to my mind, showed a contempt for ordinary people through its flaunting of gross wealth. Maybe I'm just being a snob but wealth now seems more showy and vulgar. Trump's golden toilets might be symbols of our time. The Australian psychologist Martina Luongo wrote (citing an article in an American academic journal): "The research highlights that people with more money tend to have an increased sense of self-importance and inflated self-esteem. They often feel that they are entitled to more positive experiences than others, which can lead to feelings of superiority and grandiosity." It's true that we in Australia don't have the shocking examples of moneyed entitlement evident in the United States - no Weinstein, Epstein, or, let's face it, Trump. But, all the same, we do have entitlement - that sense that the rich are entitled to jump the queues that the little people must stay in. Or not dirty their hands too much. Billionaire eco-warrior and private jet traveller Mike Cannon-Brookes recently told more than a hundred staff they were surplus to requirements, according to the Australian Financial Review and The Australian. He did so, they said, over a video message. "The progressive billionaire couldn't even set aside some time for a Zoom, or organise a town hall," the Financial Review reported. "He delivered the bad news dead-eyed, then screen-to-black, followed by employees locked-out of their laptops." Mr Cannon-Brookes did nothing illegal. And he's no doubt a very busy man - but what signal does that "dead-eyed" message send about his concern for the mere minions in his company? The chasm between the rich and the rest of us is widening. A study done at the University of NSW found that "the gap between those with the most and those with the least has blown out over the past two decades, with the average wealth of the highest 20 per cent growing at four times the rate of the lowest 20 per cent". There was a time when people with serious money still seemed to believe they were part of the general community. It still felt like they were in the same boat as the rest of us - maybe in a cabin on an upper deck rather than steerage, but at least in the same boat. That is no longer true. We live in a world where wealth seems untrammelled, a world of flaunted money; private schools; private hospitals; private jets; gated communities; special access; special treatment in the Qantas Chairman's Lounge. Where will it all end? Whatever became of Australia's famed egalitarianism? HAVE YOUR SAY: Send your thoughts to echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - News Corp's revenue rose by 2 per cent to US$8.5 billion (A$13.1 billion), despite fading income from its news media. - Australian music legend Col Joye, famous for his hit single Bye Bye Baby, has died aged 89. The ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, whose career spanned almost 67 years, was the first homegrown rock and roll singer to have a number one record Australia-wide. - A woman charged with selling Friends star Matthew Perry the dose of ketamine that killed him is headed for a September trial. THEY SAID IT: "Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves. Even when they enter deep into our world or sink below us, they still think that they are better than we are. They are different." - F. Scott Fitzgerald. YOU SAID IT: I opined, slightly tongue in cheek I thought, that the voting age should be raised, Many of you agreed. But Christopher did not: "Calling it the 'cult of youth' tells us all we need to know about your biases. This Echidna is not the Echidna I like to read each morning - middle-aged drivel." I should say that I dream of being middle-aged. Andrea (68) also disagreed, though with less anger: "My partner (73) and I would prefer to lower the voting age - in our experience, most young people are thoughtful and caring and concerned for their future - while at the same time introducing an age cap on voting, say 70 or 75." Others agreed with me. Brian went a step further, suggesting a test: "There should be some form of exam to show that a person understands the fundamentals of what they're voting for." Lynette said: "I wouldn't have wanted my children or grandchildren to vote at 16. They think they know everything about life but know very little. Twenty-one is a better age." Deb felt: "Lower the voting age? Sounds like the only answer that the many scared, weak and shallow politicians have to try to protect themselves from the scrutiny of an ageing and much wiser population." John said: "Let them grow up first, we, when younger were a little fast to judge everything. Some maturity solves these problems and common sense fights back. So NO to younger age voting." I should say, finally, that I have some sympathy with Christopher's view. "The point of democracy (like a jury) is that it gathers the views of all to get a better collective decision - and worthwhile differing perspectives come from all groups, young and old, male and female, black and white, poor and rich." