Cartoons are a highly visual medium and, as part of the Museum’s ongoing commitment to improving the accessibility of our website, we write detailed ‘alt’ tags for each of the cartoons in the online version of Behind the Lines 2009. This year we have created a text-only page that brings together these ‘alt’ tags on one page. We welcome your feedback on this approach to online exhibitions.
The exhibition
Olympians A colour cartoon depicting three silhouetted firefighters pointing hoses at a wall of red, orange and yellow flames. Two small black silhouetted crosses appear at the bottom left of the image. |
Firefighters A colour cartoon depicting five ‘CFA’ firefighters resting in and around a red ‘CFA’ fire engine, drinking bottled water. A koala with a burnt arm, also holding a water bottle, rests on a log beside one of the firefighters. |
Moving states A colour cartoon divided into two halves. On the left, ‘In Queensland’, a man and doman sit on the roof of a house, with rain falling around them and flood waters rising. The man says, ‘That’s ... it we’re moving to Victoria’. On the right, ‘In Victoria’, a man and woman cower beside a house as flames engulf the surrounding bush. The man says, ‘That’s it ... we’re moving to Queensland’. |
Blame the greenies! A colour cartoon depicting a pair of eyes peeping out a small slot at the front of a bunker with ‘Blame the Greenies’ spray-painted on the side. Smoke rises in the distance and the surrounding countryside is burnt out, with bare tree trunks all around. A camera man and a woman carrying a refreshments tray creep towards the bunker. The woman says, ‘Once an inferno starts raising questions on so MANY fronts ... Well, Ted just decided it was easier to retreat to the old bunker’. |
The home-grown terrorist A colour cartoon depicting a fridge with a ‘Be Alarmed’ sticker on the front standing in the middle of a scene of destruction, with flames engulfing cars, homes and the landscape. To the left, a man with a lighter and a mischievous grin runs away, carrying a lighter. |
Reflection A colour cartoon depicting burnt countryside and remnants of a razed house, collapsed around the still-standing brick fireplace, reflected in a small dam. The reflection shows the brick house as it stood before being destroyed by fire. |
GFC explained A complex colour diagram showing the workings of a financial machine from 1873 to 2008. Inside the machine are elements including ‘debt’ money bags, a ‘securitised debt instrument’ and ‘collateralised debt obligation’. Extensions include ‘China’ the ‘IMF’ and ‘World Bank’, ‘Performance bonus’, ‘Futures’ and ‘Bail out’. Outside are elements including ‘Empires,’ ‘Debt,’ ‘Loans,’ Gold,′ the ‘Reserve Bank’, ‘Government’ and ‘Deregulation 1990’. At the bottom of the diagram is a series of men upside down balanced on their heads in 1873, 1900, 1980 and 2008. Another man sits slumped beside a bottle in the 1929 Depression. |
Enemies of the people A colour cartoon depicting political leaders dressed as street thugs hurling bricks through a window at the ‘Bank of England’. Barak Obama says, ‘Mother fu@*e#s’, Kevin Rudd says, ‘Damn religion of deregulation’, Gordon Brown says, ‘Enemies of the people!’ and the Nicolas Sarkozy swings from a light pole saying, ‘Merde’. Two riot police cower beside the broken window. |
Shake down some CEOs A black and white cartoon depicting Barak Obama and Kevin Rudd dressed in trenchcoats and walking away from the White House at night. President Obama says, ‘I thought we could grab a chilli dog then shake down some CEOs’. Mr Rudd responds, ‘Sounds like a plan’. |
Fat cats A colour cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd, dressed as a superhero with a red cape, flying high above a city. He holds by the tie a fat cat, dressed in a business suit and smoking a cigar. Mr Rudd says, ‘Will you promise never to gorge yourself on greedy overblown salary packages again ... never ever... ?!’ to which the grinning cat responds, ‘Trust me ...’. |
Corporate regulation A colour cartoon depicting a fortune teller dressed in bright clothing, with hands on a crystal ball forming the ‘Corporate Regulation Unit’. She looks over her shoulder at a security man, who emerges from a lift holding back a crowd of people and saying, ‘Some members of the public have suddenly become interested in what we do up here’. The fortune teller sits at a table topped by a bird holding a ‘AAA rating’ sign in its beak, a chocolate wheel marked with text including ‘Float’ and ‘Sell’. Papers and items associated with witchcraft complete the busy scene, with a cityscape in the background. |
Crisis? What crisis? A black and white cartoon depicting a crowd of people bursting through a shop door and reaching out for shoes on tables marked ‘Sale’ and ‘50% off’. A man reading the ‘Economics’ section of the newspaper stands to one side and wonders, ‘Crisis? What Crisis?’ |
Capitalism/Socialism A colour cartoon depicting two men wearing ‘Socialism’ suits bouncing a man wearing a ‘Capitalism’ business-suit and smoking a cigar, high in the air. The heading at the top reads ‘Auld Lang Syne ... ’ |
Economic dinosaur A colour cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd, dressed as a farmer, working in a paddock behind a stump-jump plough, which is attached to a dinosaur named ‘Economics’. |
Wayneykins A colour cartoon depicting Wayne Swan reclining awkwardly on his desk while a woman dressed in a red, backless dress leans forward and loosens his tie. The woman, who has red lips and green eyeshadow, has ‘Deficit’ written across her bottom. With one hand on her hip she says, ‘You’ve been avoiding me all week Waynekins, oh ... yes-you-have oh ... yes-you-have’. Mr Swan emits a small ‘Gurgle’. |
