Parra News January 20 2024

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Parra Matters
alanmascarenhas09@gmail.com
Index
Troy Dodds
@troydodds
Quit whining, Albo got this right
The reaction to Anthony Albanese’s call to
break an election commitment and re-work
the stage three tax cuts has been intriguing to
watch.
The criticism has been surprising; especially
given the changes mean bigger cuts for those
doing it the toughest in the current cost-of-living
crisis.
Ah, a Parramatta summer. There’s nothing
quite like it. A sense of being subsumed by all
the heat Sydney has to offer. Insufferably humid
days and nights. The inevitable mozzies,
roaches and huntsman spiders from leaving
the windows open. That first dip in the pool,
river or ocean. The innocence of being barefoot
and scraping the grass.
With the regularity of an alarm clock, there’s
the annual debate over Australia Day – which
regardless of one’s stance is an occasion of significance
for any migrant. Even today, I still remember
beaming as I received my citizenship
back in the 1990s at Castle Hill Showground.
Increasingly too, at this time of year, I find
myself glancing with puzzlement at the Triple
J ‘Hottest 100’. Realising that even as a music
aficionado, I barely recognise any song on the
list. And after sampling a couple, mourning
the fact they don’t make rollicking tunes like
they once did.
For movie buffs, it’s also a great time to
splurge on films nominated at the Oscars
(and at $25 a ticket – splurge is the only way
to describe it). From ‘The Holdovers’ to ‘Poor
Things’ and ‘Anatomy of a Fall’, there is much
I look forward to watching in coming weeks.
Above all, you know it’s a top summer when
you’re unsure whether to prioritise the cricket
or tennis, as both are so good. There’s something
in the circadian rhythms of Australians
that means whenever a sporting contest is on
in the living room, the holidays never truly
end.
This Test season didn’t look promising
Alan Mascarenhas
@alanmasc
News...........................................................1-13
Business................................................14-16
Life & Style...........................................17-18
Under the previous plan, those earning
$45,000 a year weren’t getting a cut at all; now
they’re going to be $804 better off.
Someone earning $100,000 a year will also
be $804 better off.
In fact you have to be earning $150,000 a year
before the original cut you were getting is impacted.
But yes, it’s still a cut.
on paper. Pakistan and West Indies hardly
loomed as threatening opposition on local
pitches against an Australian side resplendent
after recent success.
But after Pakistan collapsed in inimitable
fashion for 89 in the fourth innings at Perth,
the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne was a
cracker – with greasy fingers in the field the
main difference between the two sides.
After a nonsensical national telethon about
the whereabouts of David Warner’s baggy
green cap – even I was checking down the
back of my couch at one point – the opener got
the send-off he wanted in front of his home
SCG crowd.
Thereafter, discussion raged in national pubs
and backyards as to whether the selectors
made the correct call to elevate Steve Smith
up the batting. Everyone is suddenly an expert
on whether Smudge’s technique is shot. After
a few cheap dismissals, the jury remains out,
but a near match-winning innings in the just
completed second Test against the West Indies
suggests he will be given further opportunities.
Still, this season, it was generally Australia’s
tireless bowlers that saved the batsmen.
After a pulsating finish last weekend, the true
pleasure of the summer has been seeing the
West Indies bounce back.
Not even the most parochial local fan could
begrudge Shamar Joseph’s exuberant dash
across the Gabba after taking the final wicket
to defeat Australia by eight runs and level the
series 1-1.
Entertainment................................19-28
Auto...............................................................29
Business Directory.....................30-31
Yes, Albanese has gone back on his word
and you could argue that says plenty about his
leadership and where he stands in the respect
stakes.
But sometimes, making the right decision
trumps the political criticism that comes with
it, and it’s hard to argue Albanese hasn’t made
the right call here.
Can we bottle that summer feeling?
The West Indies tour of Australia during the
1988-89 summer remains etched in my brain.
As a young boy, it was the series that first
hooked me on Test Cricket. Faced with the
might of Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge,
Desmond Haynes and the fearsome pace of
Marshall, Ambrose and Walsh – Australia got
hammered.
But the experience was also a baptism of fire
for a young team that would go on to win the
Ashes in England, setting up decades of success.
In Joseph’s raw pace and swashbuckling
batting, you get the sense a new star has been
born – in the mould of the Calypso legends of
yesteryear.
Down at Melbourne Park, an exciting changing
of the guard is also underway with new faces
like Coco Gauff and Qinwen Zheng getting
to the semi-finals of the women’s draw and
22-year-old Italian Janink Sinner triumphing
in the men’s event. Novak Djokovic has been a
great champion, but it becomes harder to root
for someone chasing his zillionth title.
Overall, it was another Australian Open of
seesawing tiebreaks and matches that went
the distance. Alex de Minaur looks ready to
push the big names all year.
But now, the TV is off. School is back. At
work, clients and bosses start filtering back
and issuing requests.
I wish we could bottle the feeling of summer
for longer. Getting older, it’s a time to be prized
more and more.
This year was one of the best.
Sport..............................................................32
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4 parra news » Tuesday, January 30, 2024