• Defence and Security

    A mandate for innovation


    Jason Van der Schyff |  July 16, 2025


    Sovereign capability is no longer just a function of industry planning or academic excellence; it is a national security requirement.


  • Neuroscience

    How does consciousness work?


    Timothy Bayne |  July 16, 2025


    Human consciousness remains a puzzle to be solved, and two current theories – global neuronal workspace theory and integrated information theory – are battling it out without a clear result.


  • Defence and Security

    Paying the price of freedom


    Andrew Forrest |  July 16, 2025


    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should put down his glass and make a formal statement to the Australian Parliament addressing Australia’s place in a changing world and unambiguously asking the Australian public to pay the price required to defend the nation’s basic freedoms.


Latest Story

  • Under the same moon

    Peter Mitchell     |      July 15, 2025

    Peter Mitchell’s new novel explores Australia’s plight during mid-WW2 as Japan wreaked havoc through the Asia-Pacific, and prompts the question of our preparedness today as China pursues regional domination.

  • Saving the seas from plastic pollution

    Open Forum     |      July 15, 2025

    A leading expert in the health impacts of plastic pollution and microplastics is calling on the UN to end the use of toxic chemicals in all plastics, cap and reduce plastic production and argues against a treaty focused on waste management and recycling, as part of an international Plastics Treaty.

  • Capital gaps and complacency

    Open Forum     |      July 15, 2025

    Capital is not neutral. It shapes what gets built and where. Until it is aligned with the national interest, we will continue to export the value of our ideas and import the technologies on which our sovereignty depends.

  • Rethinking universities in the age of AI

    Patrick Dodd     |      July 14, 2025

    The onslaught of AI means that universities will have to shift from teaching information to teaching students how to think with, not against, intelligent machines.

  • Animal insights into the human mind

    Scarlett Howard     |      July 14, 2025

    From fish driving cars to chimps doing maths teaching animals ‘irrelevant’ skills can reveal a great deal about the inner workings of our own minds.

  • Does AI really improve productivity?

    Jon Whittle     |      July 14, 2025

    While people feel they produce more when using AI, the research examining the real relationship between AI and individual productivity shows mixed results.

  • Rethinking risk in innovation

    Jason Van der Schyff     |      July 13, 2025

    Innovation policy is often built around optimism. But in a world of live contest across the economy, the environment and the broader geostrategic landscape, progress cannot afford to wait for perfection.

  • AI joins the fight against superbugs

    Open Forum     |      July 13, 2025

    For the first time, Australian scientists have used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate a ready-to-use antibacterial protein.

  • Feral-free zones spark small mammal boom in the South Australian desert

    Lachlan Gilbert     |      July 13, 2025

    A 26-year study at the Arid Recovery Reserve reveals how removing invasive predators like cats and foxes triggers a dramatic reshaping of desert small mammal communities.

  • Sport is the new religion

    Open Forum     |      July 12, 2025

    The fervent connections which sports fans have to their teams is strikingly similar to religious faith, according to a new book by an Australian expert in sports management.

  • Quantum dreams and realities

    Stephan Robin     |      July 12, 2025

    Despite the impressive and undeniable strides quantum computing has made in recent years, it’s important to remain cautious about sweeping claims regarding its transformative potential.

  • Security isn’t what it used to be

    Justin Bassi     |      July 12, 2025

    When people think of national security, it’s about spies, soldiers and submarines, but these days it’s about much more than those things.