Remembering West Gate

On 15 October 1970, dozens of workers building Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge were caught in its collapse in what is still Australia’s deadliest industrial accident. Thirty-five men were killed and the lives of many more workers and their families were abruptly disrupted. We should honour those who died in the West Gate Bridge failure but also understand why it happened.

A return to Australian values?

The Liberal Party are gambling that a “return to Australian values” will revitalise their flagging electoral appeal, but what are those values, and is it merely a cynical exploitation of public concerns and fear?

Stand with Ukraine

As a new book on the war by Serhii Plokhy makes clear, Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion remains the most important issue of our time. It is the fight of freedom against tyranny, the future against the past and hope verses resignation and despair. As President Trump seems more interested in becoming an imperialist autocrat rather than opposing them, we must all stand with Ukraine.

Nostalgia is not a strategy for Melbourne’s urban change

Rapid population growth and rampant house price inflation have left home ownership a distant dream for many Melbournians, but plans to increase housing density are also politically fraught.

Shifting the Australian housing dream

At the cultural level, our past tradition of home building was largely laissez-faire. The Australian way of leaving it to the developer must change. For this massive renewal, Government must direct, guide and be part of it like no time before.

Peace in our time?

“Peace in our time” said Neville Chamberlain on his return from Germany in late September 1938 after signing the Munich Agreement that effectively handed Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany. The circumstances of this “deal” are uncannily like those that Ukraine confronts today.

Trump in the world – Is it time to panic?

From Ukraine abroad to immigration at home, Donald Trump has wasted no time in implementing his radical agenda, so what are the results likely to be?

Lessons for Ukraine

As representatives of the United States and Russia hold talks on the terms for peace between Ukraine and Russia without inviting Ukraine to participate as its own fate is decided, it is worth drawing parallels with the Irish settlement in 1921.

Why Trump won

Donald Trump’s chaotic first term exposed a litany of faults to the American people, yet his bombastic style and calls for change secured re-election at a canter this year. What can an in-depth analysis of his first term and a Guardian survey of voter attitudes in 2024 tell us about the man who, for better or worse, now stands at the cusp of four more years of power?

Will big storms threaten Melbourne’s “Big Build”?

Melbourne’s rapid growth in recent decades has created a much-publicised range of infrastructure and congestion problems, but is stormwater drainage the Cinderella who doesn’t get to go to the ball?

The flood risk at Kensington Banks

Floods have caused disastrous property damage in the Eastern States in recent years, with Melbourne’s Maribyrnong River incident in October 2022 offering a case study of foolish planning decisions and an abdication of responsibility in recognising and mitigating the danger of future events.

Maribyrnong River blues

Expert commentators are warning of an increasing flood risk along the lower Maribyrnong River in Victoria. Is this a case of the boy “crying wolf” or is there a need for urgent intervention?