I’m genuinely curious how people reconcile the Bible being treated as a symbol of truth, morality and justice with some of the things actually written in it.
And I’m not talking about obscure interpretations. These are actual biblical passages:

Leviticus 25:44–46 – Permits buying slaves from foreign nations, treating them as property and passing them down to your children.

Exodus 21:7–11 – Establishes rules for a father selling his daughter as a female servant.

Numbers 31:17–18 – Moses orders the killing of male children and women who have slept with men, while sparing the virgin girls.

Deuteronomy 21:10–14 – Provides rules for taking a female war captive as a wife.

1 Samuel 15:3 – God commands the Israelites to kill the Amalekites, including men, women, children, infants and livestock.

Deuteronomy 22:28–29 – Describes a man being required to marry a virgin after seizing and having sex with her, with the interpretation of the circumstances disputed.

Deuteronomy 25:11–12 – Commands cutting off a woman’s hand for grabbing a man’s genitals during a fight.

Exodus 21:20–21 – Provides different penalties for beating a slave depending on whether the slave dies immediately or survives.

Deuteronomy 13:6–10 – Commands putting even your own family members to death for encouraging worship of other gods.

Judges 19:22–29 – A concubine is handed over to a mob, sexually abused throughout the night and subsequently dismembered. This is a horrific event described in the Bible, rather than a command from God.

2 Samuel 5:13 – David takes additional wives and concubines.

Deuteronomy 21:18–21 – Provides for the stoning of a persistently rebellious son following a legal process.

That’s slavery, ownership of women, sexual violence, killing children, religious executions and concubinage, all appearing in a book that millions regard as a source of divine morality.
I
If we can recognise these things as morally unacceptable today, aren’t we using our modern human values to judge the morality of the Bible rather than getting our morality from it?

Why should a book containing these passages retain such symbolic authority in a modern, secular justice system?.

Police arrested a knife-wielding man in central Footscray on Wednesday afternoon.

Officers were called to Byron Street at about 4.30pm on 14 October following reports that a man was threatening passers-by with a knife.

A 37-year-old man of no fixed address was arrested and later charged with possessing a controlled weapon and possessing methyl-amphetamine.

He was bailed with conditions to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 6 April 2027.

There were no reports of injuries to members of the public.

‘Fake meetings’: Special Minister of State's office finds no evidence of Anika Wells meeting amid birthday party travel scandal | News24

The theft of a cherished church bell from a South Australian regional township has been condemned by the local mayor, who says his community has been deprived of an irreplaceable "time capsule" from its past.

The brass bell was stolen from outside St Peters Anglican Church at Mallala some time this month, and is among a growing list of objects of historical and sentimental value that are believed to have been targeted by metal thieves across the state.

Recent thefts of plaques from two sites in suburban Adelaide — the Burnside District Fallen Soldiers' Memorial at Rose Park and The Gums Reserve War Memorial Garden at Tranmere — prompted a strong rebuke from the state government this week.

The thefts have led to calls from local councils for a crackdown on the black market for stolen metal.

Police are investigating the theft of the Mallala bell, which was on a stand outside the church's door and is believed to have been stolen between the afternoon of Friday, October 2 and the following Thursday evening.

Adelaide Plains Mayor Mark Wasley expressed support for stronger regulation of scrap metal sales and told 891 ABC Adelaide the bell was "pretty well irreplaceable".

"Things like this [bell] are part of the fabric of our communities and we've had memorials that have gone missing or actually been stolen over the period of time, but these memorials are like a living time capsule," he said.

"A plaque that you can see has been prised off a wall — the people who receive them, they must know."

Mr Wasley said it was "very disappointing" to learn of the bell's disappearance, saying its weight meant more than one person may have been involved in its theft.

"It's just unbelievable that someone would think to go there and remove it," he said.

He urged whoever had taken it to just "leave it on the doorstep at the church — we would be more than happy with that".

