• Politics and Policy

    Failure to launch


    Laura Woodbridge |  April 29, 2024


    The lack of women in the national legislature suggests our political system is misfiring, and this inequality of gender representation also undermines the democratic notion of government being for the people, by the people.


  • Education and Training

    Boardroom blitz


    Open Forum |  April 29, 2024


    A new report has revealed the extent to which Australian universities’ governing bodies have become stacked with unelected big business appointees.


  • Environment

    Plastic planet


    Open Forum |  April 29, 2024


    An international team of researchers has found that more than half of branded plastic pollution in the environment is linked to just 56 companies.


Latest Story

  • Plastic not fantastic

    Jenni Downes     |      March 15, 2021

    The idea of a plastic that literally disappears once in the ocean, littered on land or in landfill is tantalising – but also still a pipe dream.

  • Acting now to prevent dementia

    Open Forum     |      March 15, 2021

    Dementia prevention needs to be Australia’s next public health area of focus, as the nation heads towards a projected number of one million people with dementia by 2056.

  • Mark Nicol’s Counterpoint – The new intellectual pedigree – The school of the fourth age

    Mark Nicol     |      March 15, 2021

    Dropping any pretence of academic rigour, social science has been turned into a tool of social progressives, and a new philosophy exploring man’s place in nature is required.

  • Tabi on racial matters: How you could use your white privilege to create a better world

    Gloria Tabi     |      March 13, 2021

    Being white in Australia comes with certain advantages, but being aware of the problems faced by other groups can help build a more harmonious and inclusive society.

  • Supply chains critical to Taiwan’s security

    Open Forum     |      March 13, 2021

    While communist China works to isolate Taiwan in preparation for invasion, Taiwan’s vital importance to global technology supply chains offers another reason for the west, and the USA in particular, to defend it from attack.

  • Using A.I. to detect disease

    Open Forum     |      March 13, 2021

    An international collaboration led by The University of Sydney and supported by ANSTO has developed an advanced, innovative artificial intelligence application to help examine tissue samples and identify signs of disease.

  • Healthcare sector should reach out to technology scale-ups 

    Zivit Inbar     |      March 12, 2021

    The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of technology and opened opportunities for the health care industry, but also showed us that we need to make some critical changes.  

  • Why TikTok isn’t really a social media app

    Fergus Ryan     |      March 12, 2021

    There’s one thing we’re all getting wrong about TikTok: it’s not really a social media app.

  • Putting a price on carbon

    Richard Holden     |      March 12, 2021

    For an orderly transition from fossil fuels, Australia needs a carbon price to replace its hodgepodge of clumsy government interventions.

  • Let the children play

    Pasi Sahlberg     |      March 11, 2021

    Children today spend much less time playing than their parents did, a decline exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. It’s time to recognise the individual and social benefits of play to our children’s development and happiness.

  • Social media detox

    Roger Patulny     |      March 11, 2021

    Short-lived as it was, Facebook’s removal of Australian news raised interesting questions about our dependence on social media and whether we can do without it.

  • Life on Mars

    Open Forum     |      March 11, 2021

    Robotic mining that can provide water and fuel is the key to developing a colony on the red planet within the next 30 years.