• Science and Technology

    Building trust into technology


    Jason Van der Schyff |  November 18, 2025


    Sovereignty in the digital age is not defined by where a company is registered; it’s defined by who controls operations, who accesses data, and which laws apply when pressure is applied.


  • Human Interest

    The end of the affair


    Open Forum |  November 18, 2025


    As Australians mark Movember and shine a light on men’s mental health, Relationships Australia NSW is calling for greater awareness of the emotional toll of relationship breakdown on men – and the need for better access to support services.


  • China

    Chinese sea power


    Basil Germond |  November 18, 2025


    China’s announcement of a new aircraft carrier is part of a rapid naval modernisation and expansion programme aimed to establish dominance in the oceans of the Asia-Pacific.


Latest Story

  • Uncategorised

    Caring for our country

    editor     |      June 25, 2012

    The review of the Caring for our Country initiative launched last week. From 21 June to 15 August 2012, the Australian Government will be consulting on specific areas of the next phase of the program implementation that are still to be developed.

    The Australian Government is investing $2 billion to achieve a difference to Australia’s environment. Caring for our Country funds projects across the country to achieve national targets – projects that improve biodiversity and sustainable farm practices. This funding supports regional natural resource management groups, local, state and territory governments, Indigenous groups, industry bodies, land managers, farmers, Landcare groups and communities.

  • Educate for the sake of the future

    Ulrike Schuermann     |      June 22, 2012

    Ulrike Schuermann looks to the future and asks what do Australian children need and what can the public and the government do to help protect them and make their lives more secure?

    Children are naturally vulnerable and most people wish to ensure they are protected and grow up to reach their full potential regardless of their background and circumstances. There are many individual issues that affect the quality of childhood. These include their health and  mental health, the provision of sufficient opportunities and the quality of their education to name just a few.

  • The science of alternative energy

    Ryan Halyburton     |      June 21, 2012
    Ryan Halyburton looks at why the biggest factors affecting the implementation of alternative energy solutions are cost and social acceptance, not the science behind the technology.
     
    These days, it is almost impossible to drive down a suburban street and not see a house adorned with shiny solar panels producing clean and green power for its inhabitants.

    Nor is it possible to travel from Adelaide to Whyalla or Mt Gambier without noticing extensive wind turbines lining the horizon. Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few years (without using any electricity), you will have noticed the increase in interest for renewable and sustainable energy solutions to the issues of climate change and carbon pollution.

  • Learning to measure what we treasure

    Dermot O'Gorman     |      June 20, 2012
    It’s no secret that humans are living beyond our means – in economic terms we are running down our planet’s natural capital. Dermot O’Gorman explains why the green economy is the central theme of this week’s Rio+20 summit.

    In a world of quick fixes, sound bites and salacious headlines, it can be tough to articulate a complex topic.

    Take the ‘green economy’ for instance. We have two main challenges. Firstly, there is no general agreement by economists, scientists, or political leaders on what the term actually means because, like any economy, a ‘green economy’ is complex and made up of many different factors.

    Secondly, mention the word ‘economy’ and a certain percentage of the general public tune out! 

  • Putting safety first

    Angela Lynch     |      June 19, 2012
    Figures showing violence against women and children in Australia paint a picture grim picture. Angela Lynch says new changes to the Family Law Act might make life safer for families living in dangerous households.
    According to the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children, at least 1 in 3 women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15 years and almost 1 in 5 sexual violence? The fact that these numbers are so high is a real indictment on our society.

  • How much personality can our athletes have?

    Hugh Stephens     |      June 15, 2012
    When Olympic swimmers Nick D’Arcy and Kenrick Monk posted photos of themselves holding guns on Facebook the Australian Olympic Committee acted swiftly to punish them. Hugh Stephens wonders just how much character athletes are allowed to display.

    We’ve recently seen a lot of activity about the use of social media by sportspeople, most notably Nick D’Arcy and Kenrick Monk posting a photo of themselves brandishing guns on their Facebook and Twitter profiles at a Californian rifle range. Subsequently the pair have been banned from social media during the Olympics, and have self-imposed a ban in the time coming up to the Games.

    And this story isn’t the first (nor will it be the last) about a sportsperson posting inappropriate content on their social media profile(s). Almost every code has had at least one incident, from the AFL to the NFL, hockey to water polo. Of course, not all of them receive the same level of media attention.

  • Red tape and Australia’s cost of doing business

    Tim Mazzarol     |      June 14, 2012

    How does Australia fair against other nations when it comes to Red Tape? Tim Mazzarol takes an indepth look at where we sit compared to other countries and what this means for local businesses.

    The term "red tape" has been used so much in recent years that it is difficult to trace either its meaning or its origins. It is thought to have come from the use by King Charles V of Spain’s use of red tapes manufactured in Holland that he used to bind important documents of state during his reign in the 16th Century.

    During the United States Civil War in the 1860s the US Government used red tapes to bind veteran’s records. People who sought access to such documents used the term as an emblem for bureaucratic intransigence and time wasting. Today it represents a term for unnecessary regulations that impose time delays and compliance costs on business.

  • Can republicans learn from the Queen?

    David Morris     |      June 12, 2012
    Public support for an Australian Republic has been falling over the past few years as interest in the Royal Family rises. David Morris says any potential new head of state could learn a lot from the Queen but should be there to represent Australia first and foremost.

    The media frames issues as black and white.  But Australians live in a world governed by common sense, where things are not black and white but there are large areas of common ground.  Indeed, one of the great things about this country is the way we all get along, regardless of where in the world our ancestors come from or where in the world we might have attachments, because we are united as proud Australians.

  • God bless the Queen on her Diamond Jubilee

    Philip Benwell     |      June 8, 2012

    When the Queen celebrated her diamond jubilee in the UK last weekend events were held throughout the Commonwealth. Festivities in Australia were notably quiet, an outcome that Philip Benwell believes was at odds with the opinion of the general public.

  • Bad regulation clogging the economic arteries of Australia

    Kelly O'Dwyer MP     |      June 7, 2012

    The complexity of regulation and the costs of complying with it are often cited as impediments to business in Australia. Kelly O’Dwyer believes that, like bad health, bad regulation brings us all down.

  • UN report shows Barrier Reef threat

    Paul Oosting     |      June 6, 2012
    Following a damning report from UNESCO cricitising the management of the Great Barrier Reef the Queensland government has vowed it will protect the world heritage site. Paul Oosting says we must all join the fight to protect the fragile ecosystem.

    A United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) report has confirmed that the Great Barrier Reef Heritage Area is threatened by a proposed massive expansion of mining in Far North Queensland.

    The draft decision, released in Paris last weekend, “notes with great concern the potentially significant impact on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value resulting from the unprecedented scale of coastal development currently being proposed within and affecting the property”.

  • What Aussies can do when they band together

    SarahGreenaway     |      June 5, 2012

    When ABC journalists investigated reports of animal cruelty in Indonesia last year they could not have anticipated the ground-swell of opinion that rose to condemn the practice of live animal export. Sarah Greenaway says it highlighted the power of a mass public outcry.