The view from the fourteenth floor

A lot of attention is paid to the people in the board rooms of Macquarie Street and the lobby rooms of Parliament, but what about the people stuck on the 14th floor of a social housing block in Melbourne?

Prevention is better than cure

A greater focus on prevention and early intervention in the health and social service budgets would improve outcomes for future generations and put our care sector on a more sustainable path.

Mining the Pacific floor

The race to plunder the Earth’s precious mineral resources is moving to the deep sea floor and the Pacific is on the front line of the environmental and geo-political issues which are bound to arise.

Should you mind your Ps and Qs?

While being polite to AI chatbots doesn’t really spike their energy use, data centres already account for a significant share of global electricity consumption, with demand rising rapidly as AI workloads grow.

Driving in circles

Australia’s reluctance to recognise foreign accreditations means that immigrants are often relegated to semi-skilled tasks despite labour market shortages across the country.

Will the new ‘hate speech’ law work?

The government has responded to the horror of the Bondi terror attack and public demands to address rising antisemitism by proposing new laws curbing racial vilification, so what are they and will they work?

The narcissism of conspiracy thinking

New research shows correlation between narcissistic personality traits and beliefs in conspiracy theories and misinformation, regardless of people’s levels of education.

6-7

The strange words, nonsensical games and creative play of childhood might seem ridiculous but there’s real value in these hidden worlds.

Understanding antisemitism

The newly announced Royal Commission on the horrific Bondi massacre shouldn’t shy from the social divisions which motivated the murders and must offer practical recommendations which are acted upon to ensure this outrage never happens again.

The ancient roots of modern ennui

The loneliness, moral confusion and ennui reported by many young people today may stem from a fundamental mismatch between modern society and human psychological traits which evolved to fit very different conditions.

Six questions for the Royal Commission

After weeks of mounting pressure, the government has called a Royal Commission to look into antisemitism and social cohesion in Australia – here are six questions it might ask.

If parents designed the new ‘Thriving Kids’ program, it’d look like this

The new Thriving Kids programme needs a broad, flexible menu of supports that help children participate and feel safe at home, in early learning, at school and in the community.