A South Asian perspective on migration politics, student confidence and the long-term value of Australian international education. (more…)
Category: Politics
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Environment: Humanity continues to foul its fragile nest
Seven of the nine planetary boundaries have now been crossed as human pressure on the Earth accelerates, yet Australia continues to expand fossil fuel extraction while presenting itself as a climate leader.
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The Congo, cobalt and our limited attention
Cobalt mining in the Congo exposes both the hidden human cost of technologies we rely on and the limits of a news culture that directs our attention towards some crises while leaving others almost invisible. (more…)
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Australian island base’s hidden US military role
Runway extensions, new military infrastructure and US planning are transforming the Cocos Islands into a strategically important forward operating base, with little public debate about the role Australia is assuming in a future conflict with China.
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Coalition immigration policy: unbalanced, unachievable, unworthy
The Coalition’s migration plan promises dramatic cuts to net overseas migration and the temporary visa population, but key measures are inconsistent, administratively weak and in some cases beyond government control. (more…)
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Labor should not take Green preferences for granted
Labor’s primary vote is weakening while Green preferences remain crucial in close contests. Albanese’s hostility to the Greens may become increasingly difficult to sustain. (more…)
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How much aid is the Australian government giving to Palestine?
As wealthy countries cut aid, Australia remains far below the UN target for development assistance. Its support for Palestinian statehood is not matched by an adequate humanitarian response to Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories. (more…)
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Takaichi dominates Japanese politics, but her honeymoon may be short-lived
Sanae Takaichi has consolidated extraordinary political power, but the economic conditions that sustained the Abe era have changed and Japan’s fragmented opposition may not remain her only problem. (more…)
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Australia’s climate policy – a crime against humanity
Australia cannot credibly claim climate leadership while expanding coal and gas exports that accelerate global heating, deepen Pacific vulnerability and lock in further human suffering. (more…)
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South Australia’s green gold rush gathers pace
New wind farms and big batteries are pushing South Australia closer to 100 per cent net renewables, while supplying major industry and driving billions of dollars in new investment. (more…)
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Climate change has devastated one of the world’s great penguin colonies
The chinstrap penguin population on remote Zavodovski Island has fallen by 63 per cent in just 15 years, as warming seas push their krill food supply further south. (more…)
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Aged care is turning the family home into an entry fee
Scarce aged care places increasingly favour families able to pay large accommodation deposits, drawing on housing wealth that may be the only debt-free asset shared across three generations. (more…)
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There is no ‘debate’: them is us – Message from the Editor
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The growing gap between Australia’s policies on nicotine and reality
Australia’s tobacco and vaping policies have helped create a vast illicit market while governments continue to pour money into enforcement and neglect cheaper, more effective harm reduction. (more…)
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Australia’s migration debate is ignoring the regions that need migrants most
Migration is doing much of the demographic heavy lifting outside Australia’s major cities. Cutting it without a serious regional population strategy risks accelerating decline in smaller communities.
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Landmark High Court ruling puts coal mine extensions on notice
A landmark High Court ruling has overturned approval of the Mt Pleasant coal mine extension, requiring NSW planning authorities to properly consider the local climate impacts of emissions from coal burned overseas.
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Elections will test whether Trump and Netanyahu can outrun accountability
As Spain’s Pedro Sánchez takes a markedly different path on Gaza, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu head towards elections burdened by war, scandal and deep questions about democratic accountability. (more…)
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Ian Proud’s Heathrow detention is a warning about the West’s shrinking tolerance for dissent
The detention of former British diplomat Ian Proud after attending the Valdai Conference raises troubling questions about the use of counter-terrorism and border powers against people advocating dialogue rather than escalation. (more…)
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Five myths behind the Coalition’s migration crackdown
The Coalition promises the biggest migration cut in Australian history, but its policy confuses arrivals with net migration, oversimplifies housing pressures and mistakes political symbolism for serious integration policy. (more…)
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Using interest rates to fight inflation is dumb, unfair and overdue for a rethink
Higher interest rates hit younger mortgage holders far harder than everyone else, making monetary policy both inequitable and inefficient. Inflation control should be spread more fairly across the economy. (more…)
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Lula can still win – but Brazil’s right has staged a formidable comeback
Lula trails Flávio Bolsonaro heading into Brazil’s presidential runoff, after a campaign shaped by voter fatigue, hostile media coverage and sustained intervention from Trump’s political network. (more…)
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Australia’s AI boom must leave regional communities with more than the bill
Massive AI infrastructure projects may bring jobs and investment, but regional development should be judged by what communities control, retain and can build long after construction ends. (more…)
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The great AUKUS deception: Australia pays to defend America
AUKUS has been sold as a plan to strengthen Australia’s defence. Its deeper purpose is to bind Australia permanently into US military strategy against China and make American security dependent on Australian participation. (more…)
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The Republican consensus on Israel is starting to fracture
Christian Zionism helped turn support for Israel into Republican orthodoxy. But America First scepticism and a growing generational divide are exposing cracks in a coalition once treated as politically untouchable. (more…)
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People of conscience mark Global Action Day for Gaza
As rallies, vigils and marches mark three years of devastation in Gaza, civil society is continuing to show the solidarity and moral clarity that governments, including Australia’s, have failed to provide. (more…)
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Want to weaken One Nation? Fix the temporary visa system
Voters are focused on housing, bills and strained services rather than immigration itself. But rapid population growth driven by temporary visas is intensifying those pressures and helping fuel disillusionment with the major parties. (more…)
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Australia needs a minister for loneliness and social connection
Loneliness and social isolation are shaped by housing, transport, aged care, disability services and community life. A dedicated minister could bring those strands together and make social connection a national policy priority. (more…)
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Listen, deliver, rebuild trust: answering the populist right – part two
Economic insecurity matters, but it cannot explain the populist challenge alone. Governments must also address migration, belonging and trust while delivering improvements in housing, services, fairness and democratic integrity. Part two of a two-part analysis.
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Are you part of the long tail? Why we should all be part of Australia’s AI training data conversation
Copyright deals can protect professional creators, but much of AI’s value also comes from the vast collective output of the open internet. Australia has an opportunity to recognise, protect and fund that shared data commons. (more…)
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What Pacific women want global climate advocates to hear before COP31
As Pacific leaders gather ahead of COP31, new research shows women want more than recognition of their vulnerability. They want decision-making power, direct access to climate finance and water security placed at the centre of climate justice.
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