https://www.scmp.com/rss/1671/feed Aidyn Fitzpatrick (she/her) is a writer and editor, born in Hong Kong of biracial parentage. She worked as a teenage copy assistant on the South China Morning Post before entering Christ Church, Oxford, and graduating with a first in modern history. After stints as a kitchen porter, theatre director, underground dance party promoter, concert producer and copywriter, she became the travel, arts and culture editor of Time magazine’s international editions, and remained with the magazine until 2022... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick There are seasons when Gucci leans into spectacle, and times when it turns down the volume and lets line, hardware and proportion do the talking. The new Giglio and Borsetto bags sit firmly in the latter camp. Giglio – named after the lily that has long symbolised Florence, Gucci’s founding city – softens the idea of a tote. First seen on the cruise 2026 runway, it’s essentially a slouch with just enough discipline: a gently structured, roomy shape that can be worn long on the shoulder or... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3348122/style-edit-guccis-giglio-and-borsetto-bags-redefine-quiet-luxury-city-dressing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3348122/style-edit-guccis-giglio-and-borsetto-bags-redefine-quiet-luxury-city-dressing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 02:00:29 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick Elise Phillipson was 45 when she returned to university, on what she calls her “second or third life”. She had first studied hotel management; as a nine-year-old growing up in Hong Kong, she asked her father what she should be, and he suggested she work in a hotel. In adulthood, she retrained as an English teacher, married and raised two children. By the time her youngest started primary school, she found herself wondering again what occupation was right for her. Her husband urged her to look at... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3347949/therapy-coaching-perfect-midlife-career-change-how-many-are-finding-new-purpose?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3347949/therapy-coaching-perfect-midlife-career-change-how-many-are-finding-new-purpose?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 23:15:08 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick Though it may not appear so, a battle takes place every March when Art Basel comes to Hong Kong’s Convention Centre. The fight isn’t over which gallery can sell more paintings or which collector writes the biggest cheques, but over whether the Greater Bay Area (GBA) can convince visitors that this corner of Southern China – expected to record more than US$2.15 trillion in economic output for 2025 – is not just a business powerhouse but a cultural one. GBA policymakers have embraced the lexicon... https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3348138/how-art-basel-hong-kong-fuelling-greater-bay-areas-cultural-ambitions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3348138/how-art-basel-hong-kong-fuelling-greater-bay-areas-cultural-ambitions?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 22:00:15 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick Hong Kong’s Art Month calendar is crowded, but every so often a show cuts through the noise. This spring, that role falls to “Beyond the Abstract”, a landmark exhibition at Sotheby’s Maison in Chater House that attempts something unusually ambitious: a survey of abstraction across cultures and spanning 3,000 years. Running until March 27, the exhibition brings together painting, sculpture, works on paper and historic objects that trace a dialogue across the centuries, from ancient artefacts to... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/design/article/3347819/style-edit-sothebys-maps-3000-years-abstraction-landmark-hong-kong-show?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/design/article/3347819/style-edit-sothebys-maps-3000-years-abstraction-landmark-hong-kong-show?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 02:00:09 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick In Hong Kong’s fashion scene right now, half a dozen very different designers are quietly proving that the city’s most interesting clothes are where storytelling, gender fluidity and forward thinking collide. Bicy Yip, Caroline Hu, Derek Chan, Kit Wan, Max Tsang and Toki Wong are reinforcing Hong Kong’s re-emergence as an incubator for fashion futures. This soft-power six are redrawing what Hong Kong fashion can look like, from couture romance to sci‑fi workwear and subverted masculinity. Myth,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3345945/style-edit-6-hong-kong-designers-redrawing-fashions-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3345945/style-edit-6-hong-kong-designers-redrawing-fashions-future?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 02:00:09 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick In summer, Milan’s appeal lies in the details – the way the sunlight falls on a canal, the measured colours of the older residential streets, a picnic under the trees at the Parco Sempione. Furla’s spring-summer 2026 collection takes this language of subtlety and sunshine and translates it into a collection of bags that are attuned to lightness. Texture is fundamental. Canvas stripes – perfectly echoing the sight of parasols and sunbeds along the Italian coast – conjure up a laid-back, seaside... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3345141/style-edit-furlas-ss26-milan-inspired-bags-lean-canvas-colour-and-quiet-luxury?