On The Money: covid karma, Taylor Swift on the RMA, and more

Chris Hipkins, Australian high commissioner Annette King and MFAT head Chris Seed get a cleansing lungful in Canberra. (Image: BusinessDesk)

Pattrick Smellie

Sat, 11 Feb 2023

Smoking out bad karma The traditional “smoking ceremony” used to welcome visitors to Australia couldn’t come quickly enough for the newly anointed prime minister, Chris Hipkins, when he hopped across the Ditch last Tuesday to meet his counterpart, Anthony Albanese.The ritual involves burning eucalyptus gum leaves to produce smoke that is said to ward off bad spirits.Whether the tiny but noisy group of protestors outside the New Zealand High Commission would see themselves that way is probably a matter for a heated debate...

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