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Grattan on Friday: Albanese government can’t be accused of excessive caution...
Commentators used to complain the Albanese government was being too cautious. That charge can’t easily be levelled now. Take two totally different issues on which the government in recent days has...
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Friday essay: ‘too many Aboriginal babies’ – Australia’s secret history of...
The Conversation, CC BY-SAAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article may contain images of deceased people. It contains mentions of the Stolen Generations, and policies...
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Half a million more Australians on welfare? Not unless you double-count
ShutterstockThe Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun carried an exclusive story on Sunday headed “Half a million extra on welfare”. It was subheaded: NDIS blowing the budget.The story said the number of...
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Foy & Gibson’s 8,100,000 miles of yarn: how Australians were sold...
How do you describe the feel of wool against your skin? For some that feel is snuggly soft. Others remember a prickly sensation. But would you call wool “healthy”, “comfortable” or “pure”? This is how...
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Despite what you might hear, weather prediction is getting better, not worse
Australia’s weather bureau copped harsh criticism after El Niño failed to deliver a much-vaunted dry summer in eastern Australia. Parts of northern Queensland in the path of Tropical Cyclone Jasper had...
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Choice and control: are whitegoods disability supports? Here’s what proposed...
ShutterstockMany Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late last year. Now a...
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It’s common to ‘stream’ maths classes. But grouping students by ability can...
Karolina Grabowska/Pexels, CC BYIt is very common in Australian schools to “stream” students for subjects such as English, science and maths. This means students are grouped into different classes...
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Grant Robertson is swapping cabinet for academia – but should ex-politicians...
Getty ImagesThe appointment of former Labour finance minister Grant Robertson as vice-chancellor is a first for Otago University, which has never had a non-academic in the role. But it’s not hard to...
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The Petrov affair: how a real-life Cold War defection became a soothing spy...
This year marks 70 years since Soviet diplomat Vladimir Petrov sensationally defected to Australia shortly before the 1954 election, beginning what came to be known as the “Petrov affair”. The...
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City planners love infill development. So why are cities struggling with it,...
Forestville, AdelaideRenewal SA, CC BYInfill development is an increasingly hot topic in Australian cities. It involves building on unused or underutilised land within existing urban areas. City...
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Green economy summit: how can Australia get more from its relationship with...
Nguyen Quang Ngoc Tonkin, ShutterstockNext week, more than 100 green energy, technology, education and finance companies from Australia and Vietnam will gather in Ho Chi Minh City. The meeting is...
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No, beetroot isn’t vegetable Viagra. But here’s what else it can do
CLICKMANIS/ShutterstockBeetroot has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Supply issues in recent months have seen a shortage of tinned beetroot on Australian supermarket shelves. At one point, a...
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The politics of recognition: Australia and the question of Palestinian statehood
What is the significance of the Australian government signalling this week that it may finally recognise Palestinian statehood?Though not universally popular, Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s diplomatic...
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Tickle vs Giggle: in a world where transgender people are under attack, this...
Around the world, the human rights of transgender people are under attack. Media reports of trans women being vilified, excluded and discriminated against are frequent, and the consequences of this...
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Australia is playing catch-up with the Future Made in Australia Act. Will it...
IM Imagery/ShutterstockAustralia is a trading nation. Its economy relies on a strong and open global trade environment. Australian governments have historically rejected protectionist industrial...
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Australia’s live music crisis is essentially a crisis of confidence. How...
It has been a big few weeks in the Australian live music scene. The cancellations of major festivals Groovin’ the Moo and Splendour in the Grass have ushered in a stream of news reports about the...
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Murray Valley encephalitis: summer is over but mosquito-borne disease remains...
encierro/ShutterstockCooler temperatures are fading our memories of summer and reducing numbers of mosquitoes in southern parts of Australia. But up north, warmer temperatures and plenty of rain will...
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Trillions of tonnes of carbon locked in soil has been left out of...
TaraPatta / ShutterstockWe all know about the carbon in Earth’s atmosphere, and probably about the carbon contained in plants and the bodies of animals. But a substantial fraction of the carbon in the...
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View from The Hill: Danielle Wood pricks Albanese’s industry policy balloon –...
Among the critics emerging to find fault with Anthony Albanese’s interventionist industry policy, the one who gave the most damaging prick to the Prime Ministerial balloon was Danielle Wood, the new...
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Scrap the West Australian GST deal set to cost $40 billion – leading economists
Australia’s top economists overwhelmingly want Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to scrap a special deal with Western Australia that’s set to deliver it an extra A$40 billion in Commonwealth funding by...
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