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3345141/style-edit-furlas-ss26-milan-inspired-bags-lean-canvas-colour-and-quiet-luxury?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 02:00:09 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick Here’s a story of a bag that begins with a dress – in this case, Dior’s iconic La Cigale dress from 1952. With its tight bodice, sweeping moiré skirt and geometric pleats, it embodied the spirit of couture. Unsurprisingly, the house’s new creative director Jonathan Anderson – who has already made an impact at Dior thanks to his reworking of the archives through a contemporary sculptural lens – has called La Cigale his favourite dress in the history of fashion. For Dior’s spring/summer 2026... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3344813/style-edit-diors-cigale-bag-channels-1950s-couture-modern-day-icon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3344813/style-edit-diors-cigale-bag-channels-1950s-couture-modern-day-icon?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 02:00:09 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick Lunar New Year in Hong Kong has its own canter: busy days visiting friends, cosy nights at the family dinner table, and a delight in all things auspicious. Furla’s 2026 Lunar New Year Collection approaches the Year of the Horse with just that cadence in mind, filtering the Chinese zodiac through Italian design discipline and a precise edit of bags and charms. Rather than leaning on overt motifs, the collection works with texture, colour and proportion to suggest movement and luck. The Iride... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3341647/style-edit-furlas-year-horse-bags-blend-symbolism-and-chinese-new-year-style?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3341647/style-edit-furlas-year-horse-bags-blend-symbolism-and-chinese-new-year-style?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 02:00:12 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick Macau, made for high rollers, isn’t short on flashy experiences. After a night at the MGM Cotai Supreme Room, where a million-pataca chip stack looks paltry, you can toast your winnings at Robuchon au Dôme at the Grand Lisboa and pop open a vintage wine that will set you back 250,000 patacas, before resting your head in one of 14 invitation-only David Beckham Suites at The Londoner. But one experience trumps all these because it cannot be bought: to climb into a blue Mini and be taken on a... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3340789/meet-goncalo-cesar-de-sa-journalist-who-got-scoop-macaus-return-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3340789/meet-goncalo-cesar-de-sa-journalist-who-got-scoop-macaus-return-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 04:00:09 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick In a city where the day can move from boardroom to backstreet in a few blocks, footwear needs to be as considered as the suit above it. Tramezza, Ferragamo’s latest line, responds with Italian-crafted shoes built on the distinctive leather layer from which the collection takes its name. Together with a patented steel shank, the tramezza marries a solid, supportive structure with supple comfort. Ferragamo, which draws on nearly a century of Florentine craftsmanship, has also announced a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3340926/style-edit-ferragamos-tramezza-artistry-meets-alberto-tombas-alpine-flair?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3340926/style-edit-ferragamos-tramezza-artistry-meets-alberto-tombas-alpine-flair?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jan 2026 02:00:12 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick Nurturing and showcasing Asian talent, shaping fashion’s future, and cross-sector collaboration: these were the themes of the recently concluded Fashion Asia Hong Kong 2025. Held under the umbrella of Hong Kong Fashion Fest – a series of events to reinforce Hong Kong as a nexus for the Asian and Western fashion worlds – Fashion Asia was organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre and funded by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency. Its aim was to position the city as a development... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3336037/style-edit-fashion-asia-2025-underscores-hong-kongs-role-centre-style?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3336037/style-edit-fashion-asia-2025-underscores-hong-kongs-role-centre-style?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Dec 2025 02:00:08 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick The Armani brand has expanded its presence at Hong Kong’s Pacific Place with the opening of the new Giorgio Armani menswear boutique. With the recently unveiled Armani/Caffè located in front and an adjacent Giorgio Armani womenswear boutique (opened last May), shoppers at Pacific Place now have multiple options for engaging with the brand’s signature blend of Milanese tradition and international flair. It’s an immersive experience that has become synonymous with a brand that has long seen itself... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3334325/style-edit-giorgio-armanis-new-menswear-boutique-opens-pacific-place-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3334325/style-edit-giorgio-armanis-new-menswear-boutique-opens-pacific-place-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 02:00:11 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick In its boldest forms, fashion can be seen as a celebration of the transient – and with its spring/summer 2026 collection, the Japan-inspired, Milan-born fashion house Anteprima leans into fashion’s ephemeral nature. It does so in a transcendent way, giving weight to the idea of impermanence and finding endurance in fragility. The season’s looks see beauty in the commonplace and the fleeting. If all that sounds more like an artist’s statement than notes from the catwalk, it’s because the entire... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3328181/style-edit-anteprima-gets-inspired-artist-takahiro-iwasaki-spring/summer-2026?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3328181/style-edit-anteprima-gets-inspired-artist-takahiro-iwasaki-spring/summer-2026?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 02:00:09 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick AT BOARDING SCHOOL in the UK in the mid-1970s, a fellow pupil asked me, after I had told him I was born in Beijing, whether that meant I was Chinese. “Oh yes,” I said, “that means I possess a Chinese soul.” OK, in my defence, I was nine. My father (Alan Donald) was a British diplomat, posted to Beijing three times during his career, and ended up British ambassador there in the late 1980s. I don’t remember anything of China as a baby – we left in 1966 at the start of the Cultural Revolution, when... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3327804/angus-donald-wild-parties-war-zones-and-finding-love-through-psychic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3327804/angus-donald-wild-parties-war-zones-and-finding-love-through-psychic?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Oct 2025 04:45:08 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick Poly Culture Group Corporation partnered with casino operator MGM to open the 2,000-square-metre Poly MGM Museum last November, with a launch exhibition on the Maritime Silk Road featuring some 230 artefacts from 20 international museums and galleries. Until late last month, the display included four of the famed bronze zodiac heads from Beijing’s Old Summer Palace. It’s a culture-forward move by both parties, Poly Culture Group being the art and antiques unit of a vast Chinese state-run... https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3309202/macaus-poly-mgm-museum-draws-huge-crowds-hi-tech-maritime-silk-road-exhibition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3309202/macaus-poly-mgm-museum-draws-huge-crowds-hi-tech-maritime-silk-road-exhibition?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 May 2025 22:15:07 +0000 Change is afoot in our sister SAR. Last December, outgoing chief executive Ho Iat-seng said Macau was “shifting away from a gaming dominated economy”, while neglecting to mention that his administration derived 80.5 per cent of its revenue from casino taxes. Earlier this month, Lawrence Ho, chairman and CEO of Melco, one of Macau’s six casino operators, suggested that the city was “no longer just a ‘gambling hub’”. But if Macau is no longer a place where baccarat is king and sic bo dice tumble... https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3304201/casino-city-cultural-centre-how-macau-betting-art?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3304201/casino-city-cultural-centre-how-macau-betting-art?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Mar 2025 04:45:08 +0000 You don’t have to jostle the crowds at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) to enjoy this year’s Art Basel. Instead, Asia’s biggest art fair meets you where you are, with more than 170 in-house and endorsed citywide events. Many of these talks, exhibitions and tours kick off well in advance of Art Basel’s official dates of March 28 to 30, while some shows will remain in place until long after the art dealers and dilettantes have gone. The schedule is varied and edgy. In fact,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/leisure/article/3256789/beyond-art-basel-6-art-events-around-hong-kong-check-out-pop-bar-hosted-art-week-tokyo-cultural-tour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/leisure/article/3256789/beyond-art-basel-6-art-events-around-hong-kong-check-out-pop-bar-hosted-art-week-tokyo-cultural-tour?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Mar 2024 03:00:12 +0000 THEY SAY OLFACTORY MEMORIES are the strongest - and that's certainly true of fragrances. One whiff of Anateus and you're transported back to a sticky dance floor, circa 1983, with its embarrassment of pointy shoes and wedge cuts. A splash of Kouros and you start seeing great car salesmen you have known. (For some reason they always seem to hose themselves down with the stuff: does anyone know why?) We've come a long way from the days when tweedy old duffers and frowning matrons used to say... https://www.scmp.com/article/413037/scent-man?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/413037/scent-man?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Apr 2003 16:00:00 +0000 'ARE THERE ANY CIRCUMSTANCES in which a man can wear a bow tie and not look an utter prat?' was my editor's query, betraying in his phrasing the strong feelings and grave misgivings that bow ties can cause. The answer to his question is a heavily qualified 'perhaps'. Perhaps, if you were Frank Sinatra or Peter Crawford during their rat-pack prime. Just possibly, if you are a Cuban grandee, sitting on your balcony in tropical whites, mojito in hand. Maybe, if you're an old-school boxing referee... https://www.scmp.com/article/412351/tied-knots?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/412351/tied-knots?