Kathy Marks
The Independent
Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Past articles by Kathy:
Ferreira short-changed in fashion stakes
Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis won their second Australian Open doubles final yesterday but they were not, for once, the centre of attention. While the attire of female players is usually the subject of fevered interest at Grand Slams, men's shorts have hijacked the limelight at this tournament. → Read More
Heavenly intervention seals Safin's comeback
Marat Safin made a "small mistake" before his semi-final with Tommy Haas at the Australian Open yesterday. He was coy about what it was, but it affected his capacity to handle the stifling heat and had him staggering around centre court like a toddler on new legs. → Read More
The uneasy return of the native
In 1971 a young white schoolteacher, Geoffrey Bardon, gave brushes and acrylic paints to Aborginal elders in the remote outpost of Papunya and encouraged them to use traditional imagery to set down their sacred "Dreamtime" stories. Idealistic as Bardon was, he never envisaged the consequences: a spectacular and far-reaching renaissance of Aboriginal painting. The work created on scraps of old… → Read More
Meet Skippy, the flatulence-free kangaroo
Farmyard flatulence is no laughing matter in Australia, where methane emissions from sheep and cows contribute significantly to the output of greenhouse gases. Now scientists plan to tackle the problem by studying a creature better adapted to local conditions: the kangaroo. → Read More
Athletics: Johnson takes unconventional route to join the sprinters' élite
The fastest man in the world this year has no shoe contract, and there is none on the horizon, but Patrick Johnson has more pressing matters on his mind. The first Australian to run 100 metres in less than 10 seconds, Johnson is convinced he can it mix with the best, and he is determined to prove it at the World Championships in Paris in August. → Read More
Curfew that targets teenage Aborigines is criticised as racist
A group of Aboriginal youngsters wanders past a row of cafés in Northbridge, Perth's nightlife district, glancing covetously at the plates of alfresco diners. The street lights cast shadows across their faces. It is curfew time: if they are not home soon, they will be picked up by police under a policy criticised as wrong-headed and racist. → Read More
Australia is divided between rich and aboriginal
They are citizens of the same country but they might as well be living on different planets, so diverse are their living conditions and life expectancy. → Read More
Anger at Olympic 'insult' to Queen
An article by the celebrated author Robert Hughes in Sydney's official Olympics programme has enraged the country's monarchists. Mr Hughes, the historian and art critic who wrote The Fatal Shore, the great novel about the nation's convict roots, was lamenting the country's failure to become a republic. → Read More
Commonwealth summit called off
The sense of crisis gripping the world in the wake of the terrorist strikes has forced the postponement of next week's summit of Commonwealth leaders in Brisbane. A visit by the Queen, who was due to tour Australia and New Zealand after presiding over the meeting, has also been deferred. → Read More
Salim Mehajer: Sydney deputy mayor who just can't seem to stay out of trouble
Until his wedding, featuring four helicopters and a £23m fleet of Rolls-Royces, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, property developer Salim Mehajer was little known outside western Sydney, where he is deputy mayor of a suburban council. The wedding, which saw him (illegally) close off a residential street to accommodate his cavalcade, not to mention a film crew and marching band, propelled him to… → Read More
'Modern-day Ned Kellys' Gino and Mark Stocco evade police after alleged Australia-wide crime spree
Two of Australia’s most wanted criminals are believed to be hiding in “Kelly country”, the mountainous, forested north-eastern corner of Victoria where the infamous 19th-century bushranger, Ned Kelly, roamed with his gang. → Read More
Australian minister defends characterising Russian President Vladimir Putin with angry-face emoji
Australia’s Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, is a prolific user of social media, and known for her love of emoji – the digital icons that convey emotions and ideas. But she probably never expected hers to be scrutinised for their potential to cause a diplomatic incident. → Read More
Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull signals change as he appoints five women to his '21st-century cabinet'
Less than a week after toppling Tony Abbott, Australia’s new Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has signalled a radical change of direction, appointing five women to his cabinet – five times the number Mr Abbott had in his initial line-up – and hinting at plans to scrap knighthoods and damehoods from the honours system. → Read More
Big-screen debut for Pacific Island tribe who regard Prince Philip as a god
They wear penis sheaths and grass skirts, hunt for food with bamboo bows and arrows and revere Prince Philip as a living god. Now villagers from Vanuatu’s remote Tanna island in the South Pacific are starring in their own film, wowing audiences at the Venice Film Festival this week and picking up two prestigious awards. → Read More
Refugee crisis: Tony Abbott bows to pressure to resettle 12,000 Syrian refugees
Australia’s Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, has bowed to public pressure and agreed to resettle 12,000 Syrian refugees – but senior ministers are urging him to give priority to Christian minorities. → Read More
UN climate talks in Paris our 'last chance', say Pacific islands: 'This is not politics, it's survival'
Pacific island nations under threat from rising seas have warned that climate talks in Paris represent the “last chance” to save them from obliteration. → Read More
'World's worst waitress' Larissa Dubecki dishes dirt on rude Aussie diners in memoir
Was it the man who clicked his fingers at Larissa Dubecki once too often? The woman who took a call just as she was reciting the day’s specials? The three-year-old boy who groped her behind, egged on by his drunk father? → Read More
Shark attacks in Australia: Great whites have been killing and injuring surfers in New South Wales – but calls for a cull divide opinion
Chris Brock lives and breathes surfing. His beachfront flat overlooks one of Australia’s most iconic breaks, and at 66 he still plunges into the ocean most days. “But right at the moment I’m a little bit spooked,” he says. “Everyone I know is a bit spooked.” → Read More
Australia aims to silence workers who blow whistle on abuse in refugee centres with two years in prison
They are factories of despair: the detention centres where asylum-seekers desperate enough to risk their lives trying to reach Australia in leaky boats find themselves locked up, sometimes for years, by one of the world’s wealthiest nations, → Read More
Australia may finally recognise Aborigines in its constitution
More than a century after Australia became an independent nation, Aboriginal people are to be recognised in the constitution – but not until 2017, at the earliest, and only if a majority of people in a majority of states approve. → Read More