First day of school A colour strip cartoon set at a school and labelled, ‘The Deficit has arrived in Australia. Today is the first day at the new school’. In the first frame, headed, ‘The Deficit’s mum, Mrs Global Financial Crisis’ takes The Deficit to the door of the class but doesn’t come in,’ a small purple monster says, ‘Bye Mum, bye’, as his purple monster mother peers around a doorway and says, ‘Yes yes, off you go dear, be good, Mummy’s going now’. In the second frame a goose leads the monster child to a spare desk, among other monsters, under the heading, ‘The teacher sits The Deficit between Interest Rates and Inflation’. In the third frame the monster child sits off to one side while the other monster children play, under the heading, ‘At lunch time The Deficit is shunned and sits alone in the playground’. The final frame shows another group of monster kids running away from the crying monster child, under the heading, ‘After school, kids from the International Monetary Fund College down the road call The Deficit names and throw its school bag on the roof of the bike shed. The Deficit vows that someday we will all pay’. |
Free icecream A colour cartoon depicting three children lined up beside a van where Kevin Rudd, dressed in a candy-striped uniform, is serving ‘Free Icecream’. A dejected looking Malcolm Turnbull drives past in a grey ‘Debt Truck’. |
Deficit A colour cartoon depicting Doctor Wayne Swan sitting behind his desk offering an oversized ‘Deficit’ capsule to a nervous patient. The doctor says, ‘Relax. It’s not THAT bad ... drop your strides’. The gulping patient says, ‘Cripes! That’s one bitter pill to swallow’. A sign beside the doctor’s desk says, ‘Swan: Deficit “Medicine this country needs”’. |
Dodging bullets A colour cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd dressed as a sheriff, in checked shirt, hat and with a gun in holster, standing at a bar with a raised glass, telling Wayne Swan, who is dressed as a bartender, ‘We dodged a bullet ... drinks to us!’ Mr Rudd stands on a newspaper bearing the headline ‘No recession’. In the next scene, as both men consume their drinks with a ‘Glug, glug,’ liquid pours from multiple bullet holes in their middles. |
Phew ... that was close A colour cartoon depicting an elderly couple in an old green FJ ‘Holden’ stopped at an intersection, with a wrecked traffic scene piled up behind them. A ‘GM’ ‘America’ truck has been hit by a smoking Hummer, a wrecked ‘Pontiac’ and a ‘Buick’ which has come to rest on its roof. The hat-wearing male Holden driver says, ‘Phew that was close’. A small figure in the foreground says, ‘Missed by that much’. |
Australia avoiding a recession A colour cartoon depicting a man wearing a blue suit, with ‘AUST’ written on the jacket, ducking with his hands on his head. He has been narrowly missed by a large boulder labelled ‘Recession’, which bounces over the man when it hits another small rock on a steep downhill slope. |
After the GFC A black and white illustration showing people emerging from a wrecked building. The group includes a traditional banker figure lifting his top hat; and a man carrying a briefcase and a woman with a folded plan, both dressed in ratty clothing, pointing away from the scene. |
Alpha male A colour cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd as Tarzan. He is swinging in from the left side of the image, holding onto some cable that is paying out from a wooden roll marked ‘Broadband Network’. Mr Rudd is calling out ‘Aaaah-ee-yaaaa eee-yaaaa!!!’ as he swings. In the centre of the image sits a large gorilla with the Telstra logo on its belly. It is eating a banana and appears to be non-plussed by the swinging figure. A thought bubble appears to the right of the gorilla’s head. In the bubble is written ’Ooog?“. A large pile of bananas lies on the ground in front of the gorilla. To the right of the image, in some jungle undergrowth, are two men in explorer clothes. One observes the gorilla and Mr Rudd through binoculars and is saying ‘It’s either a bold challenge to the dominant alpha male, or some sort of mating call ...’. |
Adios, amigo A colour cartoon depicting Sol Trujillo as a Mexican bandit. He sits on a horse, wearing a sombrero, ammunition belt, shirt, trousers and boots. He is smoking a cigar and has a rifle in a holster on the side of his saddle. Roped to his horse and walking along behind are three donkeys, each carrying two large sacks of money. In the background is a cartoon Mexican landscape with a cactus and distant mountains. Mr Trujillo is saying ‘Australian cartoonists? Why, they’re so racist they tried to paint me as some kinda dumb-ass Mexican bandit ...’. At the bottom of the cartoon is written ‘Adios, amigo’. |
On your marks! A colour cartoon depicting Wayne Swan standing in the bedroom of a man and woman, who are in bed. Mr Swan, at the left of the image, holds a pistol in his left hand over his head. In his right hand he holds a sack that has ‘Paid maternity leave’ written on it. Mr Swan is saying ‘On your marks! ... Get set! ... Wait til 2011 ...’. The man and woman look at Mr Swan with expressions of surprise and uncertainty. |
Humble pie A black and white cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd as a passenger on a jet. He sits in a seat, holding a ‘menu’. It has the RAAF kangaroo insignia on it. Next to him sits a man reading a newspaper, with the headline ‘Rudd’s in-flight tirade’ on the front page. A female cabin crew member is wheeling a trolley along the aisle. The trolley has a pie, bottle of wine and bowl of fruit on it. The cabin crew member is saying to Mr Rudd ‘Your “special” meal, sir ... humble pie followed by just desserts!’ |
