Tax reprieve for farmers as drought declared statewide
The West Australian
exclusive
The West Australian
exclusive
WA runner reunited with vollies who gave him 'a second life'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Adrian Barich: Happy is the country that is more interested in sport than in politics, I always say
It's been a sad old time in Barra-land so I'm hoping you won't mind if this week, I discuss something extremely frivolous. Or is it frivolous?! It's wild just how much sport means to people in this country. As a nation we should probably be a little embarrassed about just how highly sport ranks in our public psyche. As the late Donald Horne wrote (well complained, actually) in his book The Lucky Country, ''sport, to many Australians, is life and the rest a shadow . . . It is considered a sign of degeneracy not to be interested in it'. If you resemble those comments, don't feel bad: you're in good company. Happy is the country that is more interested in sport than in politics, I always say. The truth is, many of us get a lot of our culture and identity from sport. It's not just a leisure-time activity, but a big part of our lives. If you're struggling to connect or even make conversation with your neighbours, throw in this line — 'what about those Eagles?' — and see how you go. There is a remarkably deep-seated connection between Australians and our sporting teams, and the drama of sport has the power to bring people together. The other thing I don't think we appreciate fully is that sport not only bonds people and strengthens communities, but helps promote our State on the national stage. If we are hosting some of the Australia's biggest sporting events, we are showcasing West Australian excellence and expertise in everything from innovation, tourism, services and products. Having said all that, and thrown my support behind this State's push to attract big events to WA, I still think we are running behind the fans of the English Premier League in terms of passion and commitment. Just take a look at the hysteria surrounding Tottenham Hotspur winning the Europa League. Spurs hit a grim milestone this season: their worst-ever Premier League season but that has all been overshadowed by Ange Postecoglou making history, ending the club's 17-year trophy drought by claiming a dramatic 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the final in Bilbao. The celebrations have been extensive and colourful, with tens of thousands of jubilant Spurs fans lining the streets of north London last week for an open-top bus victory parade. I've even seen people getting crazy tattoos to commemorate this apparently unforgettable moment in the history of the club. In the final against United, there was a moment of pure instinct, a stunning show of agility, by Micky van de Ven. His goal-line clearance has been described as 'poetry in motion' as the Dutch defender, with a less than a second to make up his mind, flew high, with his foot in the air, to somehow hook the ball away. His version of events went like this: 'In the game, I saw the ball coming, I don't know what happened, I saw the ball coming back and went to the goal line . . . the ball went high up in the air, and I thought, 'how am I going to do this?' I thought, 'I just need to try', and then I got it out of the goal, I don't know how'. Anyway that one effort has now been permanently tattooed on many, many chubby arms and shaved backs in north London, a display of passion and love for the moment that we probably haven't seen very often in Australia. To say it was an eyesore would be a compliment. The tatt ranks up (or down?) there with Mike Tyson's iconic face tattoo for things that probably weren't a good idea. Still despite England's love of soccer, some would argue that Aussies are more 'religious' about sport than about religion itself. The stats I found are interesting: eight per cent of Australians go to church every week, compared to more than 80 per cent who are involved in a weekly sport. As American writer Phyllis McGinley reportedly quipped, 'in Australia, not reading poetry is a national pastime'.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Happy is country that's interested in sports over politics
