Latest Story

  • South Australia’s supermarket bag ban won’t cut plastic pollution

    Scott Morton     |      April 19, 2018

    State bans on plastic bags may reducing the litter on our streets but won’t do enough to tackle the global problem of plastic pollution.

  • Australia’s flesh eating bug requires urgent research

    Andrew Trounson     |      April 19, 2018

    A localised epidemic in temperate Australia of a rare tropical ulcer has exposed a major gap in scientific knowledge that needs urgent attention.

  • Is an Australian Republic a bridge too far?

    George Williams     |      April 19, 2018

    Half of the respondents in a recent poll said they favoured Australia becoming a republic. However there are still many hurdles in the path of those who wish to make an historic break with the British monarchy.

  • The costs of raising children continues to soar

    Luisa Saccotelli     |      April 18, 2018

    Researchers from UNSW Sydney have found the costs of raising children in Australia have risen substantially over the past two decades due to changing community expectations of what children need to live a healthy life.

  • Learning about the world – and myself – on my Milan adventure

    Leila Maugeri     |      April 18, 2018

    Sydney student Leila Maugeri champions the virtues of studying abroad – and learning about yourself in the process.

  • PNG picks itself up after the earthquake

    Anton Lutz     |      April 18, 2018

    Anton Lutz, an American missionary in Mougulu, offers an eye witness account of recovery and aid efforts on the border of Western Province and Hela, the epicentre of the PNG earthquake in February.

  • Turning plastic waste into bio-gas

    Andrew Spence     |      April 17, 2018

    Plastic waste is choking our oceans but a new Australian innovation could help turn trash into useful fuel if enough investment can be raised to fund a demonstration facility.

  • The darkest hour for the NEM?

    Kane Thornton     |      April 17, 2018

    The government’s failure to pursue a proper national energy strategy is undermining the National Electricity Market.

  • 6 natural ways to protect your skin from the sun

    Derek Lotts     |      April 17, 2018

    It’s easy to forget the need for sun protection when we holiday abroad during winter or venture outdoors on sunny days. People who prefer to avoid commercial products must still safeguard their skin, and there are a range of strategies to make sure our skin enjoys the outdoors as much as we do.

  • Confucius Institutes – Innocent strawberries or poisoned fruit?

    Jeffrey Gil     |      April 16, 2018

    Confucius Institutes are again proving controversial both in Australia and abroad. Can they be compared to western institutions such Alliance Française, the Dante Alighieri Society or the British Council or are they something more sinister?

  • Australia’s fuel vulnerability is a problem of own making

    Paul Barnes     |      April 16, 2018

    Australia is a major energy exporter, yet our lack of domestic refining capacity leaves us evermore reliant on potentially vulnerable maritime supply chains to deliver imported supplies.

  • New roles for the Commonwealth

    Derek McDougall     |      April 16, 2018

    The Commonwealth has been in the news as the Games end on the Gold Coast and attention shifts to the Heads of Government Meeting in London. It makes a good time to consider the significance of this multilateral forum in today’s international affairs.