Another five years A colour cartoon depicting two soldiers in an observation post on a flat-topped hill. One soldier attends to a machine gun while the other is drinking a hot beverage. Both soldiers wear camouflage uniforms and are surrounded by sandbags, ammunition boxes and barbed wire. In the background are rugged mountain peaks suggesting that the cartoon is set in Afghanistan. The soldier drinking is saying to the other ‘Make yourself comfortable — we’re here for another five years.’ Directly beneath the soldiers is a figure who appears to be Osama bin Laden, hiding in an underground bunker. The soldiers unknowingly block the entrance to the bunker. The man in the bunker has a thought bubble next to his head; in the bubble are the words ‘Oh brilliant!’ |
Unrepresentative dills A colour cartoon depicting Steve Fielding and Nick Xenophon in clown clothing. Steve Fielding wears a red coat, red shorts, yellow and red spotted tie and outsized clown shoes. A pink bat with outstretched wings is sitting on his extended left forefinger. Nick Xenophon wears a blue and yellow spotted jacket, red shorts, red and yellow suspenders, white and red striped tie and outsized clown shoes. He points a gun at the pink bat and says ‘Another billion for the Murray or the pink bat gets it ...’. At the bottom of the cartoon is written ‘Unrepresentative Dills’. |
Swine flu A colour illustration depicting a man and a woman standing beneath a street lamp. The light pole is at the far left of the cartoon. The woman stands closest to it, facing the pole, wearing a red dress. The man stands closely behind her, wearing a grey suit. He holds her left upper arm. Behind them is a large blue wall, onto which projects the large shadow of a pig. The pig itself is unseen, however the man and woman both look apprehensively in its direction. |
Poor Piglet A black and white cartoon depicting characters from AA Milne’s ‘Winnie the Pooh’. Christopher Robin, Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga and Roo sit in a group in a clearing in a forest. All of them wear surgical face masks. A box on the ground in front of Christopher Robin appears to contain vials of H1N1 influenza vaccine. In the right background Piglet can be seen walking toward the group, not wearing a face mask. Christopher Robin is saying to the group ‘Remember, just act naturally!’ At the top left corner of the cartoon is written ‘Panic strikes Hundred Acre Wood’. |
Teach us! A colour cartoon titled ‘The Education Revolution’. To the left of the image is a large group of students waving placards that say things such as ‘Less Google more personal’ and ‘More teachers’. One student at the head of the group holds a large red flag that says ‘Teach us!’ in capital letters. The students are climbing a barricade made up of school furniture and discarded documents. At the right of the image is a group of adults who are taking shelter behind machines marked ‘Auto student ranking’ and ‘School grading machine’. |
Another word for revolution A colour cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard in a classroom. They stand before a wall-mounted whiteboard, upon which is written ‘The Great Education Revolution of 2009’. Several students are sitting at desks, each with a laptop computer on it. Mr Rudd is asking the question ‘... and can anyone think of another word for “revolution”?’ A student has his hand up and is saying ‘Spin?’ Mr Rudd responds asking ‘Anyone else?’ |
War games A colour cartoon depicting a group of high-ranking army officers gathered around a table. On the table are model tanks, aircraft and a gunboat, all arranged around a building marked ‘Joel Fitzgibbon’. The officer in the foreground is pushing a tank forward with a pointer. |
Ministerial chair A colour cartoon depicting an imaginary chair for the Minister of Defence. The chair has two attachments. One is a large arm extending from the back of the chair. Attached to the arm is a mechanical hand that holds a large knife. There is an opening in the back of the chair that allows the knife to enter the back of a person sitting in the chair. The other attachment is a curved arm extending from the front of the chair. At the end of the arm is a sledgehammer, facing back toward the chair. At the top of the cartoon is written ‘Department of Defence Procurement Ref. C/27/4B: Ministerial Chair’. |
Ruddspeak A colour cartoon depicting a man and a woman on a couch in front of a flat-screen television. Kevin Rudd is on the television. A large speech balloon issues from the television; the balloon is densely packed with words. Both the man and the woman are asleep. The man has a drink can resting on his stomach. There are three empty cans on the floor near the couch. A small dog stands near one end of the couch. A cat walks away from the television and past the other end of the couch. |
Wild things A colour cartoon depicting characters from Maurice Sendak’s ‘Where the Wild Things Are’. Kevin Rudd is Max, in a white animal suit with tall pointed ears. He is in a sailing boat with ‘Parliamentary Party’ on the side. Julia Gillard is the figurehead of the boat. Mr Rudd is sailing away from an island upon which sit two hairy monsters with horns. The monsters are dozing under a palm tree amid discarded papers bearing terms including ‘gay marriage’, ‘corporate tax rates’ and ‘book industry protection’. One of them has ‘A.L.P. National Conference’ written on its front. At the top of the cartoon is written ′ ... till Kevin said “BE STILL!” and tamed the Wild Things with the magic trick of pre-arranging fully-vetted back-room aspirational compromise resolutions ...’. At the bottom of the cartoon is written ‘Then Kevin stepped into his private boat and waved goodbye’. |
