A super El Niño could intensify heat, drought, fire and crop losses across Australia and Asia, while fertiliser shortages raise the risk of a wider food crisis. (more…)
Category: Politics
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Zen Energy’s collapse is no vindication for coal
The collapse of renewable energy retailer Zen Energy has been seized on by critics of Australia’s energy transition, but its failure says little about the broader shift towards renewable energy. (more…)
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Trump’s Truth Social business blurs the line between politics and profit
Donald Trump’s latest business venture – selling advance access to his market-moving Truth Social posts – further intertwines his presidential role with his private financial interests, allowing paying customers to receive information that could influence markets before it is made public. (more…)
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The Productivity Commission has exposed the failure of WA’s GST windfall
The Productivity Commission has found that the 2018 GST reforms are failing on efficiency, effectiveness and fairness, while Western Australia continues to benefit from billions in funding. (more…)
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Australia is running deficits – and leaving the bill to the kids
Australia is running budget deficits. That means today’s taxpayers are not fully paying for the services they receive – and younger generations inherit the debt. (more…)
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Democrats should make Trump’s $1.1 million an hour impossible to ignore
The reported $2.2 billion in profits involving Donald Trump and his family during his first year back in office has prompted scrutiny of the president’s financial interests. The Democrats should make the scale of the gains more tangible and push for greater scrutiny of presidential conflicts of interest. (more…)
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Are we getting too good at managing homelessness?
Australia’s homelessness response has become increasingly sophisticated, but emergency accommodation and outreach cannot substitute for a home. The focus must shift towards prevention, permanent housing and addressing the systems that push people into homelessness in the first place. (more…)
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China’s EV success was built on more than government intervention
China’s rise as the world’s leading electric vehicle producer offers an interesting case study in industrial policy. Its experience shows how competition between government agencies, local governments and private capital can drive experimentation and innovation, while also creating challenges for governments seeking to support emerging industries. (more…)
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AUKUS Pillar One, part two: The nuclear dilemma – acquiring a sustainable, sovereign undersea capability
In the second of a two-part series, the focus turns to nuclear stewardship. AUKUS would leave Australia responsible for weapons-grade uranium throughout the submarine lifecycle, while lower-enriched alternatives may offer a safer and more sovereign path. (more…)
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Why the US-Iran ceasefire collapsed
A US-Iran ceasefire agreement intended to pave the way for 60 days of peace talks collapsed amid renewed military strikes and disputes over the Strait of Hormuz. With both sides accusing each other of violating the deal, negotiations remain deadlocked and the wider war shows little sign of being resolved. (more…)
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Labor’s 28 per cent should spell danger. Instead, it could be enough to win
Labor’s primary vote has fallen to just 28 per cent as One Nation’s surge splits the right, yet the government remains on track to win the next election. With preference flows still uncertain, Labor faces pressure to address voters’ concerns over immigration, housing and the cost of living. (more…)
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Productivism won’t fix Australia’s economic woes
Australia’s productivity debate is overlooking the deeper economic problems created by decades of neoliberal policy. (more…)
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Australia’s home ownership rate doesn’t tell the whole story
Australia’s home ownership rate is 66 per cent when counted by household, but just 51 per cent when counted by person. The difference leaves millions of Australians living in an owned home without owning one themselves – and changes how we should understand Australia’s housing crisis. (more…)
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The growth of Chinese soft power, and the decline of America’s
Global opinion is shifting towards China as its technology, manufacturing and development record strengthen its appeal, while decades of war and political turmoil erode America’s standing.
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Seven hours to prove he speaks English: Gaza students in visa limbo
Young Palestinians offered a place by Irish universities shouldn’t lose that future because the mechanisms of a visa system can’t accommodate the reality of the place from from which they are applying. (more…)
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AUKUS Pillar One, part one: The nuclear dilemma – strategic and operational concerns
In the first of a two-part series, AUKUS is examined as a strategic choice, not simply a procurement program. The planned submarines are designed for US-led coalition warfare rather than a self-reliant defence of Australia. (more…)
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The democratic danger of knowing more and understanding less
Humanity has built an extraordinary system for producing and sharing knowledge, yet many people still lack a broad understanding of the systems shaping their lives. That gap is becoming a democratic dilemma. (more…)
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Are the rich and old to be pitched against the young and poor?
Making housing affordable for younger Australians will require lower land prices and a major increase in housing supply. But the rush to build risks sacrificing planning standards, urban amenity and sustainability, while the labour shortage makes immigration an unavoidable part of the equation. (more…)
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NDIS reforms are coming. Who could lose support?
Proposed NDIS reforms would tighten eligibility, cut some participation funding and move hundreds of thousands out of the scheme, while replacement supports remain uncertain. (more…)
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The planetary emergency is here. The warnings are getting louder
Decades of scientific warnings have done little to change humanity’s course. A new warning looks at the interconnected pressures facing the planet and what can be done about them. (more…)
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Cuba needs energy security, not another generation of collective punishment
Six months of intensified US pressure on Cuba’s energy supply have deepened blackouts, transport failures and shortages. The immediate need is humanitarian relief; the longer-term answer is energy sovereignty. (more…)
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AUKUS Infrastructure, part 7: Sorting the submarine source and sustainment stalemate
In part seven of the AUKUS infrastructure series, the focus turns to Henderson, where fragmented planning risks locking Australia into costly nuclear bottlenecks before construction has properly begun. (more…)
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Australia knows the climate risk – and keeps waiting
Australians increasingly accept that climate change is real, yet governments continue approving fossil fuel expansion and development in known risk zones. The longer action is delayed, the harder and costlier it becomes. (more…)
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Six things Tony Burke should say about immigration
Australia’s post-COVID migration surge is receding, but it exposed deep weaknesses in the temporary visa system. Restoring public confidence requires better regulation, clearer pathways and less fixation on a single net migration number. (more…)
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New Zealand government on rocky road to November election
Winston Peters’ comment to a Chinese-born MP has drawn a formal rebuke from Beijing and exposed the political cost of relying on New Zealand First as Christopher Luxon heads towards a difficult election. (more…)
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After Robodebt, why did the ATO remove a protection for people over 70?
The ATO has changed how it treats previously suspended tax debts, raising serious questions about older and vulnerable Australians, retirement savings and whether government has absorbed the human lessons of Robodebt. (more…)
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Remembering Anas, Mohammed and Gaza’s other slain journalists
Gaza’s journalists have reported through the displacement, bereavement and lethal danger of genocide, while colleagues and family members have been killed around them. Their work has become both testimony and a demand for accountability. (more…)
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A Trump-linked oil push raises the stakes in Greenland
Donald Trump has renewed his threats to take Greenland as a US oil company with ties to his allies makes unauthorised preparations to drill there, raising fears that pressure on the territory is moving beyond rhetoric. (more…)
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Five Fijian sparkies and the real challenge of remote renewable energy
A remote solar and battery system can replace diesel, but lasting energy independence depends on something less easily shipped – local people with the skills and confidence to maintain it. (more…)
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Chinese Australians a largely silent constituency in the AUKUS Debate
In this abridged submission to the public inquiry into AUKUS, Wanning Sun warns that the pact’s securitisation of China is discouraging Chinese Australians from political participation and constraining academic freedom. (more…)