Australia’s Battle Between Rigidity and Flexibility

Australia’s Battle Between Rigidity and Flexibility
"It’s a great way to start the day," Bella says, "to arrive at work seeing the good in
the world." Damien Cave is the new Australia Bureau Chief for The New York Times.
It’s also what lets the country’s leaders pat each other on the back for Australia’s "multicultural society" even as they work to add additional rules
that make it harder to obtain citizenship, and insist that immigrants exhibit "Australian values," which mean just about anything that the establishment deems important.
Damien Cave, our new Australia bureau chief, shares insights on global news,
local recommendations and feedback from readers in this weekly newsletter.
I think of this every time I see people waiting for the "walk" sign at crosswalks where cars are nowhere to be seen, or when I interact with officials in Canberra or civil servants in New South Wales, who tend to insist
that the way they do things is the only way they could ever be done, ever, anywhere.
• David Brooks crafts a philosophical argument against Trumpism
that he says Republicans should embrace: "The core American idea is not the fortress, it’s the frontier." • Lisa Pryor, discussing Australia’s same-sex marriage dispute, would like to point out that "one particular family arrangement does appear to have a slight advantage when it comes to raising children.
4, 2017
Damien Cave, our Australia bureau chief, shares insights on global news, local recommendations and feedback from readers in this weekly newsletter.