Forty years ago, one woman in the NSW town of Queanbeyan saw a need and decided to act. Now 850 people a year receive cancer support from Rise Above.
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Category: Politics
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Rising above cancer – community and care
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The lessons of Long Tan
Sixty years after the Battle of Long Tan, a simple Canberra commemoration offered a more thoughtful kind of remembrance – one that honours the dead on all sides and questions the mythology of victory. (more…)
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Trump’s trolling is not a sideshow. It is a democratic strategy
Democratic oversight breaks down when voters can no longer tell genuine abuses of power from partisan attacks. Strategic trolling exploits that uncertainty and makes legitimate warnings easier to dismiss. (more…)
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The rewriting of Syrian history
Syria’s new political order is being presented as a clean break with dictatorship, while the history of Islamist armed groups, foreign intervention and the destruction of the Syrian state is pushed aside.
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Called to the Holy Land: places we don’t choose to travel to
A journey through Jerusalem, Mount Sinai and the Dead Sea becomes a meditation on pilgrimage, responsibility and the uneasy line between freedom and fate.
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How to Sell a Genocide – libraries are for difficult books too
A confronting display can be reconsidered. Removing a documented critique of the war on Gaza from a public library collection would be another matter entirely.
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A judgment that challenges the IHRA definition of antisemitism
A NSW Supreme Court judgment has sharply distinguished criticism of Israel from antisemitism, raising important questions about the IHRA definition and its use by governments and institutions. (more…)
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NDIS reform is putting the cuts before the safety net
Parliament has passed the largest contraction of the NDIS since its creation. The amendments improve the bill, but budgets will shrink and eligibility tighten before foundational supports are operating. (more…)
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Smuggled smokes and the benefits of cooperation with China
A joint crackdown on tobacco smuggling shows what Australia and China can achieve through practical cooperation – and why a relationship dominated by security fears comes at a cost.
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Housing costs too much. What happens when buyers finally say no?
Australia’s housing market has long been powered by fear of missing out. But stretched incomes and record prices could produce the opposite response – a growing fear of overpaying. (more…)
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Trump is making China look better to the world
Across much of the world, attitudes towards China are improving as views of the United States deteriorate, with trust in American leadership, reliability and respect for freedoms all taking a hit. (more…)
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The French lesson: why Australia should take another look at LEU
France’s experience with low-enriched uranium submarines challenges claims that Australia would have to send vessels overseas for reactor support, while offering lessons in fleet availability, sovereign maintenance and crewing. (more…)
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The answer to NSW’s wind investment drought may be its biggest electricity users
NSW is using the enormous electricity demand of Tomago and new data centres to drive investment in wind and storage, potentially unlocking gigawatts of new capacity as coal plants retire. (more…)
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Gen X is still driving down to The River – and finding it dry
Many in Generation X have reached midlife carrying mortgages, insecure work, dependent children and ageing parents. The growing anger across middle Australia did not come from nowhere. (more…)
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Keeping P&I strong, brave and free – Message from the Editor
P&I can pursue important issues early and keep publishing when others look away because it answers to readers, not powerful interests. One week into the August fundraiser, that community has already taken us almost 20 per cent towards our target.
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After 81 years of men, will the UN finally choose a woman?
The United Nations has never appointed a woman Secretary-General. Four experienced women are now in the running, but the Security Council’s veto politics could still decide the outcome. (more…)
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After years of denial, Israel opens investigation into Hind Rajab’s killing
Israel’s military has opened criminal investigations into the killing of Hind Rajab and other Palestinians in Gaza, but rights groups say its record offers little reason to expect accountability for crimes committed during the genocide. (more…)
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Five years on, the Taliban faces growing pressure in Afghanistan
Five years after returning to power, the Taliban remains deeply repressive, while growing tensions with Pakistan, armed opposition groups and a deepening humanitarian crisis are putting new pressure on its rule. (more…)
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The coming Super El Niño could push a hotter world towards food crisis
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…)
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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…)