• Politics and Policy

    Breaking up the band


    Joshua Black |  May 22, 2025


    Like many a famous rock band, the Liberals and Nationals have a long, turbulent but highly successful history together, and their prospects apart look uncertain.


  • China

    China rules the waves


    Euan Graham |  May 22, 2025


    China’s remorseless quest for dominance in the South China Sea is merely part of its strategy to bludgeon its neighbours into subservience without a shot being fired.


  • Cybersecurity

    Rethinking cyber crime


    Annie-Mei Forster |  May 22, 2025


    Australia is seen as a soft target for cybercriminals and our fragmented cybercrime response makes individuals, companies and institutions more vulnerable to state sponsored attacks and criminal hacks.


Latest Story

  • Building a housing solution

    Alan Morris     |      April 21, 2025

    Australia is spending billions trying and still failing to get people into decent homes they can afford. Some more radical options could be on the table.

  • Succession

    Michelle Grattan     |      April 20, 2025

    There’s everything still to play for in the 2025 election campaign, but a host of ambitious politicians are eyeing their chances of progression should their own leaders falter in May.

  • The election campAIgn

    Niusha Shafiabady     |      April 20, 2025

    For better or worse, the parties contesting Australia’s election campaign are using artificial intelligence to mass produce materials and target voters with bespoke messages.

  • A campaign cap won’t stump independents

    Phoebe Hayman     |      April 20, 2025

    Independents have succeeded despite an electoral system stacked against them by the major parties, so additional campaign spending reforms are unlikely to stop them now.

  • Defending ourselves

    Bill Sweetman     |      April 19, 2025

    Donald Trump’s America is no longer a trusted ally or defence supplier, and so the allied nations which remain must focus on developing their own hardware to defend themselves against Chinese and Russian aggression.

  • Enough is enough

    David Andrews     |      April 19, 2025

    Australia has bent over backwards to survive the Trump 2.0 whirlwind, but at some point we’ll have to stand tall.

  • Fear and loathing on the campaign trail

    Michelle Grattan     |      April 19, 2025

    The current Australian campaign may be dull but political campaigns were once the stuff of passion and high drama so the Conversation asked 10 experts to nominate their favourite book about the hustings.

  • Strongmen and super-daddies

    Blair Williams     |      April 18, 2025

    Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton’s adoption of particular masculine identities reveals not only how they want to be perceived but also how they envision the electorate, the nation, and its defining values.

  • The state of the states

    David Clune     |      April 18, 2025

    Politicians of all stripes are zig-zagging across the country to spruik their policies and achievements, and the places they choose to visit – or ignore – offer insights into their electoral priorities and strategy.

  • A brief history of hot cross buns

    Darius von Guttner Sporzynski     |      April 18, 2025

    Hot cross buns appear in your local supermarket on boxing day, but the tasty bun has long been associated with Easter, and perhaps dates back long before.

  • The last lap

    Stephen Mills     |      April 17, 2025

    The party leaders are approaching the final lap of the election campaign. With policy speeches delivered, and rival policies on housing finally released, the campaign has begun its final week, interrupted by Easter, before early voting starts.

  • One nation?

    Andrew Jakubowicz     |      April 17, 2025

    In the run up to the May 3 election, questions are being raised about the value of multiculturalism as a public policy in Australia.