from the Monthly

Tony Abbott leads the world's first Tea Party Government — something that simply does not fit into Australia's usual political spectrum, writes Cathy McQueen.

Unless you've been living on one of the moons of Saturn, you've heard by now of the NSA's comprehensive collection of information from millions and millions of Americans. Phone calls, email messages, and even pictures you posted on Facebook: All of it is sitting in a supercomputer in Maryland, waiting to be dealt with by our avatars of surveillance freedom in the intelligence community.

Now that, third time lucky, the Carbon Tax Repeal legislation, suitably amended, has passed the House of Representatives, and god and Clive Palmer and Bob Day and David Leyonhjelm willing, will pass the Senate in the next day or two, I have been reading some of the propaganda from the Liberal and National Parties before the September election about the impact of the carbon tax on the cost of living.

Of the 298 murdered on Malaysian Airways Flight MH17, 36 were from Australia. The outpouring of grief and support from ordinary people here in Australia has been overwhelming. It restores hope for the future, a future in which we working people, compassionate and caring, run society.

A group of five countries has launched its own development bank to challenge the US -dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Leaders from the so-called BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - unveiled the New Development Bank at a summit in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza. The bank will be headquartered in Shanghai.

The reality is that much of Australia’s corporate landscape is owned by faceless people hiding behind big nominee companies that are virtually impossible to research. The same is for global investment banks, insurance companies and the Commonwealth public servant superannuation scheme. Many companies have directors who are involved in media, banking, and politics, with many ex-politicians coming onto boards when they leave Parliament.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott may be the most famous of the old alumni who will gather with Rupert Murdoch on Tuesday night to mark the 50th anniversary of The Australian.

Australia was once an outpost of “rascals and outlaws” but will soon adjust to the shifting realities of power, says a Chinese state-owned newspaper, which also has called Foreign Minister Julie Bishop a "complete fool".