Latest news with #ClaireHarvey
The Australian
16-07-2025
- Business
- The Australian
Chaos and confusion at First Guardian investment fund
The directors of First Guardian Master Fund are facing serious allegations of financial mismanagement as investors fret about their futures. Nothing has been proven in court, and neither David Anderson or Simon Selimaj have responded to The Australian's requests for comment. Find out more about The Front podcast here. You can read about this story and more on The Australian's website or on The Australian's app. This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Kristen Amiet, and edited by Jasper Leak, who also composed our music. Our regular host is Claire Harvey and our team includes Lia Tsamoglou, Tiffany Dimmack, Joshua Burton and Stephanie Coombes.
The Guardian
11-07-2025
- The Guardian
Mushroom trial spores toxic media hot takes after Erin Patterson's guilty verdict
The media were constrained in what they could report during Erin Patterson's 10-week trial. But after the mushroom trial guilty verdict was handed down on Monday, all bets were off. The extraordinary photographs of the triple murderer in a prison van in May were published by every media outlet, bought from the wire agency AFP for more than $1,500 each or a discounted rate for the set of six. The trial exhibits were published, including footage of 'the deadly beef wellington'. And then came the hot takes. It's hard to recall a criminal case that has prompted this much commentary and so many angles. The Australian illustrated its online mushroom coverage with several colourful gifs featuring Patterson superimposed on psychedelic-style fungi. Its associate editor John Ferguson summed up what he described as 'the full Erin. Cold, mean and vicious.' His colleague Claire Harvey did more than analyse Patterson's personality: 'Cold. Snarky. Too smart by half. Cynical. A liar'. Harvey said the motive was 'obvious', accusing Patterson of 'domestic violence coercive control'. She suggested the prosecution was wrong by not attempting to prove a motive. 'The fact this crime was committed by a woman, and involved poison, and not a gun or a knife, has confused what should be crystal clear – and should have been a motive clearly presented to the jury,' Harvey wrote. But it was left to the Daily Mail to produce the standout first-person piece from the trial, written by the veteran crime reporter Wayne Flower in what he believed was gonzo-style journalism. Forced to stay on the ground in Morwell by his editors, Flower encountered 'full-on Walking Dead-style zombie stuff – the kind you think only exists in America'. He wrote about how gruelling it was attending court every day while dodging 'junkies, and degenerates'. He was holed up in 'cramped hotel rooms' and 'terrorised further by the locals who stalked us in the daylight hours'. 'I bought multi-vitamins and fish oil in the hope of pushing through a little longer,' Flower wrote at the end of his epic almost 4,000-word tale. 'At home, a long way away, my life and family were imploding. Sign up to get Guardian Australia's weekly media diary as a free newsletter 'The grind and my absence had made my partner of 24 years – the mother of my two children – come to realise she no longer needed me in her life. 'Days after my 50th birthday, for which she had organised a surprise party with all my friends and family in attendance, she told me she no longer loved me and I was discarded like yesterday's newspaper. 'But the trial went on and so did I. Perhaps the last sad victim of Erin Patterson.' Daily Mail Australia's editor, Felicity Hetherington, was asked about Flower's claim of victimhood and his slur on the citizens of Morwell. 'This is a colour piece by a reporter who covered the trial from the very start,' she said. 'He is entitled to his opinion.' It only got worse. On Friday one Daily Mail headline read: The toxic web of lesbian trysts in the hellhole women's prison that awaits mushroom killer Erin Patterson – including a jail affair even the guards find 'unsettling'. There was some light on Thursday, however, in an ABC story that remembered the murder victims for their altruistic natures and kind hearts. Don and Gail Patterson and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson were described by locals interviewed by the ABC as people who lived selfless lives, acting with 'humour, good grace and humility'. 'The world would be a better place if we could all be a bit more like them,' one said. The 30-year-old editor of the Latrobe Valley Express, Liam Durkin, can barely believe a trial that attracted international attention was held around the corner from his office. Running a small country newspaper does not usually mean covering the biggest story in Australia. The free local weekly paper with a staff of four, including Durkin, did not have to look far for news during the hearing. 'To be on the ground with journalists who are the best in the business was a great learning experience,' Durkin told Weekly Beast. 