• Politics and Policy

    Could Dutton tame Trump?


    Open Forum |  March 22, 2025


    Most elections are won and lost on the sitting Government’s domestic record, but the Coalition’s approach to foreign affairs, defence and trade could become an important election issue given the international chaos provoked by American demagogue Donald Trump.


  • Economy

    Australia’s economic (mini) miracle


    John Quiggin |  March 22, 2025


    Despite COVID and the current cost of living crisis, the most striking feature of the Australian economy in the 21st century has been the exceptionally long period of fairly steady, though not rapid, economic growth.


  • Politics and Policy

    Fraser at 50


    Joshua Black |  March 22, 2025


    Fifty years ago, Liberal MPs chose Malcolm Fraser as their leader. Eight months later, he led them into power in extraordinary circumstances. He governed for seven and a half years, and remains Australia’s fourth-longest serving prime minister.


Latest Story

  • The AI election

    Cory Alpert     |      March 21, 2025

    The forthcoming Federal election will offer a test of how AI-driven information could shape Australia’s democracy in the future.

  • Living livestock

    Catie Gressier     |      March 21, 2025

    The diversity of livestock breeds has been decimated by the drive to ever greater efficiency, leaving pig, cattle and other stocks vulnerable to disease and inbreeding.

  • Back to the drawing board

    Open Forum     |      March 21, 2025

    Walking upright – and sitting too much – wrecks our backs and despite a plethora of cures and treatments, none of them seem to work.

  • The secret childcare scandal

    Marianne Fenech     |      March 20, 2025

    Childcare is expensive but an ABC report also highlights widespread claims of of abuse, neglect and poor standards, so what is going wrong with childcare in Australia?

  • Australia’s energy future

    John Quiggin     |      March 20, 2025

    The future of energy generation still lies with renewables, rather than legacy coal-fired stations or future nuclear options.

  • Lessons in resilience

    Daisuke Kageyama     |      March 20, 2025

    Sharing disaster lessons plays a crucial role in strengthening resilience across Indo-Pacific countries. It fosters unity and collaboration, promoting international cooperation to enhance regional preparedness and prosperity by investing in human capacity, scaling up traditional knowledge, and leveraging technology.

  • The Pacific water shortage

    Open Forum     |      March 19, 2025

    Hydrology experts at Flinders University are calling for urgent investigations into the operation of bore-fields that access fresh groundwater on Pacific islands, including Kiribati, where rising sea levels are already putting local water supplies at risk.

  • Tackling scientific misconduct

    Nham Tran     |      March 19, 2025

    Over 10,000 scientific papers were retracted around the world last year, and the increasing amount of plagiarism and fabrication – now aided by AI – has revived calls for an Australian oversight body.

  • A united front

    Henry Campbell     |      March 19, 2025

    Australian politicians should establish clearer political boundaries around national security to avoid politicising ongoing security issues and to better manage secondary effects.

  • Fighting online for Ukraine

    Kateryna Kasianenko     |      March 18, 2025

    Despite the apathy of the major platforms and an American President in the pocket of Vladimir Putin, an army of online bloggers are combating Russian’s propaganda war to support Ukraine.

  • Heads you lose

    Sarah Marinos     |      March 18, 2025

    Mobile phone gambling apps and incessant gambling advertising at sporting events on TV are driving a worrying increase in problem gambling in Australia.

  • Microplastic major problem

    Open Forum     |      March 18, 2025

    Australian researchers have found that compost is full of microplastics, with every kilogram of compost containing between 1,500 to 16,000 microplastic particles.