Ute-type guys A black and white cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan in a ute. Mr Rudd is being interviewed by a female reporter, who stands to the left of the cartoon. A TV camera man stands next to her. Mr Rudd is leaning out of the ute window saying ‘Us .. ute-type guys? .. don’t be a flamin’ galah ... crikey ... what’d give you that idea? I mean, fair dinkum .. fair suck of the sav .. fair shake of the sauce bottle! ...’. A dog sits excitedly in the back of Mr Rudd’s ute. In the background Malcolm Turnbull sits in his own ute. It has a regular ute rear section and a Rolls Royce front section. Beyond Mr Turnbull’s ute is a sign that says ‘Finance for yer ute? Contact the ALP’. |
The Uluru climb A colour cartoon depicting Peter Garrett as Uluru. Standing on the top of his head is Kevin Rudd. Mr Rudd is urinating. A thought bubble emerges from his head. His thought is ‘... They really should build some permanent amenities up here ...‘. There are numerous footprints on the top and side of Mr Garrett’s head. A series of poles connected by a chain runs down the side of Mr Garrett’s head. A sign to the left of the cartoon says ’ “The Uluru Climb” Please do not walk all over Peter Garrett’s last remaining sacred beliefs’. |
Spin doctor A colour cartoon depicting a hospital emergency department waiting room. Seven people are sitting on chairs: an elderly man, a woman with a young child, a man with a bandaged head, an elderly woman, a pregnant woman and a skeleton with cobwebs. The woman with the child speaks to a passing hospital staff member. She says ‘We’ve been here for sixteen hours and all we’ve seen is one spin doctor’. As she speaks she points to a TV in the upper right corner of the cartoon. On the TV is Kevin Rudd. Under his image are the words ‘Health Reform’. |
The happy compromise A colour cartoon depicting two men standing facing each other, some distance apart. Both wear suits and have briefcases. The man on the left has ‘State govt.’ on his briefcase. The man on the right has ‘Federal govt.’ on his briefcase. They are pushing a patient in a hospital bed backwards and forwards between them. The patient eventually comes to rest halfway between the two men. In the bottom right corner of the cartoon is written ′ ... the happy compromise’. |
The apologists A colour cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd and Jenny Macklin with four Indigenous people. Mr Rudd and Ms Macklin stand at a lectern at the right side of the cartoon. The four Indigenous people are to the left of the cartoon. Two of them sit on the ground while the other two stand. In the background are some traditional Indigenous burial poles in amongst some lush tropical vegetation. The ocean can be seen in the distance. A red sign stands near the burial poles. On it is written ‘This housing development brought to you by SIHIP’. Mr Rudd is saying ‘This time we really are sorry ...’. Ms Macklin is crossing her fingers behind her back. At the bottom of the cartoon is written ‘The Apologists’. |
Indicators A colour cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd with a statistician. In the first part of the cartoon, Mr Rudd is saying ‘First anniversary of the apology is coming up. Show me some indicators on Aborigines.’ The statistician then holds up three graphs, one after the other. In each graph a red line climbs up from the bottom left corner to the top right corner. The statistician identifies the graphs as ‘Income inequity’, ‘Infant mortality’ and ‘Alcoholism’. He shows Mr Rudd a graph that has a red line rising up and then falling down. Mr Rudd says ‘At last ... a great indicator. What’s that one?’ The statistician says ‘White guilt’. |
Helping hand A colour cartoon depicting a wooden boat overloaded with what appear to be refugees or asylum seekers. The boat is beached and leans to the left. All of the occupants are dark-skinned. A large white-skinned hand reaches down toward the boat from the right of the cartoon. Two of the boat’s occupants have stepped from the boat onto the upturned hand. Some of the other occupants are preparing to do the same. |
Chinalco seeks to control both supply and demand of Rio Tinto ore A colour cartoon depicting a large red dragon operating a large yellow mining backhoe. The dragon spills out of the cabin of the backhoe. It holds a lever in its left hand. Its head is poised just in front of the backhoe’s bin, which appears to contain coal. The dragon has its mouth wide open, as though it’s about to empty the contents of the bin into its mouth. A large, dark pile of what appears to be more coal is in the left corner of the cartoon. |
Hu Jintao A colour cartoon depicting Chinese president Hu Jintao as a large red octopus. His head sits upon the tentacles. Each tentacle has text upon it and is clutching an object or an Australian politician. The text on the tentacles says ‘Photographing John Howard with Helen Liu’, ‘Making Donations’, ‘Buying Australian companies’, ‘Capturing Joel Fitzgibbon’, ‘Selling US flat screen TVs’, ‘Checking Kevin’s emails’, ‘Terrifying the Australian Newspaper’ and ‘Teaching Kevin Rudd Mandarin’. |
What sort of people are they? A black and white cartoon depicting an Indigenous man reaching into a rubbish bin and a non-Indigenous woman and man sitting on a park bench. The man sitting on the bench is reading a newspaper which has the word ‘Tibet’ on the front page and saying ‘Bloody Chinese ... deliberately displacing an entire culture! What sort of people are they?’ The woman is looking with concern at the Indigenous man who holds a bottle in his right hand, is surrounded by a cloud of flies and has a skinny dog near his right foot. |