It's been a sad old time in Barra-land so I'm hoping you won't mind if this week, I discuss something extremely frivolous. Or is it frivolous?! It's wild just how much sport means to people in this country. As a nation we should probably be a little embarrassed about just how highly sport ranks in our public psyche. As the late Donald Horne wrote (well complained, actually) in his book The Lucky Country, ''sport, to many Australians, is life and the rest a shadow . . . It is considered a sign of degeneracy not to be interested in it'. If you resemble those comments, don't feel bad: you're in good company. Happy is the country that is more interested in sport than in politics, I always say. The truth is, many of us get a lot of our culture and identity from sport. It's not just a leisure-time activity, but a big part of our lives. If you're struggling to connect or even make conversation with your neighbours, throw in this line — 'what about those Eagles?' — and see how you go. There is a remarkably deep-seated connection between Australians and our sporting teams, and the drama of sport has the power to bring people together. The other thing I don't think we appreciate fully is that sport not only bonds people and strengthens communities, but helps promote our State on the national stage. If we are hosting some of the Australia's biggest sporting events, we are showcasing West Australian excellence and expertise in everything from innovation, tourism, services and products. Having said all that, and thrown my support behind this State's push to attract big events to WA, I still think we are running behind the fans of the English Premier League in terms of passion and commitment. Just take a look at the hysteria surrounding Tottenham Hotspur winning the Europa League. Spurs hit a grim milestone this season: their worst-ever Premier League season but that has all been overshadowed by Ange Postecoglou making history, ending the club's 17-year trophy drought by claiming a dramatic 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the final in Bilbao. The celebrations have been extensive and colourful, with tens of thousands of jubilant Spurs fans lining the streets of north London last week for an open-top bus victory parade. I've even seen people getting crazy tattoos to commemorate this apparently unforgettable moment in the history of the club. In the final against United, there was a moment of pure instinct, a stunning show of agility, by Micky van de Ven. His goal-line clearance has been described as 'poetry in motion' as the Dutch defender, with a less than a second to make up his mind, flew high, with his foot in the air, to somehow hook the ball away. His version of events went like this: 'In the game, I saw the ball coming, I don't know what happened, I saw the ball coming back and went to the goal line . . . the ball went high up in the air, and I thought, 'how am I going to do this?' I thought, 'I just need to try', and then I got it out of the goal, I don't know how'. Anyway that one effort has now been permanently tattooed on many, many chubby arms and shaved backs in north London, a display of passion and love for the moment that we probably haven't seen very often in Australia. To say it was an eyesore would be a compliment. The tatt ranks up (or down?) there with Mike Tyson's iconic face tattoo for things that probably weren't a good idea. Still despite England's love of soccer, some would argue that Aussies are more 'religious' about sport than about religion itself. The stats I found are interesting: eight per cent of Australians go to church every week, compared to more than 80 per cent who are involved in a weekly sport. As American writer Phyllis McGinley reportedly quipped, 'in Australia, not reading poetry is a national pastime'.
The Advertiser
14 hours ago
- The Advertiser
'Lots of opportunities': Aussie golfers in US Open mix
Minjee Lee and Hannah Green are up for the chase after Japanese sensation Mao Saigo set a cracking pace in pursuit of a second straight major championship at the weather-hit US Women's Open in Wisconsin. Playing alongside Lee, Saigo produced the low second round, a sizzling six-under-par 66, to vault to a three-stroke lead after storms twice forced the suspension of play at Erin Hills, outside Milwaukee. The 23-year-old 2024 rookie of the year and winner of last month's Chevron Championship is eight under through 36 holes, with world No.1 Nelly Korda among her closest challengers. After a frustrating first day on the greens, Korda fired up with seven birdies in a second-round 67 to surge into a six-way tie for second at five under with fellow Americans Sarah Schmelzel (68) and Yealimi Noh (71), Japan's Hinako Shibuno (69), Swede Maja Stark (69) and South Korean A Lim Kim (71). Lee and fellow WA major champion Green are the leading Australians - and only two to make the halfway cut - and will start the weekend six back of Saigo at two under. Lee, the 2022 US Open champion and final-round leader last year, was chuffed to climb 40 spots up the leaderboard into a share of 19th and back in red numbers with a three-under 69. "I just hit it a little bit closer than yesterday. I probably had a lot of outside chances for birdie yesterday, like 25 to 30 feet, but today I had a few more that were like inside 15 feet," Lee said. "Just started really well, made two birdies on the get-go, so it was nice turning three under and had even on the back, just