Jobs growth outweighs employability Sir, Having worked in the old Commonwealth Employment Service, the story “No work test for 300,000” (Australian Financial Review, July 31) came as no surprise. One key point missing from these stories is the current job vacancy rate. It stands at around five-plus unemployed persons for every vacancy, the lowest for many years; or if you use the real…

Pacific Rim, an American science-fiction film (rated M), is reviewed by Symeon Thompson. Pacific Rim is a thriller that pays tribute to the likes of Godzilla and Neon Genesis Evangelion

THE RISE AND FALL OF SQUIZZY TAYLOR: A Larrikin Crook by Hugh Anderson (Sydney: Pier 9 / Murdoch Books) Paperback: 288 pages ISBN: 9781743365052 RRP: $19.95   Reviewed by Michael E. Daniel   When I was growing up, older family members and friends would tell me tales about a charismatic Australian gangster who was constantly in the headlines in 1920s Melbourne, Leslie “Squizzy”…

FROM WHATEVER SHADOWS THEY COME by Agnes-Mary Brooke (Nelson, NZ: The Medlar Press) Paperback: 211 pages ISBN: 9780958219877 RRP: AUD$23.70   Reviewed by Siobhan Reeves   Few book plots utterly defy summary. From Whatever Shadows They Come, by Agnes-Mary Brooke (aka Amy Brooke), is such a rarity. This novel for young adults is extraordinarily complex given its brevity, and could be confusing for…