Pacific brands A colour cartoon depicting a white man and woman sitting at a bus stop. Both are looking at a poster in the bus stop advertising Bonds singlets. An Asian man is in the poster, wearing a white singlet. A label to the side of his torso reads ‘Chesty Bond’. The word ‘Bonds’ appears under him; under that are the words ‘Made in China’. The woman at the bus stop is saying ‘Where’s Chesty and who’s he ... one of these new “Pacific Brands”?’ |
Better than the bloody Poms, mate! A colour cartoon depicting an Australian mine worker and a Chinese businessman standing on a platform of earth in an open-cut mine. The mine worker wears dirty yellow overalls and a hard hat. The Chinese man wears a suit and hard hat. He has a rolled up document under his left arm. The two men are standing facing each other. The mine worker is saying ‘We don’t want the bloody Chinese running RIO!’ The Chinese man replies ‘Better than the bloody Poms, mate!’ In the background are two long lines of large heavily laden mining trucks emerging from the mine. Each truck is laden with what appears to be iron ore. |
Tai chi with Kevin A black and white cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd wearing traditional Chinese clothing in a series of Tai Chi positions. The top left image has the words ‘Tai Chi with Kevin’ written in the top left corner. The words ‘Beginning movement’ are written to the left of the image. Mr Rudd is shown facing the viewer with his arms stretched out in front of him. In the bottom left image the words ‘Single whip’ are written in the left side. Mr Rudd is seen with his left hand in front of him and his right arm extended behind him. The top right image has the words ‘White stork spreads wings’ written in the left side. Mr Rudd is seen holding his left leg out in front of him. His right arm is held up at head height while his left arm is held down near his left hip. The bottom right image has the words ‘Hu Jintao bow’ written on the left side. Mr Rudd is shown bending over backwards to the extent that his head is coming up between his legs. |
Sweet and sour takeaway A colour cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd sitting on a bench outside what appears to be a Chinese take-away restaurant. A Chinese state official in a green uniform is reaching over a low wall, handing Mr Rudd a plastic bag that contains what appears to be Chinese food in the shape of Australia. On the outside of the bag is written ‘The Special Relationship’. On the wall is a menu, upon which is written ‘No Free Speech’, ‘No Free Trade Unions’ and ‘No Free Elections’. In the background two other Chinese state officials can be seen carrying a man toward what appears to be a prison cell. The man has ‘Stern Hu’ written upon his back. At the top of the cartoon is written ‘Sweet and Sour Takeaway’. |
Get stuffed! A black and white cartoon depicting a panda bear and a koala. The panda bear is considerably larger than the koala. The koala is facing the panda bear, saying ‘Me ol’ china plate’. The panda is replying via a megaphone it’s holding. A speech balloon near the panda’s mouth has the words ‘Get Stuffed!’ in it. The blast from the megaphone is blowing the koala backwards off its feet. The words ‘Megaphoney Diplomacy’ are written at the left of the image. |
Don’t mention A colour cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd standing in front of a whiteboard. He holds a red book under his left arm and is gesticulating toward the whiteboard with his right hand. He is saying ‘Don’t mention these and we can save face!’ On the whiteboard is written the following: ‘Falun Gong, Tibet, One-child policy, Capital punishment, Chinese Uyghurs, Melb. Int. Film Festival, Internet Censorship, Economic Links with Sudan, Freedom of the Press, Communist Dictatorship, The Fact That Poh May Not Win Masterchef, Religious Freedom, Lip-Syncing Girl From The Opening Ceremony, Ping Pong Originated In England In The 1880s, Margaret Fulton’s 80s Recipe For Chop Suey, Wierd [sic] Fluoro Glug In Cantonese Food, MSG & Hu!’ |
Let’s do lunch A colour illustration depicting a stylised red Chinese dragon. The dragon is seen side on, facing the left side of the image. It has a long, curved body. A briefcase and a pair of glasses can be seen on the ground under the dragon. A large lump in the dragon suggests it has just eaten a business person. The dragon appears to be flossing its teeth with a red and white striped tie. |
Super Rudd A colour cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan as Batman and Robin-style characters. Kevin Rudd stands in front of Wayne Swan, opening his shirt to reveal a blue super hero uniform with a red capital ‘R’ on the front. Wayne Swan stands behind him in a black and red uniform. He wears a black mask around his eyes. Behind them is a crumbling cityscape. A sign on a cracked wall behind Wayne Swan says ‘Australian Market’. In the background a falling sign with ‘Wall Street’ on it can be seen. Large bear footprints can be seen in the ground underneath Mr Rudd. |
Sad clown A colour caricature of Lindsay Tanner. He is depicted facing to the left of the image. He wears a suit, light coloured shirt and gold striped tie. His head is very large in relation to his body. He has a clown’s mouth painted over his own and a clown’s red nose stuck on the end of his nose. His expression is one of weariness; his head is tilted down toward the left of the image to reinforce his expression. A white card with the word ‘Tanner’ on it can be seen on the left lapel of his jacket. The background of the image is blue. |