'To be at the epicentre of it all, and being the figurehead of the local paper, everyone kind of diverted a bit of their attention to us.' As well as covering the trial, helping out visiting journos and mentoring his three 'raw' reporters, Durkin was in demand as an interviewee: for BBC News, national television and a documentary. The ABC has asked staff for feedback on its restructuring plans, inviting them to fill out a form on the intranet. Since the managing director, Hugh Marks, unveiled plans to restructure screen, digital and audio content and make about 40 positions redundant, staff have raised concerns about a lack of transparency and communication. Some staff told Weekly Beast that when they submitted their feedback they were surprised to receive an individual response from a human resources manager, sent via email in an unusually timely manner. Initially impressed by the fact that the feedback had been read and responded to, one staffer grew suspicious on looking more closely at the language the email used. While not confirming that its HR managers were using AI to answer staff, the ABC did say they were provided with Microsoft Copilot to assist them in writing emails. Sign up to Weekly Beast Amanda Meade's weekly diary on the latest in Australian media, free every Friday after newsletter promotion One staffer told Weekly Beast: 'Using AI for work in general is fine, but it is galling and disrespectful to be using AI to automate responses to a staff-listening exercise that's intended to address staff concerns about management's failure to listen.' It wasn't great timing, coming as it did two days after the Patterson verdict, but there was something off about the ABC's announcement that it was thrilled to commission a show that combined true crime and comedy called Crime Night! Described as a 'comedy true-crime panel show where real-life cases are examined through the lens of criminology and comedy', the concept is hard to get one's head around, although it is hosted by Julia Zemiro – always good value. 'Australians can't get enough of True Crime, and we're excited to join forces with Dreamchaser and Maverick to bring this innovative and original format to ABC screens,' said the ABC's head of entertainment, Rachel Millar. 'For anyone who loves bingeing the latest true crime podcast, or playing detective in the group chat, this is the show for you.' Aunty has had great success with true crime, including Rachael Brown's podcast Mushroom Case Daily, and has commissioned a drama, Toxic, about the Patterson trial. One other detail caught our eye about Crime Night! Dreamchaser is the production and distribution studio co-founded by Marks between running Nine Entertainment and the ABC. He set up the company with the former Endemol Shine boss Carl Fennessy and so far it has produced Death Cap, a three-part documentary on the mushroom trial, for Stan, and The Role of a Lifetime, about parenting, for the ABC. An ABC spokesperson said: 'The ABC commenced development of Crime Night! in May 2024. Hugh Marks' association with Dreamchaser ceased when he was appointed as Managing Director of the ABC in March 2025. Hugh was not involved in the decision to commission the series.' We have to hand it to the Courier-Mail and the Daily Telegraph for combining two classic newspaper genres, court reporting and fashions in the field, in one juicy package. 'No one wants to end up in court … but if you do, at least go in style,' an online feature in the Brisbane outlet began. 'See how these people rocked their look.' It even asked 'who wore it best?' in the 'trendiest court attire lineup'. One young man who was sentenced to five years' jail suspended with time served was described as 'sporting a coloured manbag'. 'Sporting classic grey workwear, a former Cairns business owner … fronted Rockhampton District Court on January 31 after choking his partner while on a family holiday at Port Douglas on February 10, 2024.' Last month the Tele ventured down this clickbait path with a story headlined 'Eastern suburbs socialites face court in designer fashion' which included nine photographs. 'A court appearance is generally a solemn occasion but Sydney's socialites always ensure it is a fashionable one – donning thousands of dollars in designer clothes to face the music,' the Murdoch masthead said. The reporter seamlessly weaved news about the crimes with details of the outfits. One defendant 'toted a $12,500 Chanel handbag when she was sentenced for cocaine supply and carrying $1,450 in crime proceeds'. And then there was the Phillip Bay hairdresser who 'wore an $800 red Gucci belt to court after she was charged with contravening an apprehended domestic violence order'. We were only surprised there were no 'shop this look' links.
The Australian
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The Australian
China's shot over Anthony Albanese's bows
Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian warns Australia about increasing defence spending, warning of economic pain ahead and claiming China has only ever wanted world peace. Find out more about The Front podcast here. You can read about this story and more on The Australian's website or on The Australian's app. This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Claire Harvey and edited by Tiffany Dimmack. Our team includes Kristen Amiet, Lia Tsamoglou, Joshua Burton, Stephanie Coombes and Jasper Leak, who also composed our music.
