My ongoing battle with the self-serve check out

Self-service check outs allow supermarkets to cut staff and boost profits, but they can be a headache for customers to use as something always seems to go wrong.

Facebook at 15 – Time to grow up

Official action to rein in Facebook’s power should reflect on the bad and ugly things the company has done and allowed to happen, but the debate shouldn’t forget some of the positives.

More unites us than divides us

A new study suggests that diverse groups around the world share more in common in terms of their beliefs and values than polarised reporting too often suggests.

Will autonomous cars lead to less car ownership?

Research shows people still want to own their own cars and so we need to be prepared for autonomous vehicles to enhance, rather than replace, the status quo of car use and ownership.

Citizenship, nationhood and the 26th of January

Celebrations of Australian nationhood should include and value all members of the community, including indigenous citizens.

The rise of room sharing in Australia’s crowded cities

With affordable rental housing in short supply in Australia’s major cities, shared room accommodation is likely to increase with profound implications for residents of these rooms, local housing markets and government agencies.

Most Australians oppose further population growth

A new poll conducted by the Australian National University finds that more Australians believe the country’s population has already reached saturation levels.

Digging below the surface of Australian farming

Like the Anzac soldier and bronzed surf lifesaver, the farmer holds a special place in the Australian imagination, but the costs imposed on the environment and indigenous population must also be acknowledged.

Rethinking the death penalty

Fifty years after the last execution in Australia, is it time to revisit the arguments about capital punishment and consider its reintroduction for the most extreme offences?

When sports chatter becomes social commentary

From cheating on the cricket pitch to violence on the field and at home, 2018 reminded us how sport can be a prism through which society can view uncomfortable social issues in a fresh light.

A new start for Canberra’s city centre

The “new economy” is changing Canberra’s city centre, but its transformation into an “innovation precinct” drives a social gentrification which prices out the locals.

European protests are symptoms of a wider malaise

Political systems are under pressure throughout the West. In Europe, Brexit and the “yellow vest” protests in Paris are symptoms of the same economic and cultural divide that delivered the US presidency to Donald Trump, and has allowed One Nation to persist in Australia.