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The marvellous journalist Tina Brown has a very telling story in her latest column on Substack. Very shortly after the attacks on the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, she and hyper-rich, former media mogul and current convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein managed to get into the still-smoking ruins of Ground Zero, she as a journalist, he as a voyeur. "He was itching for the inside track, as if it was a VIP area at a U2 concert. 'Get us in,' he commanded Matt Hiltzik, his comms guru and fixer, who could have secured an all-access pass to Kim Jong Un's private compound in 20 minutes, if that was Harvey's demand. "It was raining, so the dust stuck to our feet as we tramped past the ghostly figures of ash-covered first responders and gazed up at the anguished, twisted metal that was once the Twin Towers. It was here, in this epic site of tragedy and loss, that I heard Harvey yell at his Afghan driver, 'Assan! Get me a Diet Coke!' It arrived, of course, but was deemed 'not cold enough'." Tina Brown's observation is: "Everyday asshole behavior becomes a badge of power." Forgive the crudity and the American spelling - but I think she has a point. Not all rich people behave badly, but there is an unattractive sense of entitlement among many of them. Where once the rich behaving badly seemed disgraceful, now it seems a badge of pride. Think of Jeff Bezos' disgusting wedding, which, to my mind, showed a contempt for ordinary people through its flaunting of gross wealth. Maybe I'm just being a snob but wealth now seems more showy and vulgar. Trump's golden toilets might be symbols of our time. The Australian psychologist Martina Luongo wrote (citing an article in an American academic journal): "The research highlights that people with more money tend to have an increased sense of self-importance and inflated self-esteem. They often feel that they are entitled to more positive experiences than others, which can lead to feelings of superiority and grandiosity." It's true that we in Australia don't have the shocking examples of moneyed entitlement evident in the United States - no Weinstein, Epstein, or, let's face it, Trump. But, all the same, we do have entitlement - that sense that the rich are entitled to jump the queues that the little people must stay in. Or not dirty their hands too much. Billionaire eco-warrior and private jet traveller Mike Cannon-Brookes recently told more than a hundred staff they were surplus to requirements, according to the Australian Financial Review and The Australian. He did so, they said, over a video message. "The progressive billionaire couldn't even set aside some time for a Zoom, or organise a town hall," the Financial Review reported. "He delivered the bad news dead-eyed, then screen-to-black, followed by employees locked-out of their laptops." Mr Cannon-Brookes did nothing illegal. And he's no doubt a very busy man - but what signal does that "dead-eyed" message send about his concern for the mere minions in his company? The chasm between the rich and the rest of us is widening. A study done at the University of NSW found that "the gap between those with the most and those with the least has blown out over the past two decades, with the average wealth of the highest 20 per cent growing at four times the rate of the lowest 20 per cent". There was a time when people with serious money still seemed to believe they were part of the general community. It still felt like they were in the same boat as the rest of us - maybe in a cabin on an upper deck rather than steerage, but at least in the same boat. That is no longer true. We live in a world where wealth seems untrammelled, a world of flaunted money; private schools; private hospitals; private jets; gated communities; special access; special treatment in the Qantas Chairman's Lounge. Where will it all end? Whatever became of Australia's famed egalitarianism? HAVE YOUR SAY: Send your thoughts to echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - News Corp's revenue rose by 2 per cent to US$8.5 billion (A$13.1 billion), despite fading income from its news media. - Australian music legend Col Joye, famous for his hit single Bye Bye Baby, has died aged 89. The ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, whose career spanned almost 67 years, was the first homegrown rock and roll singer to have a number one record Australia-wide. - A woman charged with selling Friends star Matthew Perry the dose of ketamine that killed him is headed for a September trial. THEY SAID IT: "Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves. Even when they enter deep into our world or sink below us, they still think that they are better than we are. They are