The Australian
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Australian
Brendan O'Neill takes aim at Kneecap ahead of Glastonbury show: ‘cult of the keffiyeh'
Kneecap, the Northern Irish hip-hop punk trio who are playing at Glastonbury this weekend, bring the controversy with their IRA-inspired balaclavas and pro-Palestine stunts. Pundit Brendan O'Neill reckons they're part of the 'cult of the keffiyeh'. This is an edited transcript of his interview with The Australian's Claire Harvey for our podcast The Front. Brendan O'Neill: I am a free speech absolutist and I don't want them thrown off the ticket at Glastonbury. I don't want their gigs cancelled. You know, we've got politicians here in the Labour Party and the Conservative Party saying they shouldn't be able to play at Glastonbury. I might be too old to appreciate their kind of weird Irish language hip hop, but I don't want politicians setting the performance list for Glastonbury. That's not a world I want to live in. Claire Harvey: I wonder about the idea of punk in 2025 and if in any way it's compatible with featuring at Glastonbury where the tickets are nearly 800 Australian dollars a person now. What do you think? Can you be a punk and be a headliner at Glastonbury? Brendan O'Neill: Glastonbury has changed so much over the decades. I think the first ever Glastonbury was 1970, and it was basically The Kinks and Mark Bolan and women running around with no bras on and men with long hair and beards, smoking weed, having sex. It was a hippie fest. It was quite rebellious, it was quite counter-cultural. More recently, the average age of people going to Glastonbury now is around 50. They all tend to be upper middle class because you have to be in order to afford a ticket. So it is completely anti-punk. It is the most conformist festival that Britain holds. So the idea of Kneecap going there and being welcomed as punks, I think it rather gives the game away, which is that they are kind of phony punks. They might seem like punks to boring old farts who like going to music festivals, but to kids, most normal young people, I think they probably look a bit square. Claire Harvey: Does this tell us something about where music is now though, that you need kind of three guys, one of whom wears an Irish flag balaclava to give you a sense of rebellion? Brendan O'Neill: The one who wears the Irish tricolour balaclava, by the way, which I always think looks like a tea cosy rather than a balaclava. He is nearly 40 years old. Let's just get this into perspective. He's in his late 30s. Claire Harvey: He used to be a schoolteacher, I think, didn't he? Brendan O'Neill: Yeah, he used to be a schoolteacher. He's nearly 40. He is far too old to be carrying on like this, in my view. You know, the truth about Kneecap is that they met at an Irish language centre in Belfast. One of them is from Derry, two of them are from Belfast. They're basically a cultural studies outreach programme. That's essentially what they are. You know, they are singing the praises of minority languages. They are talking about the trauma of history and the impact it has on young people's mental health. There is nothing you hear from Kneecap that you wouldn't see in a Guardian editorial or in a United Nations statement about the importance of protecting minor languages or the importance learning from history. They are … They do push actually a very conformist, elitist view, but they have, as you're suggesting there, they do look punkish. JJ O Dochartaigh, who performs as DJ Provai in the Belfast hip hop trio Kneecap, is a former schoolteacher. Picture: Helle Arensbak / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP They kind of have the IRA fancy dress. They dress up with a balaclava and they kind of steal valour from physical force republicanism of the 1970s and 80s. They kind get a bit of momentum and a bit sex appeal from harking back to that when provisional IRA was seen by some people in Northern Ireland as an adventurous, daring guerrilla movement. Because they don't really have anything punkish to say in 2025, they kind of have to look back to the past for that sense of rebellion. So they look punkish. Occasionally they sound punkish, but if you dig a little deeper, there's not much going on. Claire Harvey: The band members themselves might be old enough to remember some of the Troubles, but many of their fans wouldn't be. Is that part of the equation here? Do you think that it's kind of glamorising something that for people who live through it in Northern Ireland or in the rest of the UK or in Ireland, might not think it was kind of cool? Brendan O'Neill: Yeah, that's an issue, certainly. And that does make Kneecap jar with a lot of people in mainland Britain in particular, where there's a very different view of the IRA than there might be in parts of Northern Ireland. People like Kneecap are referred to as Good Friday babies. So these are the kids who were born after the Good Friday agreement or around the Good Friday agreement, which came into force in 1998. They are people who never experienced the conflict, the so-called Troubles, don't remember bombs going off every day, don't know