Latest Story
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In praise of curiosity
Nicola Redhouse | April 18, 2026The violent, chaotic state of the world today increases our craving for certainty but its opposite, curiosity, might be what we really need.
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Reforming the NDIS
Sam Bennett | April 18, 2026The government wants to curb NDIS spending as the $50 billion a year programme continues to spiral out of control, so here’s how it might succeed.
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Australia’s aged care algorithm comes under fire
Open Forum | April 18, 2026The way Australians are assessed for home-based aged-care funding is being investigated by the Commonwealth ombudsman.
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Making people
Roger Chao | April 17, 2026Early childhood educators do some of the most important work in the country and our failure to honour them and pay them properly is undermining our future in the name of short-term thrift.
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What do political think tanks do?
Nathan Fioritti | April 17, 2026The revamping of the Green Party’s “Institute” prompts examination of what party think tanks do and their value to Australia’s party system.
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AI is already driving people out of work
Clinton Free | April 17, 2026As long-standing jobs disappear and opportunities for young people dwindle, there is a growing need for a national conversation on policies to navigate the impact of artificial intelligence on entry level, white collar and professional jobs.
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War at the speed of light
Malcolm Davis | April 16, 2026For decades, notions of laser weapons have been the stuff of science fiction. Now they are becoming military reality, as directed-energy weapons, including high-energy lasers and high-power microwave weapons, open new approaches to counter swarms of cheap drones.
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Tackling teacher burnout
Pamela Patrick | April 16, 2026Teachers are often described as the backbone of our education system. But what’s less visible is the emotional load they carry every day, and how that load is quietly shaping whether they stay or leave the profession.
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Medicare’s mental health check
Peter Baldwin | April 16, 2026Medicare Mental Health Check In doesn’t offer the instant back-and-forth of a chatbot. But it does offer something a chatbot can’t: an evidence-based program designed by experts and supported by a caring human.
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The sky’s not the limit
Akshit Tyagi | April 15, 2026Artemis II has returned humans to deep space for the first time in fifty years but the forces that brought us back are the same ones that kept us away and until scientific discovery displaces geopolitics and profit, the next fifty years will look just like the last.
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Send in the drones
Michelle Grattan | April 15, 2026Expanding Australia’s fleet of autonomous and uncrewed defence and weapon systems will help the ADF keep the nation safe, support local jobs and harness Australian innovation.
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Looking through glasswing
Stan Karanasios | April 15, 2026If AI models like Mythos can scan the hidden plumbing of the internet – operating systems, browsers, routers, and shared open-source code – at an unprecedented scale, then what is now specialised hacking could become a routine and automated process.