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Apr 2003 16:00:00 +0000 IN THE HISTORY OF TATTOOS this will go down as the Age of Ubiquity, the time when ink was no longer confined to the weathered forearms of ex-cons or the pale torsos of bass guitarists, but appeared on the glowing and well-nourished skins of the middle class. There's Derrick from derivatives, harbouring a tribal swirl beneath his Thomas Pink shirt. There's Markus from marketing, nonchalantly unveiling a lower-back dragon as he disrobes on the company junk boat. Perhaps a college passion is... https://www.scmp.com/article/411657/ink-crowd?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/411657/ink-crowd?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Apr 2003 16:00:00 +0000 ALONG WITH THE FASHION for shaven heads, the continuing rehabilitation of hats has been a benison for balding men, allowing the condition to progress with dignity (even, at times, some style), while not so much concealing the baldness as inviting a generous blind eye from the beholder. But hats now belong in the wardrobe of every man, balding or not. In the hatless 1970s, heads were graced by nothing more than a tightly picked afro or glossy Jesus locks. The 1980s - post-Billie Jean - saw the... https://www.scmp.com/article/410992/hat-pack?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/410992/hat-pack?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Mar 2003 16:00:00 +0000 WORN WITH A UNSTRUCTURED jacket and a mullet, it makes you look like a veteran coke dealer. Wear it untucked over denims, with sea-grass flip-flops, and you come across very Calvin Klein. Team it with a grey suit and striped tie and you are transformed into the father of all salarymen. You get the idea. Every man, whatever his age and station, needs a white shirt. Albert Einstein wore nothing but white shirts, as did Mickey Rourke in 9 1/2 Weeks. The scene where he opens a wardrobe to reveal... https://www.scmp.com/article/410276/white-fantastic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/410276/white-fantastic?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Mar 2003 16:00:00 +0000 Controversial Independent politician Pauline Hanson is considering establishing her own political party and running for the Senate. The disclosure comes amid rumours that the Labor and Liberal parties will collaborate in an attempt to exclude her from politics. Since last week, there has been strong speculation that the two main parties will direct voter preferences to each other at the next general election, making it much harder for Ms Hanson to hold on to her seat in the lower... https://www.scmp.com/article/178996/under-fire-hanson-may-start-own-party?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/178996/under-fire-hanson-may-start-own-party?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Oct 1996 16:00:00 +0000 The young people of the predominantly Aboriginal town of Yarrabah in far northern Queensland are making a drastic exit from a numbing cycle of poverty, violence and poor health. They are killing themselves. Social workers say Yarrabah's young Aborigines, tormented by social deprivation and drug abuse, are seeing their funerals as the only status symbol available to them. The result is an epidemic of suicides that has earned the township, 45 minutes' drive from Cairns, a reputation as... https://www.scmp.com/article/177255/suicide-epidemic-hits-town?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/177255/suicide-epidemic-hits-town?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Oct 1996 16:00:00 +0000 Prime Minister John Howard has set the year 2000 as the deadline for an historic referendum on whether Australia should become a republic. However, a 'constitutional convention' of appointed state and federal delegates will have to find a majority in favour of a republic before any referendum is held. While a referendum before 2000 has been widely anticipated and proposed, Mr Howard's commitment to the date has been the firmest so far. Speaking on a radio programme, Mr Howard promised... https://www.scmp.com/article/176480/deadline-put-referendum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/176480/deadline-put-referendum?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Oct 1996 16:00:00 +0000 Two of Australia's most notorious crimes have come under renewed scrutiny following the emergence of fresh evidence in one case and a damning report of police investigations into the other. The disappearance of nine-year-old Samantha Knight in 1986, and the unrelated murder of 14-year-old Leigh Leigh in 1989, have haunted Australians for years. Samantha's disappearance has never been solved, while in Leigh's case, there are suspicions that more youths were involved than the one... https://www.scmp.com/article/176208/spotlight-back-crimes-haunted-nation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/176208/spotlight-back-crimes-haunted-nation?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Sep 1996 16:00:00 +0000 WIVES and husbands of Australian citizens will have to queue for spouse visas in order to live Down Under, or face indefinite separation, under tough new measures confirmed in Canberra. The move will affect thousands of families in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia who intend to emigrate to Australia, forcing many to live apart. Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock has warned he will 'cap and kill' applications by spouses to join their partners in Australia unless the opposition Labor Party... https://www.scmp.com/article/175014/immigration-laws-set-hit-spouses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/175014/immigration-laws-set-hit-spouses?