Australia has had a plethora of successful writers and authors throughout its brief history as a nation. Several Aussie-born authors have won the Man Booker Prize (some even twice), which is viewed as the most pre-eminent award for literary fiction in the world. The following list is a compilation of the best Australian authors of the last century.
#1 Peter Carrey
Peter Carrey is one of only five writers in history to have won the Man Booker Prize twice, which he won in 1998 for “Oscar and Lucinda” and the “True History of the Kelly Gang” in 2001. He has won the Miles Franklin Award three times and remains one of Australia’s finest ever authors.
#2 Miles Franklin
Stella Miles Franklin was an Australian author and feminist known for her acclaimed novel “My Brilliant Career”. Australia’s annual literary prize is named after her in recognition of her contribution to a uniquely Australian form of fiction.
#3 Richard Flanagan
In 2014, Richard Flanagan won the Man Booker Prize for his successful war novel “The Narrow Road to the Deep North”. He has published seven books (many to critical acclaim) and remains one of the finest Australian novelists of his generation.
#4 Tim Winton
Tim Winton has won the Miles Franklin award four times throughout his career. Several of his novels have been adapted for the screen, including “Breath”, “Lockie Leonard” and “Cloudstreet”, the latter of which is regarded as one of Australia’s finest ever novels.
#5 Liane Moriarty
Liane Moriarty’s literary career has seriously picked up in recent years, primarily because of the success of the HBO television adaptation of her novel, “Big Little Lies”. She became the first Australian author to have a novel debut at the top spot on the New York Times’ bestseller list for “Big Little Lies” and “Truly Madly Guilty”.
Matthew Reilly is one of Australia’s most commercially successful authors, having sold more than 7 million copies worldwide. His novels have been published in more than 20 different languages and are mainly action thrillers. Reilley self-published his first book “Context” when he was just 19 years of age before Cate Paterson, an editor from Pan Macmillan, reached out to Reilly after reading his first novel. The rest is history.
#1 Ice Station (1998)
Ice Station is the first entry in Reilley’s Shane Schofield series and his second novel overall. The novel follows the efforts of United States Recon Marine, Shane Schofield, codenamed “Scarecrow”, as he tries to navigate the Wilkes Ice Station. It remains one of his best-selling books.
#2 Scarecrow (2003)
Scarecrow is the third novel in the Shane Schofield series and follows Schofield’s attempts at evading assassination. Majestic-12, which is made up of the wealthiest people in the world, concoct a list of 15 crucial targets who must be eliminated. Naturally, Schofield is one of them.
#3 The Tournament (2013)
The Tournament is one of Reilley’s few stand-alone novels and his 11th overall. It represents Reilley’s first foray into the world of historical fiction, charting the adventure of Queen Elizabeth and her mentor, Roger Ascham. In the novel, both the Queen and Roger travel to the Ottoman Empire to compete in a chess tournament.
#4 Temple (1999)
Coming in at number four on our list is Temple, another one of Reilley’s stand-alone novels. Known for his quick-fire prose and elaborate action sequences, Temple is probably one of the best examples of Reilley’s deft ability to develop action and foster suspense. The story follows a dual narrative – one set during the Spanish Occupation in South America and the other set 400 years later in 1999.
The Australian financial scene has gone through extensive structural reform over the last forty to fifty years. For many decades, the Australian financial sector was heavily regulated, which undermined investor confidence, meaning the Australian economy received minimal foreign direct investment. Here are some of the most significant changes that have occurred in Australian financial markets.
Deregulating the Australian Dollar
The Australian Dollar was first introduced in February 1966, where it replaced the pre-decimal Australian pound. Before 1983, the Australian Dollar was maintained via a fixed exchange rate system. Initially, it was pegged against the British pound before pegging the currency against the United States dollar during the 1970s. On December 1983, the Hawke Government floated the Australian Dollar for the first time, under the guidance of Treasurer, Paul Keating.
The Royal Commission
The recent Royal Commission has significantly changed the public’s perception of the big four banks: the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the National Australia Bank (NAB), Westpac Banking Corporation and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ). With evidence of widespread corruption, misconduct and negligence, the Royal Commission has irrevocably changed how customers and households engage with their local banks.