different." - F. Scott Fitzgerald. YOU SAID IT: I opined, slightly tongue in cheek I thought, that the voting age should be raised, Many of you agreed. But Christopher did not: "Calling it the 'cult of youth' tells us all we need to know about your biases. This Echidna is not the Echidna I like to read each morning - middle-aged drivel." I should say that I dream of being middle-aged. Andrea (68) also disagreed, though with less anger: "My partner (73) and I would prefer to lower the voting age - in our experience, most young people are thoughtful and caring and concerned for their future - while at the same time introducing an age cap on voting, say 70 or 75." Others agreed with me. Brian went a step further, suggesting a test: "There should be some form of exam to show that a person understands the fundamentals of what they're voting for." Lynette said: "I wouldn't have wanted my children or grandchildren to vote at 16. They think they know everything about life but know very little. Twenty-one is a better age." Deb felt: "Lower the voting age? Sounds like the only answer that the many scared, weak and shallow politicians have to try to protect themselves from the scrutiny of an ageing and much wiser population." John said: "Let them grow up first, we, when younger were a little fast to judge everything. Some maturity solves these problems and common sense fights back. So NO to younger age voting." I should say, finally, that I have some sympathy with Christopher's view. "The point of democracy (like a jury) is that it gathers the views of all to get a better collective decision - and worthwhile differing perspectives come from all groups, young and old, male and female, black and white, poor and rich." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The marvellous journalist Tina Brown has a very telling story in her latest column on Substack. Very shortly after the attacks on the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, she and hyper-rich, former media mogul and current convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein managed to get into the still-smoking ruins of Ground Zero, she as a journalist, he as a voyeur. "He was itching for the inside track, as if it was a VIP area at a U2 concert. 'Get us in,' he commanded Matt Hiltzik, his comms guru and fixer, who could have secured an all-access pass to Kim Jong Un's private compound in 20 minutes, if that was Harvey's demand. "It was raining, so the dust stuck to our feet as we tramped past the ghostly figures of ash-covered first responders and gazed up at the anguished, twisted metal that was once the Twin Towers. It was here, in this epic site of tragedy and loss, that I heard Harvey yell at his Afghan driver, 'Assan! Get me a Diet Coke!' It arrived, of course, but was deemed 'not cold enough'." Tina Brown's observation is: "Everyday asshole behavior becomes a badge of power." Forgive the crudity and the American spelling - but I think she has a point. Not all rich people behave badly, but there is an unattractive sense of entitlement among many of them. Where once the rich behaving badly seemed disgraceful, now it seems a badge of pride. Think of Jeff Bezos' disgusting wedding, which, to my mind, showed a contempt for ordinary people through its flaunting of gross wealth. Maybe I'm just being a snob but wealth now seems more showy and vulgar. Trump's golden toilets might be symbols of our time. The Australian psychologist Martina Luongo wrote (citing an article in an American academic journal): "The research highlights that people with more money tend to have an increased sense of self-importance and inflated self-esteem. They often feel that they are entitled to more positive experiences than others, which can lead to feelings of superiority and grandiosity." It's true that we in Australia don't have the shocking examples of moneyed entitlement evident in the United States - no Weinstein, Epstein, or, let's face it, Trump. But, all the same, we do have entitlement - that sense that the rich are entitled to jump the queues that the little people must stay in. Or not dirty their hands too much. Billionaire eco-warrior and private jet traveller Mike Cannon-Brookes recently told more than a hundred staff they were surplus to requirements, according to the Australian Financial Review and The Australian. He did so, they said, over a video message. "The progressive billionaire couldn't even set aside some time for a Zoom, or organise a town hall," the Financial Review reported. "He delivered the bad news dead-eyed, then screen-to-black, followed by employees locked-out of their laptops." Mr Cannon-Brookes did nothing illegal. And he's no doubt a very busy man - but what signal does that "dead-eyed" message send about his concern for the mere minions in his company? The chasm between the rich and the rest of us is widening. A study done at the University of NSW found that "the gap