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Sep 1996 16:00:00 +0000 The reputation of the nationally-owned telecommunications company, Telstra, has been severely bruised by a row over hidden charges. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found Telstra practised 'deceptive and misleading conduct' after the company charged nearly 1.6 million subscribers a massive A$45 million (HK$275 million) in fees without their knowledge since 1989. The case comes as the national giant faces stiff competition ahead of deregulation of the telecommunications... https://www.scmp.com/article/174591/telecom-company-pays-mistake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/174591/telecom-company-pays-mistake?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Sep 1996 16:00:00 +0000 Possibly stung by the recent controversy over whether the national anthem should be changed, the Government is planning to release a double compact disc set featuring 17 interpretations of Advance Australia Fair. Australia's top rock, pop, country, jazz and classical artists have been invited by Prime Minister John Howard to contribute versions of the tune that has been criticised as 'dirge-like'. Scheduled for release on Australia Day next year (January 26), the CD set will also include songs... https://www.scmp.com/article/174296/anthem-comes-select-choice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/174296/anthem-comes-select-choice?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Sep 1996 16:00:00 +0000 In a bizarre twist to investigations into the death of British tourist Brian Hagland, a police source has revealed that the 28-year-old may have been hit by a bus during his struggle with two assailants. The disclosure has raised the possibility that Hagland died from injuries caused by the vehicle and not the attackers. The London postman was beaten and kicked by two men as he left a Bondi Beach cafe with his fiancee on Saturday. His death has sparked an extensive investigation and... https://www.scmp.com/article/173677/tourist-attacked-bondi-may-also-have-been-hit-bus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/173677/tourist-attacked-bondi-may-also-have-been-hit-bus?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Sep 1996 16:00:00 +0000 A scathing anti-Asian speech by controversial independent MP Pauline Hanson has been greeted with outrage. Ms Hanson addressed parliament on Tuesday, calling for Australia's immigration policy to be reviewed and multi-cultural policies abolished because she feared the country was 'in danger of being swamped by Asians'. 'They have their own culture and religion, form ghettoes and do not assimilate,' she said. Her speech was swiftly dismissed by Angela Chan, chairman of the Ethnic... https://www.scmp.com/article/173676/outrage-mp-calls-curbs-immigration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/173676/outrage-mp-calls-curbs-immigration?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Sep 1996 16:00:00 +0000 The country's top artists are joining forces in cyberspace in an on-line auction to raise funds for research into the Great Barrier Reef. They include 1996 Archibald Prize-winner Wendy Sharpe, Ken Done, Judy Cassab, Davide Allen, Marianne Garriok, Brett Leigh Dicks, Rosie Tainish and several others. Internet users can view their works before making bids via the Net. The auction comes in the wake of warnings from scientists that unless more funding is ploughed into research, the Great Barrier... https://www.scmp.com/article/170777/artists-go-line-bid-net-reef-funds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/170777/artists-go-line-bid-net-reef-funds?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Aug 1996 16:00:00 +0000 Australia's hottest new musical act is set to take its big red car on to the big screen. The Wiggles - possibly the first band in the world to realise the untapped market of the under-fives - plan to make a feature film. The eventual aim is to tap into key Asian markets such as China and Japan. A pilot project has now been commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 'Hopefully we will go into production next year,' an ABC Video spokesman said. 'Breaking into markets like the US,... https://www.scmp.com/article/170419/wiggles-bound-asia-big-screen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/170419/wiggles-bound-asia-big-screen?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Aug 1996 16:00:00 +0000 A Catholic order will pay A$3.5 million (HK$20.86 million) compensation to end a class action in one of the largest child abuse cases in Australian history. The Christian Brothers have offered the sum to 210 men who say they were sexually and physically abused as children by members of the order. Each of the men will be offered up to A$25,000 depending on the severity of the abuse and their ability to substantiate their allegations, although some can expect to receive as little as... https://www.scmp.com/article/169115/catholic-order-pay-20m-sex-abuse-cases?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/169115/catholic-order-pay-20m-sex-abuse-cases?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Aug 1996 16:00:00 +0000 The literary hoax may be turning into a uniquely Australian art form. Less than a year after the winner of the prestigious Miles Franklin award was exposed as a fraud, another top Australian author has come under scrutiny. Donina Williams' Nobody Nowhere, a harrowing autobiographical account of her struggle with autism, spent a year on the New York Times top 10 list, has been translated into 14 languages and shortlisted for literary awards. But experts now allege she may not be... https://www.scmp.com/article/168985/literary-hoax-hue-and-cry-author-lies-low?