Growth of the services sector
Investors will understand the Australian manufacturing scene has declined significantly over the past few decades. Since the early 1970s, manufacturing has fallen 25% of employment positions to under 10%. Where have they all gone? Well, Australia has structurally shifted to more service-based industries, which now equate for more than 80% of all employment in the Australian economy.
As a result, many investors tend to focus on service industries when investing, which represents a dramatic shift from earlier investor strategies. Rapidly growing tech companies are quickly superseding manufacturing businesses as the most desirable shares for investors.
Bashar Ibrahim is a marine biologist based in Sydney, Australia who heads up a team of 6 biologists. His research and work has produced many academic publications which have been cross referenced and praised by numerous big name marine biologists in the community.
Ibrahim now focuses his work on the study of Great White Sharks across the world, with many expeditions to South Africa to perform field work and observational studies. He is also renowned for the activism and actions taken to preserve sharks in Earth’s oceans. Sharks across the world are an endangered species due to myths, overfishing and fear, and may face extinction in the later years. Ibrahim is keen to stop that from happening, and aims to spread the truth about sharks and dispel media misinformation labelling them as ‘man-eaters’.
Bashar Ibrahim’s interest and journey into the world of marine biology began as a teenager, when he was snorkelling at the beach and observed the sea life below him, noting that it was like an entirely new world under the surface of the water. The way sea animals interacted with each other and the environment around them fascinated Ibrahim, and from that day forward he would watch many documentaries about the ocean and its inhabitants.
Enrolling in Macquarie University, he studied and completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in Marine Biology. He went on to obtain his PhD through the research of the reproductive timing and synchronized reproduction of Sea Urchin in Argentina. Upon completing his doctorate, he went to work for the Australian Institute of Marine Science, a government-backed tropical marine research agency.
His real interest with sharks began when he was invited on a field observation study of Great White Sharks and their movement and migration habits.
During the expedition, he was witness to the implementation of tracking devices on Great White Sharks. This up close and personal encounter with the feared ocean predator was a crucial moment in his marine biology career, and he decided to pursue research projects associated with sharks, namely the Great White Shark.
Throughout the years, he has produced academic publications related to sharks, and has worked with many big names in the marine biology community and field. For many, Bashar Ibrahim is the up and coming star of shark studies in marine science. With global surveys revealing that shark numbers are in great decline due to a variety of factors, Ibrahim has dedicated his off-time to spreading awareness about these misunderstood sea animals, regularly running online awareness campaigns and the like. His efforts for the conservation of sharks has led him to receive several awards for conservation and charity efforts.
Bashar Ibrahim continues his work to this day at research facilities located with universities. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his field work is limited to Australia, however beforehand he regularly travelled between South Africa and Australia, completely field work in Kleinbaai to do with Great White Sharks. South Africa and Australia are both known for having significant populations of sharks, specifically the Great White Shark, and thus these locations are perfect for a marine biologist’s field work specializing in Great White Sharks.
Overall, Bashar Ibrahim is a renowned up and coming marine biologist who specializes in sharks, namely the Great White Shark. His fascination with sea life started as a teenager, and has led him to pursue a fruitful career in marine biology. His work with the Australian Institute of Marine Science has produced numerous academic publications, co-authored with big names in the marine science community. He continually raises awareness for the conservation of sharks across the world.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is arguing that Google’s notifications are misleading Australian consumers and using their personal information. Google has come under fire over the past few years for how it monitors users’ internet activity, allowing it to hone its targeted advertising.
What the ACCC is saying
Australia’s consumer watchdog will argue in front of the Federal Court that Google failed to appropriately and effectively inform customers of what they were getting into. Moreover, the ACCC will make the claim that the notifications posed by the tech giant have not been sufficiently harnessing informed consent. Google changed their privacy policy 4 years ago, using a binary “agree” or “disagree” option for users.
According to the ACCC, these privacy changes benefited Google’s financial position significantly. Rod Sims, who is the chairman of the ACCC, suggested that the changes allowed Google to massively increase the value of its advertising products, which led to much higher profits. Google has responded, adamantly denying the ACCC’s claims, arguing that they will actively defend the regulator’s claims.
