Revamping regional universities

Education policy makers must question whether the governance model applied across Australian higher education is aligned with the realities of thin regional markets.

Young scientists are made of paint and pancakes

Parents can help build their child’s logical thinking, problem-solving, and conscious decision-making by talking about science and incorporating it into play, paving the way for their children to enjoy and engage with science subjects when they reach school.

Australia’s global health opportunity

The dismantling of US foreign aid has left a gap in the world’s defences against disease and Australia should step forward to help its Pacific neighbours maintain their health programmes.

Building social cohesion

Social cohesion is a social process that emerges from policies and programs, information flows and everyday interactions and requires intentional investment from all levels of society.

USA-Iran war highlights Australia’s fuel vulnerability

Rather than treating fuel security purely as a stockpiling problem, Australia should think about distributed fuel resilience, including larger northern storage facilities, greater redundancy in import terminals and expanded capacity to move fuel across the continent during disruption.

Bridging the great divides

Maintaining social cohesion is a crucial factor in preserving Australia’s security but policy makers shouldn’t make it a national-security issue.

Hooked

Commercial gambling has become deeply entrenched in Australia over the last fifty years, leaving a shameful legacy of social and financial harm across our communities.

Social cohesion in contested times

A new report reframes social cohesion as a shared governance challenge rather than a culture war, arguing that responsibility for holding an increasingly diverse nation together is distributed across government, platforms, civil society, media and communities.

The rest of the snake

The attack on Iran will certainly change the leadership in Iran, given the killing of the country’s supreme leader, but whether it leads to the collapse of the Islamic regime itself remains uncertain.

Drawing the line

A Victorian court has drawn that line in a landmark decision. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has found chanting “all Zionists are terrorists” at a Melbourne rally amounted to unlawful racial and religious vilification.

The ‘soft power’ of positive thinking

Australia fell 4 places to 14th in the 2025 Global Soft Power Index but perhaps an extra dose of optimism can help restore Australia’s global appeal.

A public convenience

Everyone needs one at some point, but public conveniences are an increasingly rare sight in the nation’s towns and cities.