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/168985/literary-hoax-hue-and-cry-author-lies-low?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Jul 1996 16:00:00 +0000 A bitter legal dispute has erupted over the ownership of the Aboriginal flag with three parties claiming to be the designer of the famous emblem. David Brown and James Tennant are each challenging a copyright claim over the flag made by Darwin artist Harold Thomas, who told a copyright tribunal he designed the yellow, black and red flag for use at an Aboriginal protest march in 1971. Mr Brown claims Mr Thomas was his former art teacher at an Aboriginal community college, and said Mr... https://www.scmp.com/article/168340/three-claim-aboriginal-flag?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/168340/three-claim-aboriginal-flag?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Jul 1996 16:00:00 +0000 A prominent Australian legal figure has suggested that heroin dealers be charged with murder or manslaughter if someone dies. Mr Justice James Wood, a Sydney Royal Commissioner, made the comment in response to the seizure of 60 capsules of high-grade heroin from a Kings Cross cafe this week. His comments could open up another front in Sydney's desperate battle to contain growing heroin dangers. Authorities have repeatedly warned that potentially-fatal, very pure heroin is now being sold. Its... https://www.scmp.com/article/168339/murder-charge-sought-drugs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/168339/murder-charge-sought-drugs?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Jul 1996 16:00:00 +0000 The Catholic Church has formally apologised for its historical role in assisting state and federal governments in forcibly separating Aboriginal children from their parents. The apology follows a similar one made recently by the Anglican Church. The apologies of both - believed to be the first of their kind - are important stages in healing the wounds caused by the 'assimilationist policy', under which Australian governments took Aboriginal children from their families and placed them in... https://www.scmp.com/article/167623/apology-child-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/167623/apology-child-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Jul 1996 16:00:00 +0000 News that car maker Renault is considering pulling out of the Australian market has sparked concern that high-profile French firms are still feeling the effects of last year's boycott. Renault officials said this week they would announce a decision before the end of the month, in the wake of figures showing sales of only 184 cars in Australia in the first six months of the year. The poor performance comes as a surprise, given the perception that Franco-Australian trade had largely recovered... https://www.scmp.com/article/167489/concern-threat-renault-pullout?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/167489/concern-threat-renault-pullout?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Jul 1996 16:00:00 +0000 Most young Australians say there should be no change to the Australian flag - even if that means retaining the Union Jack as a prominent part of its design. The poll, in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald, revealed only 27 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 felt the flag should be redesigned, and showed a majority of all Australians - 66 per cent - wanted no change. The results follow last week's federal government proposal that any change to the flag be ratified by a national plebiscite. The... https://www.scmp.com/article/166008/flag-poll-shows-support-status-quo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/166008/flag-poll-shows-support-status-quo?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jul 1996 16:00:00 +0000 The common international image of Australia as the 'Lucky Country' of agricultural plenty may require revision with the release of figures showing 80 per cent of farmers in spiralling debt, and 30 farmers leaving the land each week. The Federal Government convened a National Rural Finance Summit in Canberra yesterday in an attempt to pull Australian agriculture out of what some analysts have described as its worst crisis in living memory. According to government figures, just 20 per cent of... https://www.scmp.com/article/165756/farmers-battle-survive-worst-agricultural-crisis-living-memory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/165756/farmers-battle-survive-worst-agricultural-crisis-living-memory?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jul 1996 16:00:00 +0000 In a move that may herald a worsening of black-white relations, the country's most prominent and respected Aboriginal campaigner, Noel Pearson, has resigned from politics. The young and gifted man, whom many thought could one day become Australia's first black prime minister, dramatically resigned his post as head of the Cape York Land Council, a highly-influential land rights group, on Wednesday. He cited deep disillusionment and exhaustion as the causes. The 31-year-old lawyer leaves a black... https://www.scmp.com/article/165049/shock-resignation-highlights-race-rift?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/165049/shock-resignation-highlights-race-rift?