Australia can lead the way to a low carbon economy

Australia has shown that we are capable of great ideas in a wide variety of areas – from food production to energy generation and automated systems for mining and computer control – which could power the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Facts, faith and the future

Scientific fact, rather than religion faith, should motivate decision making in the face of growing challenges.

Organising curiosity

The scientific method is the key to unlocking the secrets of our world, but explaining science to the public and encouraging young minds to embrace the wonder all around them is equally vital.

Automated warfare is a threat to us all

The development of AI-infused systems will allow autonomous military drones to pick out targets and take lethal action without direct human input, raising questions of how – and whether – such machines should be used.

Covid computer

The effects of long hours of playing violent video games on young people have long been a matter of debate and concern, heightened by the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Marriage for the modern age

Although societies around the world have diverged and changed radically over the ages, marriage has remained a constant theme. Given our lengthening life expectancies, are further reforms required?

Believe in tomorrow

Many things which once appeared impossible are now commonplace. Despite the many challenges with which we are faced, we should have faith that humanity can take a great leap forward to triumph over them – and our self doubts.

Private life dramas

Commentators talk about individual privacy as if it is a sacred right which has to be protected but most people have few qualms concerning which organisations access their personal data.

The moral maze

The development of scientific techniques can outpace the legal and ethical boundaries society sets to control them. Where should the line be drawn between the common good and personal rights?

High jinks with helium

Helium is best known as the gas used in airships and party balloons, but its rarity gives it a strategic significance which may have shaped Australia’s engagement with East Timor.

The more you know, the less you need

Indigenous traditions of food cultivation highlight the different approaches of European and indigenous people to environmental knowledge and land management.

They’re here…?

Recent revelations of UFO sightings by American Navy fighter pilots may not be proof of alien visitation, but are certainly worthy of further serious scientific investigation.