"For generations, the bell has marked important occasions including church services, weddings, funerals and community gatherings, making its loss deeply felt by parishioners and residents alike."

Mr Wasley said that, when he was a teenage member of the St Peters congregation, he had the duty of ringing the bell, which is estimated to be more than a century old.

Burnside Mayor Anne Monceaux this week described the loss of the plaques at the Rose Park memorial as "devastating" for the community.

"This is of course a month off of Remembrance Day where we do have a ceremony at this location to remember the fallen from World War I."

Councillor Lilian Henschke said while a small number of the items had been recovered, staff had since conducted a check on the number of missing plaques across the council area.

"Staff quickly found that there were 27 plaques missing through the whole City of Burnside, and nine of those — the most plaques stolen — were from this area, this avenue of honour, this very significant war memorial," she said.

"I'm calling for an audit of all of those scrap yards that don't have a licence."

In August, the bust of South Australian suffragist Mary Lee was taken from its plinth along North Terrace in Adelaide's CBD.

The SA government has introduced laws for a crackdown on the sale of stolen metal, through the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2025.

The Act is not expected to come into effect until 2028 — but Attorney-General Kyam Maher told ABC Radio this week the government was looking to accelerate the introduction of the laws targeting "idiots who would steal plaques [and] things commemorating others' sacrifice and achievement".

"We've seen this in different forms recently, with busts cut down on North Terrace — so if it can be sped up we would certainly look to do that," he said.

Harry De Ruiter from Daws Road Recycling supported calls for an audit of unlicensed yards, and said his family's business worked closely with police in cases of suspected theft.

"Something like a plaque would absolutely ring alarm bells on our end," he said.

"They're a new type of thing that they're stealing — a lot of builders nowadays have cameras up on sites, and alarms and stuff like that, so I guess these people have turned to the high value of brass at the moment.

Mr De Ruiter said care needed to be taken to ensure crackdowns did not discourage legitimate recycling.

"We support it on the high-value items like brass and catalytic converters and copper and the most stolen type of items," he said.

"But our fear is that if it expands out from that into other forms of scrap metal, it might deter people from bringing in their garden shed or their old fence."

An acting icon best known for his small roles across a range of some of the most iconic films and TV shows ever produced in Australia has died aged 74.

Gary Waddell died earlier this week after a short battle with dementia. Waddell’s career on Australian film and TV spanned nearly 50 years and included parts in iconic shows like Blue Heelers, Home and Away, A Country Practice and Rake.

He also appeared in films including Charlie’s Country and Chopper.

Family, friends and former colleagues have sung the praises of the “hilarious, beautiful, charming” and “naughty” Victorian, who first appeared on Australian screens as the leading man of edgy 1975 drama Pure Sh*t, in which he played a heroin addict.

Singer-songwriter Lo Carmen said Waddell was a “one-of-a-kind, heart-of-f**king-gold dude”.

“He used to turn up at our place with little cars and books and old cool toys and gifts for our son Dutch, just because he was full of love,” Carmen said.

“We’d stand around talking about books and films and food and nothing and everything and laughing our heads off for the next two hours.

“You’d be in tears of laughter. I don’t know why on earth he wasn’t cast in everything.”

Waddell’s talent managers said he “passed away peacefully” after living with dementia “over the last few years”.

“Gary was one of a kind, a true artist in every sense of the word, and his body of Australian work was so utterly impressive,” they wrote on Facebook.

“The SJM team send their love to Gary’s family at this time. Thanks for everything Gary, you will be missed. We’ve hat a lot of fun over the years.”

Waddell most recently appeared in the 2022 film The Survival of Kindness.

Greens leader David Shoebridge has refused to say whether the party will release the findings of an inquiry into allegations against Greens senator Jordon Steele-John.

Steele-John,32, has rejected allegations that he made inappropriate comments towards women and has taken leave from the Greens party room.

Shoebridge denies he knew about historic complaints about the Western Australian senator between 2017 and 2025, until a letter from seven Greens members demanding an investigation into "concerning behaviour" landed on his desk this week.

