Ahoy Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has told us that Australian naval vessels have inadvertently breached Indonesian boundaries at sea on multiple occasions when turning back refugees travelling by sea attempting to access Australia and claim asylum. Leaving aside the cruelty and hard-heartedness of the anti-refugee policy of the Abbott government, one wonders at the competence of our navy that they cannot operate so much as a GPS, let alone all the other equipment they have available to judge their position. No, actually, one does not so wonder. Because they were acting on orders, obviously. Nevertheless our PM, Tony Abbott, persists in the lie, claiming the sailors were distracted by wind or tide or other operational complexities. Such as playing Angry Birds on their phones, maybe (but that would mean access to equipment with GPS capabilities, so it’s unlikely). What kind of vessels are they operating? Is “Operation Sovereign Borders” being conducted on First Fleet replicas? Given Education Minister Christopher Pyne’s obsession with Australia’s glorious British past (more usually with how wonderful our boys were at Gallipoli), perhaps this is a revision to the naval college’s curriculum. What a government. There are two kinds of lies: those they tell and not telling us anything. Is this the best we can expect? Will “Stop the Boats” become “Stop the Tides”? Tony “Canute” Abbott needs to step up his game.

Stralians all, let us rejoice Here we go: who will be Australian of the Year (and what other country does this)? I reckon it will be . . . a sports person. Hey, I like Adam Goodes. He may be a football player, but he's got a brain and he's got heart and he's Aboriginal and stands up for it and against racism. But I like the scientists and artists more than the sports personalities on the basis that they are advancing the culture of Australia in ways the sports, to date, does not. When we can have professional sports that aren't sponsored and don't promote alcohol abuse and domestic violence (and in the latter case I admit they're trying, at least a little bit), then the players should be included in the nominations, for their individual efforts outside of sport. Too often that's not the case. If Goodes wins, however, I'd applaud, because he has made the effort on field and off. With Tony Abbott as PM, however, given his predisposition for engaging in sport to promote himself and his vision of the country, a non-sports selection is (a) unlikely and (b) more meaningful. Update: I was wrong: Goodes won. And good for him and us, I say, and continuing to be brave and outspoken. He'll cop some flak, I suppose, in the usual circles and with the usual circular logic and missing-the-pointedness, but he's a good choice.

Reviews I try to keep up, but most of the music reviews I read are disappointing in the end, so when I finally broke down and picked up the debut CD from Lorde I was not only greatly relieved to quite like the music but also very impressed. Now I don't know if the sophomore effort will match the excellence on display with "Pure Heroine" but I also don't think I care. This is an artist to follow for a while. It may be that, like many solo acts, Lorde doesn't immediately show the kind of growth that an ensemble act might, the various creatives push against each other to keep things fresh, and it may be the case that the second album is the stuff that didn't make the cut for the first blow-them-away effort, but I don't get that impression here. Lorde shows an independence and a creativity that shows just how deep her artistry goes, how far she'll push herself from the start. Her lyrics are insightful, honest, and poetic, but don't get sappy or shy away from the points she wants to make, without getting in your face. If you can't deal, that's your problem, and fair enough. I've got "Royals" stuck on replay in my head and I'm liking it. Bring it, kid; I'm in it for the long haul if you are. I've seen a lot of movies across a fair swath of genres, often in subtitles. One of my new favourites: The Great Beauty. This has to be one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen on film. It is often terribly funny, but then as often deeply touching, or disturbing, or sorrowful. How do you feel for someone like Jep Gambardella, whose talents have been so beautifully wasted, and who, at the same time, can both recognize this and completely miss it? Toni Servillo is a very expressive actor, his mobile face conveying so much that his words and his silences can belie. The film could be Fellini's but doesn't fail in its modernity. We are dealing with a contemporary, those of us of an age, that is, although I dare say there are many much younger who would do well to heed the message: don't deny beauty when you find it or you deny yourself.