Latest Story

  • Australia’s media should reflect its cultural diversity

    Helen Vatsikopoulos     |      June 23, 2019

    As we face a growing tide of unregulated hate speech, the role of the media is crucial in normalising diversity and demolishing the “othering” of difference that divides us. So how is the Australian media faring in the diversity stakes?

  • Obesity is the new normal but it’s still a health risk

    Tim Olds     |      June 23, 2019

    More people are now overweight than ever, but this doesn’t alter the fact that obesity increases a range of serious health risks, as well as affecting people’s quality of life.

  • A cultural shift helps safeguard the reef

    Open Forum     |      June 23, 2019

    The tourist industry on the Great Barrier Reef is being encouraged to use a novel low-cost device to help secure coral fragments to the reef.

  • Driverless buses could boost suburban public transport

    Neema Nassir     |      June 22, 2019

    Automated services in the form of expanded and frequent fixed-route services feeding major transit hubs, or flexible mobility-on-demand door-to-door trips could stop the downward spiral of suburban public transport.

  • Balancing the rise of China

    Peter Varghese     |      June 22, 2019

    It’s clear that China wants to become the predominant power in Asia. Why should that be a concern for Australia? The answer goes to the heart of the intersection of our interests and values in foreign policy.

  • Sharks v humans – Who’s the real predator?

    Open Forum     |      June 22, 2019

    Changing the way in which sharks are portrayed, and the way in which the risks are exaggerated and presented to people, is a vital step in saving these magnificent creatures from destruction by man.

  • Faster railways could halve inter-city travel times

    Philip Laird     |      June 21, 2019

    Air travel between Sydney and Melbourne is increasingly congested. High speed rail links could cut the travel times, but despite many studies, these plans remain stuck on the drawing board.

  • The gray zone and ‘hybrid warfare’

    Andrew Dowse     |      June 21, 2019

    Our increasing connectivity and reliance on information technology is a vulnerability being targeted by two key threats: cyber attacks and the subversion of our democratic institutions.

  • Facebook’s new crush on its users

    Open Forum     |      June 21, 2019

    The social media giant is entering the dating app market, but will it be seen as yet another invasion of privacy or a fun way to help shy people get together?

  • Three ways for universities to outwit disruption

    John Fischetti     |      June 20, 2019

    To remain relevant, Australia’s universities will need to transform into very different entities, with new business models that foster innovation and embrace the interconnection technology offers. And they will need to do so quickly.

  • It’s time for Canberra to stop kowtowing to Beijing

    Geoffrey Barker     |      June 20, 2019

    Managing relations with China is the most challenging foreign and security policy problem facing Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his re-elected government. While appeasement is always the easy option, a strong stance is required to protect the region and our liberties.

  • Putting climate change under the microscope

    Ivy Shih     |      June 20, 2019

    An international group of leading microbiologists have issued a warning that microbes are threatened by climate change in ways which could undermine the complex biosphere on which all life depends.