Angry Scott Morrison accuses GM of letting Holden 'wither away' after taking $2bn in subsidies

For context: Holden is an Australian home-grown brand. It became a subsidiary of General Motors in 1931, but it started manufacturing cars in Australia from 1948. The 1950s FJ Holden is an Australian icon. The Holden Commodore was the family sedan for Aussies all through the 1980s & 1990s. Aussie car lovers fell into two tribes: Holden or Ford. If you ask any Aussie to name a few famous Australian brands, Holden will get a mention.

General Motors stopped manufacturing Holdens in Australia a few years ago, but they assured us that Holdens would continue to be made (albeit overseas) and sold here.

Now the brand itself is being axed, at the end of next year.

ABC's media release: 'The Stranger' was Australia's first locally-produced science fiction television show and one of the first Australian series to be sold overseas. (Ignore the references to 'Doctor Who'; the only connection they have is that they were both science fiction shows made in the mid-1960s. I suspect that show is name-dropped just to get people's interest.)

I've been watching this show. I'm 5 episodes in, which means I'm up to the last episode of the 1st season, with another 6 episodes in the 2nd season (only 12 eps in total).

It's bad but also good (not in the "so bad it's good" way). The production isn't great: the special effects are low-grade, the sets are ordinary, the acting ranges from hammy to wooden, and the writing is clunky. However, despite all that, I find myself hooked. I want to know what's going to happen next. It's an interesting premise: the remnants of an alien species eking out an existence inside a rocket-equipped moon, having left their home planet after an unspecified ecological disaster, to seek out a new home. The plot is good enough to drag me along with it. It also has historical curiosity value.

I doubt it's available outside of Australia, but here's the streaming link. Be warned: it's very slow-paced to start with. The first episode doesn't even mention aliens, and the second episode only has hints.

Here's an article about one of the recent Grammy winners: "Billie Eilish's Grammy hit features a surprising Australian sound"

The story about how Eilish and her brother sampled a pedestrian crossing signal is interesting enough - but you have to watch the embedded video, where the SMH people use the same signal to make their own backing track to an Aussie classic!

In honour of Australia Day, here's my favourite Australia-themed song.

About 40 years ago, the Australian government ran competitions and surveys to decide what our national anthem should be. It was a 10-year process, in fits and starts, but in 1984 they finally announced "Advance Australia Fair" as the new anthem to replace "God Save The Queen" (which is now used only as the royal anthem).

"I Am Australian" hadn't been written back then. It was written in 1987, just prior to our Bicentennial celebrations in 1988. If a similar competition/survey was run now, "I Am Australian" would be one of the top contenders for our new national anthem. It's a very popular song.

I don't relate to "Advance Australia Fair" at all. But "I Am Australian" makes me emotional every time I hear it. It might not be our official national anthem, but it's my anthem for this country.

Here's:

• A studio recorded version, complete with lyrics.

• A live performance, performed in 2000.

I am, you are, we are Australian.

Wilson Gavin was the President of the University of Queensland’s Liberal National Club. He was also gay.

Earlier this week, he led a protest against a Drag Queen Story Time event.

The following day, he was found dead at a local railway station, having committed suicide.

He has formerly campaigned against same-sex marriage.

His family have released a statement.