Sundar Pichai and Google’s history
Sundar Pichai is the current CEO of Alphabet and Google and had vehemently defended the company since taking over the role of CEO in 2015. In December 2018, Pichai testified before the US Congress regarding perceived issues with Google’s privacy policy, alleged political biases and problems censoring in China. In his testimony, Pichai argued that Google’s employees could not influence or affect search results. He was adamant that there were no strategic plans to develop a censoring search app in China and that Google users can quickly opt-out of data collection.
In regards to their dispute with the ACCC, Google is reportedly cooperating with the Australian watchdog on this matter until a resolution met.
For the science world, the 2010s decade was a period of excitement and wonder, as acclaimed researchers and scientists around the globe explored new theories and hypotheses. Whether it be in the field of subatomic particles, genetic engineering or medicine, research is essential to the success and development of solutions to real-world issues. Here are the most seminal discoveries of the 2010s.
#1 Higgs boson
Peter Higgs
Thanks to the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, the standard model of particle physics was completed. In the 1960s, Peter Higgs, along with other well-known physicists at the time, predicted the existence of a new particle that would be able to explain mass generation.
However, it wasn’t until 2012 that CERN was able to announce their discovery formally and thereby support Higgs’ thesis from 50 years earlier. Higgs, along with Francois Englert, were both awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for their efforts.
#2 CRISPR
It wasn’t until the early 2010s that the world saw the full potential of genetic engineering. CRISPR technology can be used to edit genomes, allowing researchers to alter DNA sequences. It’s primarily been used in the agricultural sector to prevent the spread and reproduction of diseases crops; however, the technology generated controversy in 2018 when a Chinese scientist genetically altered two baby girls to be immune to HIV.
#3 Face transplant
In 2010, the first-ever full-face transplant was successfully administered. While partial face transplants had been carried out since around 2005, a group of Spanish doctors conducted a complete face transplant on a man who had injured himself while shooting.
A year later, a team of doctors in Massachusetts operated on Dallas Wiens, who had been injured in a power line accident that left him without lips, eyebrows or nose, and even blind. The surgery saw Wiens recover his sense of smell and speech; however, his sight could not be restored.
Following the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), which remains Australia’s national broadcaster, was informed of a funding squeeze by the Australian Government.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has strongly defended the Government’s decision to make funding changes to the ABC’s budget while denying that cuts were being made. Prime Minister Morrison has revealed that the ABC’s budget was continuing to increase and will continue to rise in the future. However, the ABC will be forced to cut 250 staff along with other internal projects, in what will cost the organisation close to $84 million.
Cutting funds to any state-sponsored institution is always controversial. However, there’s no denying that the ABC has been criticised in recent years for an apparent left-leaning political bias. More conservative commentators have argued that the ABC has lost touch with the thoughts of working-class Australia, primarily regional and suburban Aussie views.
However, at the same time, the cuts to the ABC have been criticised by other political commentators, including Labor communications spokeswoman, Michelle Rowland. Indeed, Rowland criticised the Morrison Government’s announcement about the ABC arguing that it was the wrong time for funding cuts and that it would have a demonstrable impact on other struggling sectors, like film.
What changes can we expect from the ABC?
The managing director of the ABC, David Anderson, has announced an audacious five-year plan designed to help refocus the ABC. One of the primary measures of the new program will see more than 75% of ABC staff relocated to regions outside of the company’s headquarters in Ultimo. The belief is that this will give content producers a renewed focus on distinctly regional concerns.
Prime Minister Morrison applauded the new efforts from the ABC, suggesting it was necessary for staff to “get their heads out of Ultimo”.
Gina Rinehart is arguably one of the most controversial business magnates in Australia. She is the chairperson of Hancock Prospecting, a mineral exploration company founded by her father in 1955. Because of her involvement and ownership of the company, Rinehart is consistently one of the wealthiest people in Australia. In July 2020, her net worth was recorded at $15.6 billion (AU); however, it peaked in 2012 during the mining boom (estimated at $29 billion).
Despite her financial success, Rinehart has courted a lot of controversy throughout her career. Here are some of the most notable examples.
Sydney Mining Club comments
In 2012, Rinehart made some controversial comments about the working style of Australia’s labour force. She argued that workers in Africa were more willing to work for lower wages and that Australian workers were more entitled when it came to wages and conditions. Her comments were criticised by then-Treasurer, Wayne Swan, and then-Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.
