opinion
comment
letters December 13, 2025
Major party politicians have two constituencies (Jason Koutsoukis, “ Exclusive: PM’s office directs lobbyists to use encrypted, disappearing messages ”, December 6-12). The voter is the constituency in front of them, bombarded with advertising for a...
environment December 13, 2025
ANALYSIS: “We need better local gas pricing For Australia, that means doing something hitherto unthought of: telling multinationals that the cost of doing business here is to provide better prices for Australians. These firms can then make up the difference through their export price.”
politics December 13, 2025
Before reflecting on the peaks and troughs of Australian politics in this tumultuous year, I want to emphasise the significantly more challenging environment, both globally and domestically. The challenges have largely arisen from Donald Trump...
editorial December 13, 2025
Pete Hegseth and the AUKUS folly
The man who sets Australia’s defence policy is an alcoholic former Fox News commentator who is known for his gross financial mismanagement and on at least one occasion paid a settlement to a woman he was accused of raping.
education December 13, 2025
The trashing of State Library Victoria
My 17-year career at State Library Victoria ended two years ago, after months of white-anting by management and the most miserable time of my working life. When news of the library’s most recent restructure plan appeared in the press, I received a...
education December 13, 2025
Confronting harassment in uni STEM courses
Sitting in my mandatory coding workshop, I felt a spray on the back of my neck. As the thick smell of men’s deodorant spread and sank into my clothes, I saw my tutor slip the can back into his bag before sitting down next to me. I stayed quiet,...
environment December 13, 2025
ANALYSIS: “We need better local gas pricing For Australia, that means doing something hitherto unthought of: telling multinationals that the cost of doing business here is to provide better prices for Australians. These firms can then make up the difference through their export price.”
letters December 12, 2025
It is revealing that all the effusive praise for the late Graham Richardson (Jason Koutsoukis, “ The Richo pact: How Graham put Albanese in charge ”, November 29–December 5) came from Labor mates; that is, politicians united in pragmatism and...
politics December 12, 2025
Explaining Labor’s travel scandal
About once a decade, travel expenses and politicians’ access to entitlements crash their way into the headlines, usually to the discomfort of a government as the opposition ratchets up pressure for a ministerial scalp. The latest uproar was sparked...
comment December 6, 2025
Understanding what separates Russia from the West
I make it a rule to try to look beyond orthodoxy, to eschew certainty. In my experience, certainty is for fascists and fools. Even that which I hold dear and true, such as my faith, I enrich with doubt and struggle. I believe a questioning, open...
defence December 6, 2025
How to restore Australia’s national security
A new word has recently been added to Australia’s Macquarie Dictionary , which means it can be used officially in our lexicon – even by the ABC. “Enshittification” is self-explanatory. Coined to describe the modus operandi of the high-tech IT sector...