between those with the most and those with the least has blown out over the past two decades, with the average wealth of the highest 20 per cent growing at four times the rate of the lowest 20 per cent". There was a time when people with serious money still seemed to believe they were part of the general community. It still felt like they were in the same boat as the rest of us - maybe in a cabin on an upper deck rather than steerage, but at least in the same boat. That is no longer true. We live in a world where wealth seems untrammelled, a world of flaunted money; private schools; private hospitals; private jets; gated communities; special access; special treatment in the Qantas Chairman's Lounge. Where will it all end? Whatever became of Australia's famed egalitarianism? HAVE YOUR SAY: Send your thoughts to echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - News Corp's revenue rose by 2 per cent to US$8.5 billion (A$13.1 billion), despite fading income from its news media. - Australian music legend Col Joye, famous for his hit single Bye Bye Baby, has died aged 89. The ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, whose career spanned almost 67 years, was the first homegrown rock and roll singer to have a number one record Australia-wide. - A woman charged with selling Friends star Matthew Perry the dose of ketamine that killed him is headed for a September trial. THEY SAID IT: "Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves. Even when they enter deep into our world or sink below us, they still think that they are better than we are. They are different." - F. Scott Fitzgerald. YOU SAID IT: I opined, slightly tongue in cheek I thought, that the voting age should be raised, Many of you agreed. But Christopher did not: "Calling it the 'cult of youth' tells us all we need to know about your biases. This Echidna is not the Echidna I like to read each morning - middle-aged drivel." I should say that I dream of being middle-aged. Andrea (68) also disagreed, though with less anger: "My partner (73) and I would prefer to lower the voting age - in our experience, most young people are thoughtful and caring and concerned for their future - while at the same time introducing an age cap on voting, say 70 or 75." Others agreed with me. Brian went a step further, suggesting a test: "There should be some form of exam to show that a person understands the fundamentals of what they're voting for." Lynette said: "I wouldn't have wanted my children or grandchildren to vote at 16. They think they know everything about life but know very little. Twenty-one is a better age." Deb felt: "Lower the voting age? Sounds like the only answer that the many scared, weak and shallow politicians have to try to protect themselves from the scrutiny of an ageing and much wiser population." John said: "Let them grow up first, we, when younger were a little fast to judge everything. Some maturity solves these problems and common sense fights back. So NO to younger age voting." I should say, finally, that I have some sympathy with Christopher's view. "The point of democracy (like a jury) is that it gathers the views of all to get a better collective decision - and worthwhile differing perspectives come from all groups, young and old, male and female, black and white, poor and rich." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The marvellous journalist Tina Brown has a very telling story in her latest column on Substack. Very shortly after the attacks on the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, she and hyper-rich, former media mogul and current convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein managed to get into the still-smoking ruins of Ground Zero, she as a journalist, he as a voyeur. "He was itching for the inside track, as if it was a VIP area at a U2 concert. 'Get us in,' he commanded Matt Hiltzik, his comms guru and fixer, who could have secured an all-access pass to Kim Jong Un's private compound in 20 minutes, if that was Harvey's demand. "It was raining, so the dust stuck to our feet as we tramped past the ghostly figures of ash-covered first responders and gazed up at the anguished, twisted metal that was once the Twin Towers. It was here, in this epic site of tragedy and loss, that I heard Harvey yell at his Afghan driver, 'Assan! Get me a Diet Coke!' It arrived, of course, but was deemed 'not cold enough'." Tina Brown's observation is: "Everyday asshole behavior becomes a badge of power." Forgive the crudity and the American spelling - but I think she has a point. Not all rich people behave badly, but there is an unattractive sense of entitlement among many of them. Where once the rich behaving badly seemed disgraceful, now it seems a badge of pride. Think of Jeff Bezos' disgusting wedding, which, to my mind, showed a contempt for ordinary people through its flaunting of gross wealth. Maybe I'm just being a snob