The quest for significance

People can turn to embrace conspiracy theories to feel like they ‘matter’, according to a new book.

What’s the big idea?

A new book – “What’s the Big Idea? 32 Ideas for a Better Australia” edited by Anna Chang and Alice Grundy celebrates 30 years of big ideas from the Australia Institute.

One nation?

In the run up to the May 3 election, questions are being raised about the value of multiculturalism as a public policy in Australia.

Whose Medicare?

MyMedicare is a scheme that encourages patients to register with a regular GP practice to improve their health but only about 10% of patients have signed up since its launch in October 2023.

Treating defence like it matters

The National Defence Strategy released in April 2024 warned that Australia’s strategic circumstances were rapidly deteriorating in the face of Russian and Chinese aggression, and the election of Donald Trump underlines the need for Australia to prepare to defend itself.

Dehumanisation

Advocacy groups have called for the term dehumanisation to be used by Australian universities instead of distinct terms like antisemitism and Islamophobia.

The age of disruption

We’re living through an age of technical, cultural and political disruption which is quickly eroding the institutions and practices that provide predictability and social cohesion in our lives.

Vampire state

China’s diplomatic and military assertiveness is built on the economic success generated by the adoption of capitalist economics to buy off the population after Tiananmen Square, but that economic progress is now stalling with Western companies increasingly reluctant to engage.

Lessons in resilience

Sharing disaster lessons plays a crucial role in strengthening resilience across Indo-Pacific countries. It fosters unity and collaboration, promoting international cooperation to enhance regional preparedness and prosperity by investing in human capacity, scaling up traditional knowledge, and leveraging technology.

Heads you lose

Mobile phone gambling apps and incessant gambling advertising at sporting events on TV are driving a worrying increase in problem gambling in Australia.

Waste land

Robert Kaplan’s new book Waste Land explores the world’s current state of ‘permacrisis’ in which a deadly mix of authoritarianism, war, climate change, great power rivalry, rapid technological advancement and countless other dangers cast an ever darkening pall.

The worries of young Australians

A new report by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre has revealed that young Australians are feeling the squeeze from financial pressures, worsening mental health and declining trust in political institutions, with concerns about the cost of living now topping their list of priorities.