She believes in Australian secession
Rinehart has been vocal about her belief that Australia should be split down the middle into two separate entities. Her argument is that splitting Australia down the centre will shield the two economies from economic downturns in the Northern Hemisphere.
She doesn’t believe in climate change
Rinehart has also lambasted the science surrounding climate change. As a mining magnate, it makes sense for Rinehart to be dubious of the science (from a strategic perspective). She criticised the Gillard Government’s carbon tax initiative and has outwardly supported climate change sceptics.
She has supposedly tried to control news (and her image)
In 2010, Rinehart spent a whopping $285 million on acquiring a share in Fairfax Media (around 18.6%). Media commentators were sceptical of Rinehart’s decision, believing it was a way for her to curb negative publicity on her and her company. However, her bid to have three sitting members on the Fairfax Media board and the ability to fire editors was denied.
Hugh Jackman is one of the most successful and marketable Australian actors on the planet. Throughout the mid to late 1990s, Jackman cemented his status as an acclaimed stage actor, breaking into the West End scene with his Oliver Award-nominated performance in “Oklahoma!” However, it wasn’t until the early 2000s that Jackman managed to break into the Hollywood scene, starting with arguably his most famous role – Wolverine. Here are Hugh Jackman’s best # movies so far (counting down).
#5 Eddie the Eagle (2016)
Starring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman, “Eddie the Eagle” explores the life of British ski-jumper, Michael Edwards. Good-natured, inspirational and emotional, this film was massively underrated during its release and remains one of the more entertaining sports films of the last decade.
#4 Les Misérables (2012)
Now, some critics will say this should be higher since Jackman was nominated for an Oscar for his leading role. However, the film continues to polarise viewers – some value its audacity and visual brilliance, while others criticised the apparent lack of singing talent in the cast (excluding Jackman).
#3 Prisoners (2013)
“Prisoners” probably remains Jackman’s darkest ever film. Directed by acclaimed director, Denis Villeneuve, this taut, psychological drama follows two families as they frantically search for their abducted daughters. Morally subversive and mentally exhausting, Jackman drew rave reviews for his performance and was unlucky not to see more appreciation from the major awards.
#2 Logan (2017)
Jackman saved his best for last when he donned the role of The Wolverine for the last time in “Logan”. In terms of superhero movies, the film rises to the occasion, presenting viewers with something they always wanted – a dark, gritty and mysterious film that ensures the character received the send-off it deserved.
#1 The Prestige (2006)
Coming in at number 1 on our list is “The Prestige”, directed by Christopher Nolan. The film pits two magicians against each other, played by Christian Bale and Jackman. The plot is smart and subversive, keeping audiences questioning everything they see on the screen until well after the credits roll.
Widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world, Warren Buffett has accumulated a net worth over $71.8 billion as of July 2020. This puts 4th on the list of wealthiest people in the world, behind Jeff Bezos (US), Bill Gates (US) and Bernard Arnault (FRA). In 2008, Buffett was the wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of $62 billion US.
Warren Buffett
Education
Buffett was born in 1930, the song of Congressman, Howard Buffett. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947 and wanted to go straight into business; however, his father refused this and Buffett subsequently enrolled into the Wharton School in Pennsylvania. He transferred to the University of Nebraska and then again to the Business School of Columbia University, where he received a Master of Science in Economics in 1951.
Early career
Before assuming control of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett worked as an investment salesman and securities analyst across a few firms, including Graham-Newman Corp. His starting salary was around $12 000, which by today’s standards equates to about $114 000.
Assuming Berkshire and becoming a millionaire
In 1962, Buffett’s net worth began to skyrocket primarily because of the number of partnerships he was invested in. He acquired a textile manufacturing firm, known as Berkshire Hathaway. After several years, he moved the business into the insurance sector and sold off the last of the company’s mills in 1985.
Becoming a billionaire – the 1990s
Buffett became a billionaire in the early 1990s when Berkshire Hathaway listed class A shares in May. The market closed with the shares valued at $7175 per share. Many years later, Buffett stoked controversy with his company’s handling of the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007/08. While Berkshire Hathaway saw losses close to 80%, the company was criticised for allocating capital too early, resulting in several suboptimal deals. Despite this Buffett, emerged as the wealthiest person in 2008, before dropping back to second in 2009.