remember shootings happening every day. You know, the fact that Kneecap is called Kneecap is in itself quite revealing because of course that was a punishment meted out by the IRA, primarily against Catholics. It was a horrendous punishment. Mostly meted out to the Catholic community itself, and often for drugs offences. This is one of the great ironies of Kneecap. Kneecap's lyrics are 90 per cent about drugs. They love drugs by all accounts. They sing about taking ketamine and how much they enjoy it. And the great irony, which I think they probably know themselves, is that Kneecap would have been kneecapped by the IRA in the 1970s, because if you dealt in drugs in those communities or even took drugs, you'd be in trouble with the IRA volunteers, as they called themselves. Claire Harvey: Someone else who's probably not following them on YouTube are the leaders of Hamas. Although Kneecap seemed to be fans of them and what's got their lead singer in trouble now is some alleged chants of 'Up Hamas, up Hezbollah' and allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a gig. Now he's pleaded not guilty to that. He's also requested an Irish translator at Westminster Court when he has his appearance. I thought that was a nice little touch. Brendan O'Neill: If they want to speak Irish in an English court, that's their business. I don't really have a problem with that. This is what I find quite infuriating about the love for them amongst so-called radicals and progressives, which is that the thing that they're in trouble for, that they are alleged to have done, we have to kind of use that language because the court case is ongoing, they are allegedly to have waved the flag of Hezbollah, they are alleged to have said up Hamas, up Hezbollah. Um, one of them, the guy with the tricolour tea cosy on his head, he posed with a copy of Hassan Nasrallah's book. Hassan Nasrallah was the, uh, former leader of Hezbollah who was killed by Israel a few months ago. This is a book that refers to Jews as the descendants of apes and pigs. To my mind, that's a pretty serious matter. And I'm not sure that progressives and radicals would be rallying around a hip-hop group that had posed with a book that referred to black people as monkeys. And yet when it comes to this group, which has posed with Hassan Nasrallah's book, and which has allegedly praised those two anti-Semitic armies, Hezbollah and Hamas, they seem not to have a problem with it. There's a serious element to this, which is an extraordinary double standard. And there are a lot of Jewish people in the UK, I know this for a fact because I've met them, I've spoken to them, who are worried about this case because they see the music industry, the popular music press, lots of young people, Glastonbury itself, they see all of these institutions rallying around these three lads who have allegedly praised one of the armies that carried out the worst mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. Kneecap's stage at Coachella, 2025. Claire Harvey: They are pleading not guilty but they do wear keffiyehs in public, they speak about the people of Palestine, they refer to it as a genocide, they criticise Israel by implication. They're certainly invoking something underneath young popular culture that seems to be resonating all the way up to the kind of 50-year-old rich people who go to Glastonbury. Why is that so appealing, you know, why is that punk now? Brendan O'Neill: I've called it the cult of the keffiyeh, which is that, you know, it's so interesting to me that for years and years we heard about the crime of cultural appropriation. You were stealing the culture of a minority group and apparently that was the worst thing you could ever do. Now, you go to any campus in the west Anglo-American world and you will see rich white kids, as far as the eye can see, in Arab headgear. I think it's a signifier of virtue. It is a kind of sartorial way to show the world that you are a good person. You're on the side of right, you're on side of Gaza against 'evil' Israel. The irony, I think, with a group like Kneecap, is that the truth of the matter is that their opinions are perfectly acceptable in dinner party circles. I've never heard them say anything that would be out of place as some soiree at the National Gallery in London or somewhere else, you know, I mean, it is now the most expected conformist position you can hold and the keffiyeh has become the garment of those classes. So when Kneecap wear that and make those statements, I just think to myself, that's not as radical as you think it is.
The Australian
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Australian
TV's million-dollar journos
Who's the highest earner on TV? And who earns 600 grand for two hours' work? Today – the top salaries on free to air television. Find out more about The Front podcast here. You can read about this story and more on The Australian's website or on The Australian's app. This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Claire Harvey, and edited by Jasper Leak who also composed our theme. Our team includes Kristen Amiet, Lia Tsamoglou, Tiffany Dimmack, Joshua Burton and Stephanie Coombes.