Rudd by numbers A ‘paint by numbers’ colour image of Kevin Rudd. There are large areas of red on his face and hair. Some small areas of green, purple and yellow are visible. His jacket and glasses are black. To the right of his head are 10 colour squares arranged in a column. Each square is numbered. To the right of the squares are written colour descriptions. These are, from top to bottom: G.F.C. Red, Green Wash, Sorry Highlight, Clean Green, Royal Blue, Liberal Black, Air Rage Maroon, Centre Red, Purple Patch and Grey Area. |
Turnbull tries to find a right fit A colour illustration depicting Malcolm Turnbull sitting on a chair in a shoe shop. On the floor around him is an assortment of shoes including an ugg boot, a sandal, a stilleto and a boot. He wears a thong on his right foot and a knee-high boot on his left foot. He holds a shoe in each hand. The ugg boot has a label attached to it that says ‘left’. A shoe on his lap has a label attached that says ‘right’. In the background is a set of shelves that have more shoes on them. To the right of the shelves are three signs on the wall, that say (from top to bottom) ‘left’, ‘right’ and ‘centre’. |
Glenn Stevens A colour illustration depicting Glenn Stevens in a blue suit amongst a series of clockwork-style wheels, as though he is moving through them. He holds an oil can in his left hand. Seven severed hands are shown caught in amongst the wheels. Mr Steven’s expression is one of uncertainty. |
Hope A colour cartoon showing two posters on a brick wall. The poster at the left shows a head and shoulders view of Barack Obama, looking resolute and composed. A small group of people are gathered in front of the poster, expressing their admiration for President Obama. Some of them smile, while one raises a fist in the air. The poster at the right shows a head and shoulders view of Kevin Rudd. He smiles at the viewer and has his right hand raised with his palm facing away from him. The word ‘hope’ is at the bottom of the poster. There are torn edges on the poster; the top right-hand corner is peeling away from the wall. A woman walks past the poster, ignoring it. |
Rudd/Obama Colour caricatures of Barack Obama and Kevin Rudd. They stand back to back, with President Obama at the right of the image. Both wear suits, have their arms folded and smile broadly. Mr Rudd’s right hand is visible over his left arm. He has the first two fingers of this hand crossed. |
Queen Julia A black and white cartoon depicting Julia Gillard wearing an Elizabethan style dress. The dress has a large bustle under which can be seen two sets of workman’s boots. Speech is depicted coming from under the bustle; it says ‘Left, left, left, right, left, left, left ...’. Ms Gillard looks back at the viewer over her left shoulder. She holds her hands behind her back. In her left hand she holds a document that has ‘Fair Work Australia’ written on it. |
The Faulkinator A colour cartoon depicting John Faulkner as part ‘Terminator’. He faces the viewer; the right side of his face is human looking, while the left side of his face is a menacing robot with a glowing red eye. He extends his right arm toward the viewer. It is a lethal looking combination of a machine gun with a laser sight. In the background is an office interior. Two figures can be seen in the right background, cowering from the ‘Terminator’. In front of the ‘Terminator’ is what appears to be the remains of a wall. It appears that the ‘Terminator’ has blown away part of the wall. |
Mick Dodson A colour cartoon depicting Mick Dodson wearing an Australian flag as a cape. He faces to the left of the image and wears a black hat. His face is turned toward the viewer. His expression is one of tenacity, determination and good humour. He wears a grey jacket and blue shirt under the flag cape. He has large bushy eyebrows and his face is heavy-set and fleshy. |
Roxon’s Russian dolls A colour cartoon depicting Nicola Roxon sitting at a table with a set of Babushka nesting dolls. Three of the dolls are to the left of the cartoon. They represent, from left to right, a surgeon, a doctor and a nurse. Ms Roxon holds another doll in front of her; she is opening it to reveal another doll inside. |
Tony Abbott A colour drawing of Tony Abbott depicted as a jack-in-the-box. His upper body is dressed in a monk’s robe with a rope tie around the waist and boxing gloves on both hands. Each glove has crossed out text: on the left-hand glove, ‘Workchoices’ and on the right-hand glove ‘Climate Denial’. Instead of legs, there is a spring emerging from a broken box labeled ‘Liberal Party Room’. The box is cracked in half with a variety of parts - springs, nuts, bolts and cogs flying about. |
My Brilliant Career A black and white cartoon depicting Malcolm Turnbull dressed in a top hat and tails. He is sitting at a table holding a book with the title ‘My Brilliant Career’. On the wall behind him is a painting of Napoleon, on the table in front of him a small roman statue wearing laurels. Mr Turnbull is looking out of the cartoon, as if talking to someone to the right of frame. He says ‘Someone’s torn out the last chapter!!’ |
