Former prime minister Julia Gillard and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have joined a chorus of politicians criticising a truck-mounted billboard featuring Victorian premier Jacinta Allan alongside the phrase “ditch the witch”.
The billboards, which have been seen travelling through Melbourne for about six weeks, also ran AI-generated images of Allan wearing a black pointed hat and with warts on her chin, in between advertisements for a brothel.
Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Monday the “sexist” advertising campaign was “totally unacceptable and has no place in public life”.
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In pictures
A stripped-back take on Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman has dominated this year’s Tonys, winning six awards, while Lesley Manville and John Lithgow took home lead acting trophies.
What they said …
“I wanted to keep contributing, even in my darkest hour.” – Dr Richard Scolyer
Richard Scolyer shared his “greatest lesson” in an open letter to Australians before his death, aged 59. Scolyer was diagnosed with grade-four inoperable brain cancer and told he had six to eight months to live in May 2023. In a world first, he underwent a series of novel immunotherapy treatments, successfully slowing the growth of the glioblastoma until its return in early 2025.
The Sunday Read: Will Australia stand for how the US treats its allies?
When news broke that Australia will buy only secondhand nuclear submarines from the US, it signalled a major shift in the Aukus deal. It’s made Emma Shortis, the director of international and security affairs at the Australia Institute, ask: what’s a few secondhand subs between friends?
Before bed read
“Across my practice, clients of all ages from teenagers to people in their mid-50s are reporting the same symptoms: reduced memory, shortened attention spans, reduced ability to concentrate,” writes Melbourne psychologist Carly Dober. But Dober says there is a way out of smartphone capture – first by making scrolling a little harder by creating an obstacle, giving your rational brain time to catch up with your impulsive thumb.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: EAT. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word.