"I've been leader now for two weeks, and when I received these complaints, I took the most timely action that I believe you could take, and I'd ask people to judge me and on the response that’s been taken, the timely response that's been taken," Shoebridge told reporters on Friday.

"This is a process that will be commissioned by the WA Greens, and the parameters that we are very clear about is it will be fair, and it will be independent, and it will be timely. But it is not my role to put parameters around what we have said must be and will be an independent process.

"And we are committed to undertaking that process, and committed to doing justice to the matters that have been raised, and justice to any party that has been involved in the matter, and I think that should be actually a bedrock. That should actually be a bedrock of politics."

When asked about the minutes of a NSW Young Greens meeting in October 2018 raising sexual harassment claims against Steele-John, Shoebridge denied he knew about it.

"I was in a different parliament," he said.

"I do not recall having any involvement at all in that, and I don’t think people would expect an upper-house MP in a state parliament to have any role in that."

In a statement, Steele-John said the allegations lacked specific details.

"I utterly reject this characterisation of me, which tries to assert I am someone I am not," he said.

"Any allegation of this nature is extremely serious and must be treated accordingly. If someone has made an allegation, I am prepared to address it.

"I have referred this matter to the WA Greens, so that a fair, independent process can be commissioned that upholds the principles of natural justice and ensures procedural fairness for everyone involved."

The letter sent to Shoebridge contains accusations he says the party takes "incredibly seriously".

"When matters like this are raised, they require a fair and independent and timely process for them to be dealt with. The WA Greens are commissioning that process," he said.

The senator will self-refer matters outlined in the letter to an independent complaints process.

SBS News has contacted Steele-John's for comment.

Steele-John entered parliament in 2017 at 23 and is the party's spokesperson for disability and mental health, leading a campaign against NDIS cuts.

Kos samaras latest article. What is everyone's thoughts

"The first politician who has an honest conversation with Australians about the world they actually live in will win. Not the best slogan or the biggest promise. The truth.

The truth is this. The 30 years after the war were never normal. One wage bought a house, raised a family and funded a retirement. That happened in a few dozen countries, once, for about three decades. Growth per person ran at 3.8 per cent a year, after nearly 40 years it’s now at 1 per cent. Seven workers for every retiree. The West had the world's factories almost to itself and cheap oil. Every one of those conditions is gone and no government can bring them back. Some are actually accelerating the decline of prosperity in the west, like Trump. Yes, a note to some of you Trump fans, please stay away from any job that requires economic skills.

The new world has now become the old world. It has more in common with 1930 than with anything in the last 40 years. Slow growth. An ageing country. A fair share that has to be chosen on purpose rather than delivered by the tide.

In 1930, a workers wage was mostly consumed by basic material needs, food, fuel and a roof over one’s head. Hello 2026.

Which brings me to immigration.

Blaming migrants for the end of the boom is the laziest, most empty-headed response available to Australian politics. It requires no thought, no plan and no courage. There is no migration cut that makes a house cost three times a wage again. A smaller intake does not restore seven workers for every retiree. It drives the ratio towards two, faster. It makes the problem worse while pretending to solve it. Anyone selling it is not offering an answer. They are offering a scapegoat so they never have to explain the arithmetic because explaining it and actually working towards a solution means one thing - empowering employees.

Link below."

The stunning 2km Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk in Sydney’s east has again been transformed into a giant sculpture park. This year’s Sculpture by the Sea marks 30 years since the first exhibition in 1997. It has grown to become known as the world’s largest free outdoor sculpture exhibition. Here’s a look back at some favourite pieces

The NAB Monthly Business Survey for September shows business confidence dropped four points, placing it among the weakest readings in the survey’s history outside the GFC and the Covid period.

My interest has always been in emerging technology, particularly advanced 3D printing, and how it can create better possibilities and improve people's everyday lives.