Malcolm the magnificent A black and white scene reminiscent of a magic act in a vaudeville show titled ‘Malcolm the Magnificent and friends’. Four characters are on the stage facing an audience. Malcolm Turnbull is centre stage dressed in a top hat with a giant ‘M’, a magician’s cape, a vest with stars and striped pants. He holds a wand in one hand and gestures to a human sized disappearing act box saying ‘A round of applause for the fabulous Julie ... And ... now !!’ The door is open and daggers pierce both sides. On the left of the cartoon is a grotesque female figure, representing Julie Bishop, dressed in a show girl costume including fishnets and a feather tiara. She has one hand above her head, the other on her hip. She has an enormous dagger running through her belly and sticking out her back. The third character, on the right, is a very chubby Joe Hockey, dressed in swimsuit drag with fishnet stockings, necklace and tiara. One long-gloved arm is thrown up above his head, the other held akimbo. A fourth charcter is behind Joe Hockey. At the front of the cartoon the back of the heads of the front row of the audience is in silhouette with one person saying ‘How does he do it?’ |
Backseat driver A black and white cartoon depicting Malcolm Turnbull, looking resigned and wearing a pin-striped business suit, sits at the wheel of a car, as a gleeful Peter Costello reclines in the back seat. Mr Costello’s left leg is extended forward to move the car’s gears into place. |
Costello’s ghost A colour cartoon depicting Malcolm Turnbull standing at the centre and wearing a bright pink regal cape with white trim. His head is proportionately huge and is topped with a small gold crown. His hands are folded on top of a sword which is positioned, point downwards, as if it were a cane or walking stick. Peter Costello is shown as a wraith swirling around Mr Turnbull, his head even larger than Mr Turnbull’s and taking up proportionately more space in the frame than Mr Turnbull. His hair is violet and eyes and expression demonic. Mr Costello’s hands are up beside his ears in a scary ghost gesture. |
Pied Piper A black and white cartoon titled ‘The Pied Piper of Canberra’. A figure dressed as a fool or harlequin wears a hat with name ‘Grech’ and plays a pipe with notes floating around it. Behind him Liberal Party ministers are portrayed as children following the piper: Malcolm Turnbull with a jump rope, Joe Hockey waving a ‘Libs’ flag, Tony Abbott kicking up his heels, Julie Bishop running and grinning. In the background is a medieval village with the flag pole of Parliament House at its centre. |
Right where I want you A black and white cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan in a ute land cruiser, with Mr Swan driving. Both look anxious and peer out the windshield. Godwin Grech is plastered flat on the front of the bull bar with a tiny speech bubble saying ‘Err’ dripping out of his lips. Malcolm Turnbull, in a pin-striped suit, clings to the roof of the ute waving his feet in the air and saying ‘Right where I want you hee, hee’. Above the ute engine are the words ‘G-G-Gr-Grech ... splut ... G-G-Gr-Grech ... shudder ... rumble’. Mr Swan says to Mr Rudd ‘Maybe I should give Johnno a call ... it’s still making a funny sound’. |
I feel so used A colour cartoon of Malcolm Turnbull facing the press. In the background, Godwin Grech can be seen spilling out of a green wheelie bin, with the words ‘Lib strategy’ faintly visible on its side. Four journalists are in front of Mr Turnbull, microphones and cameras pointing. Mr Turnbull stands against a wall, with a man at his side with his arm behind Mr Turnbull offering support. With his hand at his brow as if massaging his temple to relieve a headache, Mr Turnbull says ‘I feel so used’. |
Dirty washing A colour cartoon depicting a suburban scene — green lawn, swimming pool and a blond woman on a banana lounge chair reading the newspaper. A woman dressed in a black and white maid’s uniform, a laundry basket under her arm, gestures to a figure representing Godwin Grech, dressed in long underwear, battered and bruised and hung on the Hills Hoist. The maid looks over her shoulder to ask the woman ‘Who hung this out to dry, Mrs T?’. Mrs T responds ‘Looks like one of Malcolm’s ...’ |
Ute catcher In the top left-hand corner of the cartoon is the title: ‘Ute Catcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Young Barrister Who’d Been Known to Beat Up on a Government or Two in His Time ...’ The ‘C’ in Catcher is a bright red Soviet hammer and sickle. There are three figures in the cartoon, all dressed in grey suits drawn in pencil, and squared off ready for a gun battle. Kevin Rudd, bright yellow hair and a red tie, has his hand at his holster ready to draw. Wayne Swan, beside him, sporting a giant orange duck bill and red tie, also appears ready to draw. They face Malcolm Turnbull, in blue tie. Mr Turnbull, pointing his finger at Mr Rudd and Mr Swan and his gun at his own head, says: ‘Resign ... or this thing goes off!’ |
Keep on carbon ... A colour cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd, wearing a red suit and oversized shoes. He steps to the front of the frame, leaving large black footprints behind him. ‘Keep on carbon ...’ is written in large bubble text at the top. |
Python A colour cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd dressed as a superhero, in red and blue costume and cape, wrestles a small snake. The snake has green and gold stripes and the text ‘Global financial crisis’ written on its body. Mr Rudd stands in the opened mouth of a much larger python, labelled ‘Global warming’. This snake has black and white stripes, red eyes and sharp fangs. |
Titanic emissions A colour cartoon depicting the stern of a large ocean liner, named the ‘Emissions Target Titanic’ riding high in the sea, with the propellers above the water line. Above on deck, two people carrying chairs appear under the text: ‘Kevin and Penny rearrange the deckchairs, safe in the knowledge they are eliminating the threat of icebergs’. Black smoke from the ship merges with red clouds in the background. |