seeing a few more putts roll in and then just hitting it a little bit better." After watching Saigo drain seven birdies, Lee knows there will be weekend opportunities to make up the six-shot deficit and capture a third career major. "Just with maybe a little bit of rain softening the greens a couple of days ago, but I think USGA has a lot of tricks up their sleeve so they can always make it as tough as they can make it or they can make it really challenging and fun to play," Lee said. "The greens are probably going to get a little bit quicker and it will be a bit more interesting with, I guess, putting the tees in different places. "I'm looking forward to the weekend. Hopefully I can hit it a little bit closer, just play aggressively when I can and play smart when I have to. That's going to be the key." Green also hopes to run down the leader after riding her luck in a round of 70. "This is probably the best placing that I've gone into an actual weekend of the US Open, so I'm hoping I'm not too far back," said the world No.8. "Six shots back, I'm not sure what the conditions are going to be like this weekend. I think the harder the better. "So I'm hoping I can just continue with the game plan that my caddy and I have and have a good weekend." Minjee Lee and Hannah Green are up for the chase after Japanese sensation Mao Saigo set a cracking pace in pursuit of a second straight major championship at the weather-hit US Women's Open in Wisconsin. Playing alongside Lee, Saigo produced the low second round, a sizzling six-under-par 66, to vault to a three-stroke lead after storms twice forced the suspension of play at Erin Hills, outside Milwaukee. The 23-year-old 2024 rookie of the year and winner of last month's Chevron Championship is eight under through 36 holes, with world No.1 Nelly Korda among her closest challengers. After a frustrating first day on the greens, Korda fired up with seven birdies in a second-round 67 to surge into a six-way tie for second at five under with fellow Americans Sarah Schmelzel (68) and Yealimi Noh (71), Japan's Hinako Shibuno (69), Swede Maja Stark (69) and South Korean A Lim Kim (71). Lee and fellow WA major champion Green are the leading Australians - and only two to make the halfway cut - and will start the weekend six back of Saigo at two under. Lee, the 2022 US Open champion and final-round leader last year, was chuffed to climb 40 spots up the leaderboard into a share of 19th and back in red numbers with a three-under 69. "I just hit it a little bit closer than yesterday. I probably had a lot of outside chances for birdie yesterday, like 25 to 30 feet, but today I had a few more that were like inside 15 feet," Lee said. "Just started really well, made two birdies on the get-go, so it was nice turning three under and had even on the back, just seeing a few more putts roll in and then just hitting it a little bit better." After watching Saigo drain seven birdies, Lee knows there will be weekend opportunities to make up the six-shot deficit and capture a third career major. "Just with maybe a little bit of rain softening the greens a couple of days ago, but I think USGA has a lot of tricks up their sleeve so they can always make it as tough as they can make it or they can make it really challenging and fun to play," Lee said. "The greens are probably going to get a little bit quicker and it will be a bit more interesting with, I guess, putting the tees in different places. "I'm looking forward to the weekend. Hopefully I can hit it a little bit closer, just play aggressively when I can and play smart when I have to. That's going to be the key." Green also hopes to run down the leader after riding her luck in a round of 70. "This is probably the best placing that I've gone into an actual weekend of the US Open, so I'm hoping I'm not too far back," said the world No.8. "Six shots back, I'm not sure what the conditions are going to be like this weekend. I think the harder the better. "So I'm hoping I can just continue with the game plan that my caddy and I have and have a good weekend." Minjee Lee and Hannah Green are up for the chase after Japanese sensation Mao Saigo set a cracking pace in pursuit of a second straight major championship at the weather-hit US Women's Open in Wisconsin. Playing alongside Lee, Saigo produced the low second round, a sizzling six-under-par 66, to vault to a three-stroke lead after storms twice forced the suspension of play at Erin Hills, outside Milwaukee. The 23-year-old 2024 rookie of the year and winner of last month's Chevron Championship is eight under through 36 holes, with world No.1 Nelly Korda among her closest challengers. After a frustrating first day on the greens, Korda fired up with seven birdies in a second-round 67 to surge into a six-way tie for second at five under with fellow Americans Sarah Schmelzel (68) and Yealimi Noh (71), Japan's Hinako Shibuno (69), Swede Maja Stark (69) and South Korean A Lim Kim (71). Lee and fellow WA major champion Green are the leading Australians - and only two to make the halfway cut - and will start the weekend six back of Saigo at two under. Lee, the 2022 US Open champion and final-round leader last year, was chuffed to climb 40 spots up the leaderboard into a share of 19th and back in red numbers with a three-under 69. "I just hit it a little bit closer than yesterday. I probably had a lot of outside chances for birdie yesterday, like 25 to 30 feet, but today I had a few more that were like inside 15 feet," Lee said. "Just started really well, made two birdies on the get-go, so it was nice turning three under and had even on the back, just seeing a few more putts roll in and then just hitting it a little bit better." After watching Saigo drain seven birdies, Lee knows there will be weekend opportunities to make up the six-shot deficit and capture a third career major. "Just with maybe a little bit of rain softening the greens a couple of days ago, but I think USGA has a lot of tricks up their sleeve so they can always make it as tough as they can make it or they can make it really challenging and fun to play," Lee said. "The greens are probably going to get a little bit quicker and it will be a bit more interesting with, I guess, putting the tees in different places. "I'm looking forward to the weekend. Hopefully I can hit it a little bit closer, just play aggressively when I can and play smart when I have to. That's going to be the key." Green also hopes to run down the leader after riding her luck in a round of 70. "This is probably the best placing that I've gone into an actual weekend of the US Open, so I'm hoping I'm not too far back," said the world No.8. "Six shots back, I'm not sure what the conditions are going to be like this weekend. I think the harder the better. "So I'm hoping I can just continue with the game plan that my caddy and I have and have a good weekend." Minjee Lee and Hannah Green are up for the chase after Japanese sensation Mao Saigo set a cracking pace in pursuit of a second straight major championship at the weather-hit US Women's Open in Wisconsin. Playing alongside Lee, Saigo produced the low second round, a sizzling six-under-par 66, to vault to a three-stroke lead after storms twice forced the suspension of play at Erin Hills, outside Milwaukee. The 23-year-old 2024 rookie of the year and winner of last month's Chevron Championship is eight under through 36 holes, with world No.1 Nelly Korda among her closest challengers. After a frustrating first day on the greens, Korda fired up with seven birdies in a second-round 67 to surge into a six-way tie for second at five under with fellow Americans Sarah Schmelzel (68) and Yealimi Noh (71), Japan's Hinako Shibuno (69), Swede Maja Stark (69) and South Korean A Lim Kim (71). Lee and fellow WA major champion Green are the leading Australians - and only two to make the halfway cut - and will start the weekend six back of Saigo at two under. Lee, the 2022 US Open champion and final-round leader last year, was chuffed to climb 40 spots up the leaderboard into a share of 19th and back in red numbers with a three-under 69. "I just hit it a little bit closer than yesterday. I probably had a lot of outside chances for birdie yesterday, like 25 to 30 feet, but today I had a few more that were like inside 15 feet," Lee said. "Just started really well, made two birdies on the get-go, so it was nice turning three under and had even on the back, just seeing a few more putts roll in and then just hitting it a little bit better." After watching Saigo drain seven birdies, Lee knows there will be weekend opportunities to make up the six-shot deficit and capture a third career major. "Just with maybe a little bit of rain softening the greens a couple of days ago, but I think USGA has a lot of tricks up their sleeve so they can always make it as tough as they can make it or they can make it really challenging and fun to play," Lee said. "The greens are probably going to get a little bit quicker and it will be a bit more interesting with, I guess, putting the tees in different places. "I'm looking forward to the weekend. Hopefully I can hit it a little bit closer, just play aggressively when I can and play smart when I have to. That's going to be the key." Green also hopes to run down the leader after riding her luck in a round of 70. "This is probably the best placing that I've gone into an actual weekend of the US Open, so I'm hoping I'm not too far back," said the world No.8. "Six shots back, I'm not sure what the conditions are going to be like this weekend. I think the harder the better. "So I'm hoping I can just continue with the game plan that my caddy and I have and have a good weekend."