In short:

Newly surfaced emails have revealed sensitive court data was sent to India more than a decade ago.

A spokesperson for the Federal Circuit and Family Court said the current court leadership was unaware of the earlier data offshoring.

What's next?

Shadow Attorney General Michaela Cash and Greens leader David Shoebridge are both calling for an investigation. 

Breaking news: water is wet.

I’m not seeing much to be optimistic about - and I’m usually bullish on Australia.

The future looks pretty bleak sadly.
- productivity stagnant and no signs of any uplift due to AI. Indeed the AI impact on white collar workers in Australia so far appears to be seeing their jobs go to India or the Phillipines
- essentially a bi partisan acknowledgement of immigration coming down in future years, which has been one of our primary sources of growth
- a generational housing market correction that, whilst being fantastic for first home buyers, kills incumbents and dampens sentiment through negative wealth effect
- a bad and worsening fiscal policy outlook. Fed labor are clearly spending too much but haven’t come to the table with any suggestions on how they’ll rein it in.

We’ve still got a world class mining industry but that is obviously exposed to commodity prices

Where is the upside I am missing here?

Don't believe any tips that hit your inbox promising the lowdown on how to ace this week's news quiz. You can't trust them.

And yet there's no time to lose. As question one reveals, time itself is literally running out. 

Let's begin.

In short:

The final cost of Hobart's new AFL stadium is still unclear, with the current estimate more than a year old.

Tasmania's premier would not commit to limiting the state's contribution to $875 million.

What's next?

An updated price tag is expected to be released before the end of the year.

I've emailed a few politicians over the years and had a mixed bag of experiences. Curious how other people have gone.

The oldest one I remember was to Sarah Henderson (Coalition) about a bus driver who kept missing my stop. Someone from her office replied saying they'd spoken to management and it shouldn't happen again. Ironically, I got attitude from the driver afterwards, now that I drive I don’t know if it changed that experience for others.

I also contacted Katie Hall (Labor) about the vape ban. I used some wording from a template suggested by an organisation I'd somehow ended up on the mailing list for, which I probably wouldn't do again. The response was fairly generic. I've since moved from illegal vapes to nicotine pouches like Zyn and eventually nicotine mints, so it's not really an issue I'm particularly invested in anymore.

More recently, I've emailed Daniel Mulino about the lack of opportunities for financial planning graduates to get the experience and training needed to complete their Professional Year. It's too early to judge whether anything will come of that.

I've also contacted the Greens asking them to push for all parties to release their election policy costings about a week earlier than they currently do ahead of the Victorian state election. No response yet, but it's still early days. Given they make such a point of costing policy I figured to send it to them first.

What's everyone else's experience been like?

Who have you contacted, did they respond, and did they actually address what you wrote about?

Feel free to name politicians who replied or didn't, and share what the response was like. I'm interested in whether contacting them has actually made a difference for anyone.

Hey everyone!
I’m an aged care worker (PCA and nursing student) and I’m researching the system failures in aged care process for families. I’m trying to find out what’s a pain to deal with when trying to get your loved one the extra support they need.

Answer whichever questions you like, even just one or two.
1. Who were you helping (parent, partner, sibling, yourself) and roughly when did you start?

1. What was the single hardest or most frustrating moment? What happened?

2. How long did each step take: first contact, assessment, approval, getting services started? Where did you wait the longest?

3. Who did you turn to for help (government call-line, family, GP, hospital social worker, care finder, advocate, paid adviser, etc)? What was useful and what wasn’t?

4. Did you pay anyone or anything to help (adviser, case manager, lawyer, accountant, service fees)? What for, and roughly how much?

5. Is there a point where you wished someone could just take over? What would you have handed over?

6. If a service had existed to handle that, what would it have needed to do for you to trust it? What would have made you say no?

7. Anything you want to share that I haven’t asked?

TLDR : Exploring the experiences of people accessing myaged care services? Did they wish someone else could do it for them? If yes, was something helpful they would recommend others?