but wealth now seems more showy and vulgar. Trump's golden toilets might be symbols of our time. The Australian psychologist Martina Luongo wrote (citing an article in an American academic journal): "The research highlights that people with more money tend to have an increased sense of self-importance and inflated self-esteem. They often feel that they are entitled to more positive experiences than others, which can lead to feelings of superiority and grandiosity." It's true that we in Australia don't have the shocking examples of moneyed entitlement evident in the United States - no Weinstein, Epstein, or, let's face it, Trump. But, all the same, we do have entitlement - that sense that the rich are entitled to jump the queues that the little people must stay in. Or not dirty their hands too much. Billionaire eco-warrior and private jet traveller Mike Cannon-Brookes recently told more than a hundred staff they were surplus to requirements, according to the Australian Financial Review and The Australian. He did so, they said, over a video message. "The progressive billionaire couldn't even set aside some time for a Zoom, or organise a town hall," the Financial Review reported. "He delivered the bad news dead-eyed, then screen-to-black, followed by employees locked-out of their laptops." Mr Cannon-Brookes did nothing illegal. And he's no doubt a very busy man - but what signal does that "dead-eyed" message send about his concern for the mere minions in his company? The chasm between the rich and the rest of us is widening. A study done at the University of NSW found that "the gap between those with the most and those with the least has blown out over the past two decades, with the average wealth of the highest 20 per cent growing at four times the rate of the lowest 20 per cent". There was a time when people with serious money still seemed to believe they were part of the general community. It still felt like they were in the same boat as the rest of us - maybe in a cabin on an upper deck rather than steerage, but at least in the same boat. That is no longer true. We live in a world where wealth seems untrammelled, a world of flaunted money; private schools; private hospitals; private jets; gated communities; special access; special treatment in the Qantas Chairman's Lounge. Where will it all end? Whatever became of Australia's famed egalitarianism? HAVE YOUR SAY: Send your thoughts to echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - News Corp's revenue rose by 2 per cent to US$8.5 billion (A$13.1 billion), despite fading income from its news media. - Australian music legend Col Joye, famous for his hit single Bye Bye Baby, has died aged 89. The ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, whose career spanned almost 67 years, was the first homegrown rock and roll singer to have a number one record Australia-wide. - A woman charged with selling Friends star Matthew Perry the dose of ketamine that killed him is headed for a September trial. THEY SAID IT: "Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves. Even when they enter deep into our world or sink below us, they still think that they are better than we are. They are different." - F. Scott Fitzgerald. YOU SAID IT: I opined, slightly tongue in cheek I thought, that the voting age should be raised, Many of you agreed. But Christopher did not: "Calling it the 'cult of youth' tells us all we need to know about your biases. This Echidna is not the Echidna I like to read each morning - middle-aged drivel." I should say that I dream of being middle-aged. Andrea (68) also disagreed, though with less anger: "My partner (73) and I would prefer to lower the voting age - in our experience, most young people are thoughtful and caring and concerned for their future - while at the same time introducing an age cap on voting, say 70 or 75." Others agreed with me. Brian went a step further, suggesting a test: "There should be some form of exam to show that a person understands the fundamentals of what they're voting for." Lynette said: "I wouldn't have wanted my children or grandchildren to vote at 16. They think they know everything about life but know very little. Twenty-one is a better age." Deb felt: "Lower the voting age? Sounds like the only answer that the many scared, weak and shallow politicians have to try to protect themselves from the scrutiny of an ageing and much wiser population." John said: "Let them grow up first, we, when younger were a little fast to judge everything. Some maturity solves these problems and common sense fights back. So NO to younger age voting." I should say, finally, that I have some sympathy with Christopher's view. "The point of democracy (like a jury) is that it gathers the views of all to get a better collective decision - and worthwhile differing perspectives come from all groups, young and old, male and female, black and white, poor and rich."