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Jun 1996 16:00:00 +0000 Australians have delivered a sharp verdict against Asian immigration in a new poll. Sixty-five per cent of those surveyed believe that immigration levels are too high, and 88 per cent of those disagree with the mix of migrants, claiming that Australia allows in too many Asians. The poll, published in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald, may indicate a resurgence of 'White Australia' sentiments, but more likely reflects concern over the state of the job market. Nearly three-quarters of... https://www.scmp.com/article/164137/job-fears-spark-tough-view-immigration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/164137/job-fears-spark-tough-view-immigration?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jun 1996 16:00:00 +0000 Quietly swimming in Lawn Hill Creek, Far North Queensland, is a species of turtle that, according to scientists, has been extinct for 50,000 years. Seemingly unaware that it should have died out in the Pleistocene era, a mature Lavarackorum elseya has been discovered by divers, and embarrassed scientists are trying to explain how the species could have gone completely unnoticed until now. 'Up to a point, Australian scientists have egg on their faces,' said palaeontologist Dr Arthur... https://www.scmp.com/article/164140/extinct-turtle-surfaces?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/164140/extinct-turtle-surfaces?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jun 1996 16:00:00 +0000 While gun owners are being urged to surrender high-powered firearms to the police, public confidence in the gun control process has been badly shaken by revelations that Victoria police sold off similar weapons collected during a previous amnesty. Assistant Commissioner of Police Graham Sinclair admitted officers sold 10 Uzi sub-machineguns, 17 AR-15 rifles and 29 other weapons to the Granite Arms Company, a Victorian gun dealership, in November 1994. Although the firearms had been handed... https://www.scmp.com/article/164046/sale-amnesty-guns-shakes-faith-police?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/164046/sale-amnesty-guns-shakes-faith-police?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jun 1996 16:00:00 +0000 In one of the first official initiatives of its kind in the world, an Australian state government has declared war on the way women are portrayed by the fashion industry and will attempt to regulate it. The New South Wales Government made the decision in response to crisis figures that showed 1,500 young women died in the state each year from the eating disorders bulimia and anorexia, and 7,500 were annually diagnosed with anorexia. Officials and doctors will summon fashion and advertising... https://www.scmp.com/article/162553/anger-all-bones-fashion-statement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/162553/anger-all-bones-fashion-statement?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jun 1996 16:00:00 +0000 Southeast Asian migrants have made Buddhism the fastest-growing religion in Australia. Bureau of Immigration, Multicultural and Population Research figures show the number of Buddhists nearly quadrupled to 140,000 from 1981 to 1991. It is thought there are now about 200,000 in Australia. Immigration from countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia had been the main source of new Buddhists, the bureau report said. Some 30,000 Australians from Western backgrounds had also joined the... https://www.scmp.com/article/161718/booming-time-buddhism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/161718/booming-time-buddhism?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 May 1996 16:00:00 +0000 Protests against recent gun law reform have spilled over into the political arena with the establishment of the Australian Reform Movement (ARM), a quasi-political party of the far right. The extreme right-wing - largely controlled by the gun lobby - has been smarting since Prime Minister John Howard's Government succeeded in outlawing automatic and semi-automatic weapons this month. The establishment of the ARM will consolidate the country's extremists and is certain to escalate a wave of... https://www.scmp.com/article/161450/far-right-takes-aim-gun-laws?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/161450/far-right-takes-aim-gun-laws?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 May 1996 16:00:00 +0000 IS there anyone left in Australia who does not know who Martin Bryant is? Probably not. Saturation coverage of last month's Port Arthur massacre has put the callow face of the accused man on coffee tables and television screens across the continent - in urban penthouses and in the loneliest corrugated-iron shacks of the Outback. And that is precisely the problem facing Tasmania's legal system - the fact that it will be almost impossible to put together a panel of impartial jurors to hear... https://www.scmp.com/article/161173/australians-convictions-complicate-massacre-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/161173/australians-convictions-complicate-massacre-case?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 May 1996 16:00:00 +0000 The Government has been embarrassed by a leaked document proposing a sharp turnaround in the country's refugee policy, contrary to election promises. The plans, detailed in a Cabinet submission by Minister for Immigration Philip Ruddock entail cutting the number of refugees to be accepted from 15,000 to 10,000 a year. The proposals contradict campaign pledges by Prime Minister John Howard's coalition 'not to reduce the refugee component and to emphasise the role of assisting refugees'. In the... https://www.scmp.com/article/160122/refugee-quota-cut-proposed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/160122/refugee-quota-cut-proposed?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 May 1996 16:00:00 +0000