Climate change skeptic ducks A colour cartoon depicting the skeleton of a duck saying, ‘I hear you’re a climate change skeptic’ to another live duck, with yellow beak, blue head, a white collar and black body. The second duck says, ‘Bloody quacks’. Behind the skeleton is barren red ground; behind the live duck is lush green grass. |
The end can wait A colour cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd wandering through a hot desert landscape, with dead tree stumps in the background, and a cattle skull in the foreground. Mr Rudd carries a document headed ‘ETS’ and over his shoulders he wears a placard which says, ‘Climate change – the end is nigh’. ‘Is nigh’ has been crossed out and replaced with ‘can wait’. |
Eureka! A colour cartoon titled ‘Professor Fielding’s American vacation ...’. Steve Fielding emerges from an aeroplane and stands at the top of the stairway, dressed as a tourist. He shouts ‘Eureka!’, carries ‘Global Warming Sceptics Conference’ showbags and wears Mickey Mouse style ears and an oversized ‘Heartland Institute’ foam hand. The plane door is labelled ‘Business-as-usual’ class and the Australian flag and coat of arms appears on the side of the stairs. The coat of arms shows the kangaroo standing beside a smoking kettle barbecue, its pouch full of what looks like coal, while the emu buries its head. |
The cork please Penny ... A black and white cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd standing on the rim of a large chimney stack. A plume of thick black smoke bellows up from the stack. Penny Wong stands at the top of a ladder, reaching up to Mr Rudd, who says, ‘The cork please Penny ...’. |
Climate change sceptics A colour cartoon depicting Malcolm Turnbull, saying ‘We have a few climate change sceptics in the party but it’s nothing I can’t handle,’ walks among a herd of large dinosaurs. A small figure at the bottom right says, ‘They look kinda lively for a bunch of old fossils’. |
Climate change A colour cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd and another man stand beside a large, mainly blank canvas, looking at a box marked ‘1,000,000 piece climate change jigsaw’. The box contains numerous small jigsaw pieces and others are strewn about the floor. Penny Wong stands on the canvas, where a few pieces have been placed. |
Dreamworks A colour cartoon depicting a congested traffic scene, with cars covered in a grey plume of smoke. Travelling in the opposite direction to the cars, and depicted in bright colour, is an ark pulled by two people riding a bicycle. The rear cyclist gives a happy wave to the cars. The ark carries a home with solar panels on the roof, a water tank and windmill, two potted fruit trees and pairs of dogs, chickens, sheep and cows. Road signs show the ark headed for ‘Dream works ahead’ and advise to ‘Reduce speed’. A sign across the top of the highway shows them travelling the direction of the ‘Stress exit’. |
21st century death match A black and white promotional poster for the ‘21st century death match’, showing ‘Petty, human POLITICIANS’ vs. ‘Relentless, exterminating CLIMATE CHANGE’. Four caricatured politicians say ‘I got teased at school’, ‘Daddy was an M.P., so I though I’d be one too’, ‘I just want power!’ and ‘Our party is better than your party. Nyer, Nyerdy, Nyer Nyer’. On the other side, extreme weather conditions say ‘I will kill you’, ‘Puny, disrespectful humans’ and ‘Roar’. The poster asks ‘Who will win?’ and promises ‘Thrills! Spills! Disappointments! Gasping Stupidity! Ridiculous Priorities! and Mass Casualties!’ |
4WDs — the cause, the solution A colour vertical strip cartoon divided at the top with scientists versus politicians. The scientist says, ‘Action must be taken immediately’ and the politician says, ‘Let’s not rush into this’. The scientist says, ‘To do nothing will be more expensive’ and the politician says, ‘We can’t afford to do anything’. The scientist says, ‘I’m deeply worried about the future,’ and the politician says, ‘I’m deeply worried about my future’. The bottom panel shows a four-wheel-drive vehicle driving over the top of other cars on a flooded roadway. The 4WD owner says, ‘Of course it was only after the collapse of the Greenland ice sheet that the four wheel drive really came into its own’. |
Dinner table A strip cartoon showing a dog family sitting around a table under the heading, ‘It was a bit uncomfortable around the dinner table last night’. The mother says, ‘I saw what he did there! You voted for them! This is your ETS!’, to which the father responds, ‘Come on, it doesn’t matter, we’re in a safe seat’. The mother says, ‘All the more reason to make a statement’, and the father says, ‘But the Greens are so ... I mean aside from Bob Look, Christine’s alright but ... ’ The child interjects, ‘Are you fighting?’. The mother says, ‘No dear, we’re just discussing Rudd setting the carbon emissions target too low and giving billions of dollars to polluting industries’, and the father says, ‘Your mother is disgusted because I voted for Kevin, and if I had voted Green, what difference would that make now?’ The child asks, ‘Are we all going to die?’. The mother says, ‘Eventually dear, but your father’s friends in Canberra will ensure we watch the planet destroyed before we go’, and the father says, ‘Not until after dinner’. The child says, ‘You idiot!’, and his mother says, ‘Don’t call your father an idiot darling, it’s not nice. He means well, and he can’t help it if his political masters are duplicitous, populist, Howardian robots’, as the father lets out a ‘Sigh’. |
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