Paul Toohey

In the first Quarterly Essay of 2014, Paul Toohey searches for the solution our politicians have been unwilling or unable to find, and asks whether, amid the diplomatic turmoil, we've now missed our chance. Tony Abbott promised to stop the boats. With the help of Kevin Rudd's 'PNG solution', he has. But at what cost? Visiting the Indonesian departure points,...

By a Walkley Award-winning journalist, a gripping true crime-meets-political intrigue about East Timor, a place where animistic belief, witchcraft and tribal conflict ensure that truth and justice follow separate, uncertain paths. A president shot, a prime minister attacked, a rebel leader executed at point-blank range, and a beautiful Australian-Timorese woman accused of orchestrating the chaos. All fifty minutes flying time...