• Transport

    Off the rails


    John Coyne |  May 12, 2026


    The cancellation of the troubled inland rail project underlines the fact that Australia struggles to deliver strategic infrastructure at the speed, scale and discipline needed for productivity, resilience and national security.


  • Society

    How AI rots our information


    Meg Tapia |  May 12, 2026


    Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and his Columbia University colleague Maxim Ventura-Bolet argue that AI is destroying our ‘information environment’ through regurgitated slop and deliberate misinformation.


  • Politics and Policy

    Slow train coming


    Sarah Cameron |  May 12, 2026


    In the 2025 Australian federal election, Pauline Hanson’s party received only 6.4% of the national vote. A year later, One Nation has surpassed the Liberal Party in the polls, received more votes than the Liberals in the South Australian election, and won their first seat in the House of Representatives in the Farrer by-election. How it happen?


Latest Story

  • AI in the ER

    Ewen Harrison     |      May 12, 2026

    AI systems could help doctors think through a wide range of possible diagnoses when missing a serious condition is the main concern.

  • The fallout from Farrer

    Josh Sunman     |      May 11, 2026

    The win in Farrer solidifies One Nation’s position as a political force in rural and regional Australia and heaps the pressure on an increasingly bedraggled Liberal Party.

  • Let the children play

    Open Forum     |      May 11, 2026

    Children who demonstrate pretend play ability as toddlers have significantly fewer emotional and behavioural difficulties at primary school, according to a new interdisciplinary University of Sydney study.

  • Agents of change

    Nigel Melville     |      May 11, 2026

    AI agents are likely to become a significant part of the workplace but the best way to work with them may be to embrace your own humanity.

  • One Nation romps home in Farrer

    Michelle Grattan     |      May 10, 2026

    One Nation’s storming victory in the Farrer by-election has fired up the insurgent party and cast fresh doubts over the future of the beleaguered Liberal Party.

  • Your kid’s been hacked

    Mohiuddin Ahmed     |      May 10, 2026

    We tell our children to stay safe online, but hackers just stole vast amounts of data from every student at 9,000 schools and universities around the world, including Sydney and Melbourne universities in Australia, by penetrating a commonly used platform for online learning.

  • No money, no friends and no trust in others

    Kate Lycett     |      May 10, 2026

    New survey results show that Australians are less trusting and more financially stressed than every before, underlining the need for the Federal government to take wellbeing measures more seriously.

  • Bringing it all back home

    Jon Richardson     |      May 9, 2026

    Ukraine’s success in holding off the Russian invasion and launching daring attacks deep into Russia itself has forced Putin to radically scale back his May 9 propaganda parade amid signs that domestic opposition to the war is growing.

  • Mushroom clouds

    Jane Rawson     |      May 9, 2026

    Romy Ash’s new novel Mantle explores the idea that a pathogen might make us wake up to ourselves and change course to save both the environment we depend on and ourselves.

  • “Just looping you in” may leave you out

    Daniel Angus     |      May 9, 2026

    If you can’t be bothered doing the job you get paid for, or don’t like interacting with your friends, then using AI to communicate for you seems an easy time saving, but letting AI write our emails might create more work and erode the human relationships we ultimately depend on.

  • How to enter the art world

    Benedict Carpenter van Barthold     |      May 9, 2026

    How to Enter the Art World by Hettie Judah offers a smørgasbord of sage advice for budding artists of all ages looking to navigate their way in a world where the human creation of art is threatened as never before.

  • Mind wars

    Lorraine Finlay     |      May 8, 2026

    China’s newly released 15th five‑year plan offers a revealing insight into how Beijing understands the future of military power as a combination of brute force and advanced technology, including brain‑computer interfaces.