This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to theechidna.com.au
$0/
(min cost $0)
Login or signup to continue reading
More twists and turns than a red-bellied black snake on a barbecue. There's no better Aussie turn of phrase to describe the seemingly endless Lehrmann-Higgins-Drumgold-Sofronoff-Reynolds-Ten-Seven legal drama.
As I suspect many others had, I switched off some time ago. Like keeping track of the goings on of The Bold and the Beautiful, it seemed pointless and repetitive, with any resolution always over the horizon. That disengagement came to an abrupt end last week. And I almost became a vegetarian.
Amid all the new and tawdry testimony presented at the eleventh hour in the defamation case brought by Lehrmann against the Ten Network, one thing stood out amongst the accusations of prostitutes and cocaine being bankrolled by the Seven Network and of court documents from the aborted criminal trial being wrongfully handed to TV producers.
It was the revelation there was such a thing as a $361 steak.
Don't get me wrong - I've been a happy carnivore all my life. And I've always had a healthy appetite. But the thought of ordering and then consuming the monstrous thing triggered a gag reflex.
At almost two kilograms, the tomahawk steak is the very definition of gluttony. And parting with that amount of money for it - whether on your own dime or someone else's - takes indulgence to a whole new depth.
As I tossed and turned trying to get to sleep hours later, visions of Monty Python's Mr Creosote, who gorged himself to death, played across my mind.
In my household, $361 pays for a fortnight's groceries from Aldi which easily sustains two adults. A vacuum-packed $7 rump satisfies any red meat yearnings for days. Many families with children get by on less.
Put aside the legal machinations and focus on the steak - the fact it was on the menu at a restaurant at that price. It would not have been if there was no chance customers would order it. At $361, that hunk of meat, still attached to the unfortunate bovine's rib, is emblematic of the yawning wealth gap in our society.
One imagines an industry titan tucking in, the juice running down their jowls, while across town a single mother apologises as she places another bowl of two-minute noodles and broccoli from the community food bank in front of her child. An obscene thought.
So much about the Lehrmann-Higgins saga has been disturbing but somehow that steak has left the worst taste for me. Not for what it says about the case but for what it says about us and our toxic relationship with food.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Would you pay $361 for a steak? Were you surprised to learn there was such a thing? How much do you spend on groceries a week? Can you afford much meat in your diet? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Australia is better placed to meet its winter domestic gas demand than earlier predictions as supply forecasts are revised up and expectations marked down. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is now forecasting a six petajoule (PJ) surplus in the September quarter, even if producers were to export all their uncontracted gas, marking an improvement on the 5PJ shortfall expected in December 2023.
- The ACT's corruption watchdog has confirmed it is assessing corruption allegations into Walter Sofronoff KC, who chaired the board of inquiry into the botched trial of Bruce Lehrmann. The Integrity Commission has confirmed it is examining disclosures made by Mr Sofronoff to journalists during the inquiry and him leaking the report to journalists before it was handed to Chief Minister Andrew Barr.
- Hormone therapy was Sandra Mesic's saving grace when her menopausal symptoms became "horrible". Now she hopes a new non-hormonal drug will help more women. Australian doctors will be able to prescribe menopausal women the pharmaceutical drug VEOZA from April 5 to treat hot flushes and night sweats that are known as vasomotor symptoms (VMS).
THEY SAID IT: "Gluttony might be innocuous were it not for the fact that gluttons tend to disregard whether their self-serving behaviors harm anyone else. We don't need to look far and wide to find examples of gluttonous behavior, as they are numerous throughout the history of capitalism." - Simon Mainwaring
YOU SAID IT: Garry took aim at the euphemisms we employ to mask harsh or uncomfortable reality.
"Some homemade additions to the language are downright ridiculous," writes David. "Many years ago, I heard George Bush jnr talk about the 'transportisation process'. Last week, I heard some cooking show wally talk about 'ovenisation' of the meal. It is a rare but enjoyable to hear some plain speakin' (with an apologisation process to Shaun Micallef)."
Len's blood pressure spikes when he hears "reaching out" instead of "contacting". "Who starts these fads? Is it our media friends or perhaps an academic brain snap? Just as annoying is the overuse by politicians of worn out cliches used when squirming about yet another broken promise: 'But we take these matters very seriously.'"
"I can't stand 'passed away' or, worse still, 'pass' instead of 'die' and cannot even bring myself to use the term," writes Jan. "It seems that nowadays even family pets pass away. And then of course there is 'disestablish' instead of 'cancel' as in 'their jobs were disestablished' which of course leads to the hilarious and ludicrous term 'disestableshmentarianism'. The list of irritating euphemisms is unfortunately endless and plain English suffers as a result."
John writes: "I'm with you all the way on ridiculous euphemisms (all business speak is simply a form of Orwellian doublethink) and 'chest feeding' or 'pregnant people' are simply ridiculous. I'd disagree with you on 'enslaved people' versus 'slaves'. Yes, it's a little more prolix, but by shifting the concept of slavery to an adjectival form you remind the audience of their essential humanity and the passive form indicates that this has been done to them by others."
Oliver points to "misinformation" and "disinformation". "New 'words' in widespread use, apparently trying to give faux justification to what they really refer to - lies and deceit. It might help if journalists were to set an example and use these plain words."
Four decades in the media, working in print and television. Formerly editor of the South Coast Register and Milton Ulladulla Times. Based on the South Coast of NSW.
Four decades in the media, working in print and television. Formerly editor of the South Coast Register and Milton Ulladulla Times. Based on the South Coast of NSW.
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Rami G Khouri
Donald Low
Mort Laitner
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
Michael Kwet
visit website
