Studies show AI systems used in military scenarios tend to escalate conflicts, raising serious concerns about their role in decisions involving nuclear weapons.
Category: Policy
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Australia’s great wealth transfer divide isn’t between generations
Australia’s so-called ‘great wealth transfer’ will not be a simple shift between generations, but a widening gap between those who inherit assets and those who do not.
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The Budget needs real tax reform, not tinkering
Australia’s tax system increasingly favours capital and older wealth while leaving younger Australians with rising debts and shrinking opportunities.
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Reclaiming the common good from neoliberalism
New thinking about the common good challenges decades of neoliberal policy and raises questions about inequality, public services and Australia’s federal system.
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Australia’s fuel security crisis needs less diesel, not more refineries
Australia’s heavy reliance on imported diesel has left the economy exposed to global shocks, highlighting the need to cut demand rather than simply increase supply.
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Freedom at last for the Robodebt Six, thanks to the NACC
New findings from the anti-corruption commission clear several figures of corruption over Robodebt, but the affair still exposes profound failures in public administration. (more…)
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Ministerial responsibilities and Robodebt
The principle of ministerial responsibility means a minister must answer for the policies and advice presented to cabinet – including the flawed Robodebt scheme.
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Five years after March 4 Justice, women are still being killed
Five years after tens of thousands of women marched across Australia demanding action on gendered violence, the country has changed its language and policies. But the most brutal statistic – women killed by current or former partners – has not declined. (more…)
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Allegra Spender reopens the tax debate – but the real divide is wealth, not generations
Australia’s tax debate often frames reform as a struggle between younger and older generations. But the real divide lies between wage earners and those who derive growing advantage from assets, wealth and capital income.
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Are soil carbon schemes really working?
New research suggests rainfall and climate variability may play a larger role in soil carbon increases than land management, raising questions about carbon credit schemes.
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Antisemitism: “It’s a trick. We always use it.”
Public debate about genocide in Gaza is increasingly dominated by claims of antisemitism. The result is a political climate where outrage at Israel’s actions is recast as prejudice.
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Australia’s multicultural success cannot be taken for granted
Australia’s multicultural project has delivered enormous social and economic benefits, but recent governments have allowed it to drift, weakening social cohesion and leadership when it needs renewed attention most. (more…)
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Robodebt report is still not the end of the road
The National Anti-Corruption Commission’s Robodebt report provides transparency and some accountability, but key findings and the lack of public detail on APS code breaches leave troubling questions unresolved.
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Ending native forest logging subsidies need not cost jobs
Claims that environmental reforms will destroy jobs in native forest logging are overstated. Labour market dynamics and the growth of plantation forestry point to a manageable transition. (more…)
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Australia, Iran and the politics of evasion
Political evasions and half-truths are shaping Australia’s response to the US-Israel attack on Iran, undermining honest debate about legality and policy.
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Escaping the tough-on-crime media trap
Decades of tough-on-crime rhetoric have narrowed political debate, but safer communities may depend on shifting the conversation toward prevention, accountability and repair.
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How to lose an election: The 2025 Liberal Party election review
The leaked review shows how chaotic campaign management and policy announcements ignoring key demographics cost the Coalition the election. (more…)
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Angus Taylor’s immigration rhetoric faces policy reality
Calls to reduce immigration by “raising standards” sound tough, but current visa settings are already far tighter than in 2022 and further cuts would come with economic costs. (more…)
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The Liberal review explains the defeat – but not the path back
The leaked review of the Liberal Party’s 2025 election defeat details campaign failures and organisational problems. What it avoids is the harder question: what policies or direction might rebuild support.
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Why I risked prison to add a ‘Losing Sound’ to poker machines
Poker machines are designed to celebrate wins but stay silent on losses. A new project aims to disrupt that psychological design by introducing a simple losing sound – and to push for legislative reform. (more…)
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War on Iran signals urgent need for Australia to end risky imported oil dependency
The widening conflict in the Gulf has exposed Australia’s extreme reliance on imported oil. With minimal fuel reserves and a $12 billion annual diesel subsidy to mining, energy security has become a national security emergency. (more…)
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Migration scare campaign ignores Coalition’s own targets
The Coalition is trying to turn migration into a political flashpoint. But the long-term net overseas migration target under Labor is identical to the one projected under the Morrison government.
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Thirty years on, the Howard legacy still defines our limits
John Howard marks 30 years since the Coalition’s 1996 victory with a familiar story of stability and economic management. But the deeper legacy is the set of political and economic defaults both major parties now treat as common sense.
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Punishment politics and the suppression of restorative justice
Decades of ‘tough on crime’ policy have expanded prisons while narrowing reform. Restorative justice has been repeatedly constrained not for lack of evidence, but because it redistributes authority away from the state. (more…)
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Values, ethics, fear – Australian women and children in the Al Roj Camp
Politicians frequently appeal to Judaeo–Christian values, yet retreat from them when fear dominates debate. The test is whether those values guide policy when it is hardest to apply them.
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Australia is finally building more social housing – but it’s still not enough
Public investment will add tens of thousands of new social housing dwellings by 2030, reversing decades of decline. But new research shows the increase will only prevent further erosion of the sector, not reduce unmet need. (more…)
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Capital gains tax reform could reshape Australia’s housing market
As debate over capital gains tax returns to parliament, longstanding concessions are again under scrutiny for their role in driving housing speculation, inequality and intergenerational imbalance.
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Human rights: could Menzies help Albanese see the light?
Australia’s push for a federal Human Rights Act is stalled by political caution and media hostility. The path forward may depend on Coalition support – and reframing the reform as consistent with Liberal tradition.
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Punishment politics is breaking Western Australia’s justice system
A capability review of WA’s Justice Department shows a system overwhelmed by rising demand, delays and overcrowding. The underlying problem is political – punitive law-and-order settings that expand pressure without building capacity or preventing harm.
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Best of 2025 – Words or action? Dreyfus and human rights at home
Mark Dreyfus has been appointed Australia’s special envoy on human rights. Is the government prepared to match international advocacy with concrete action at home – by finally legislating a Human Rights Act? (more…)