It’s an annual event and it’s another way to view this bleak year in Australian politics. At least this time with a laugh. It’s the exhibition, Behind the lines: the year’s best political cartoons. I first attended this annual event several years back at the National Museum. It’s now (aptly) downstairs at MOAD (Museum of Australia Democracy, or better, Old Parliament House).
To me, MOAD seems an aspirational, Howard-era name. From the time when we honoured the Magna Carta with its own park then casually ignored habeas corpus. (I need a better segue, but it reminds me that I heard serious talk of Aussie exceptionalism on the radio the other day. It’s such an insular and self-congratulatory term. I hope it makes it as a topic for a cartoon next year). There’s always a good deal of mirth at this exhibition, although the tenor of Australia federal politics has been disheartening this year, so it was harder to raise a chuckle for some of the topics. But there were some goodies. I’m trying to decide a favourite between the car sticker showing Gillard’s depressing Parliamentary family (My disfunctional family / Mark Knight, Herald Sun, 21 Feb 2012) or the CEOs and Gillard as the kings with no clothes (Cheap Asian imports / Peter Nicholson, The Australian, 28 Mar 2012) or the journos hanging out for a leadership spill (What the media wants / Fiona Katauskas, Eureka Street, 22 Feb 2012) or a few on the carbon tax (The gold tax / Jon Kudelka, The Australian, 31 Jul 2012 and Sausages / Michael Leunig, The Age, 8 Nov 2011) or a primer on becoming a billionaire (How to become a billionaire / Jon Kudelka, The Australian, 6 Sep 2012) or plain packaging (SuperBaccysFragiLegalTacticalSclerosis / David Pope, Canberra Times, 16 Aug 2012) or political fairy-tale-telling (The Magnate of La Mancha / David Pope, Canberra Times, 12 Mar 2012) or a pair by perhaps my favourite cartoonist (excluding my other favourites) First Dog on the Moon, from Crickey (Eat the children of the rich / First Dog on the Moon, Crikey, 21 Feb 2012 and My last day on Earth / First Dog on the Moon, Crikey, 29 Jun 2012). Oh, and I forgot, there are others… If you can’t get to OPH, it’s all online. An annual Christmas release valve for Australian political junkies. The annual Behind the Lines exhibition of Australian political cartoons was held at the Museum of Australian Democracy in the Old Parliament House.
Behind the lines online
To me, MOAD seems an aspirational, Howard-era name. From the time when we honoured the Magna Carta with its own park then casually ignored habeas corpus. (I need a better segue, but it reminds me that I heard serious talk of Aussie exceptionalism on the radio the other day. It’s such an insular and self-congratulatory term. I hope it makes it as a topic for a cartoon next year). There’s always a good deal of mirth at this exhibition, although the tenor of Australia federal politics has been disheartening this year, so it was harder to raise a chuckle for some of the topics. But there were some goodies. I’m trying to decide a favourite between the car sticker showing Gillard’s depressing Parliamentary family (My disfunctional family / Mark Knight, Herald Sun, 21 Feb 2012) or the CEOs and Gillard as the kings with no clothes (Cheap Asian imports / Peter Nicholson, The Australian, 28 Mar 2012) or the journos hanging out for a leadership spill (What the media wants / Fiona Katauskas, Eureka Street, 22 Feb 2012) or a few on the carbon tax (The gold tax / Jon Kudelka, The Australian, 31 Jul 2012 and Sausages / Michael Leunig, The Age, 8 Nov 2011) or a primer on becoming a billionaire (How to become a billionaire / Jon Kudelka, The Australian, 6 Sep 2012) or plain packaging (SuperBaccysFragiLegalTacticalSclerosis / David Pope, Canberra Times, 16 Aug 2012) or political fairy-tale-telling (The Magnate of La Mancha / David Pope, Canberra Times, 12 Mar 2012) or a pair by perhaps my favourite cartoonist (excluding my other favourites) First Dog on the Moon, from Crickey (Eat the children of the rich / First Dog on the Moon, Crikey, 21 Feb 2012 and My last day on Earth / First Dog on the Moon, Crikey, 29 Jun 2012). Oh, and I forgot, there are others… If you can’t get to OPH, it’s all online. An annual Christmas release valve for Australian political junkies. The annual Behind the Lines exhibition of Australian political cartoons was held at the Museum of Australian Democracy in the Old Parliament House.
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