In-depth analysis of the day’s news, plus stories and gossip from Australian politics.
Shut up there, Cazaly
They don’t know what they will do, when they will go back to work or how their families will survive…
The Ruby Princess fiasco: our leaders’ latest great failure not only over coronavirus, but China as a whole
Our political leaders have significantly failed to protect Australians from the Wuhan virus. On the principle enunciated by President Truman…
ScoMo has built an economic time bomb. It detonates in six months
Since it became clear to the Morrison government that the coronavirus outbreak could lead to a potential depression for Australia,…
No, you can’t judge a book by its colour
One of the tell-tale signs of the onset of Coronavirus Cabin Fever is that you start noticing the home office…
Palaszczuk’s pork for public servants: sleaze supreme, even by Queensland standards
My sister is an economist for the Ontario government in Canada. She’s a public servant. Until last year the pay…
Among all this oddness, we’ve been given the gift of time. Let’s not waste it
I’m beginning to wonder: when I stagger back out into the sunlight in six months, blinking blearily against the glare, my beard-hair…
History flips as walls rise in the West
On one frosty Autumn’s night in 1989, thousands of communist evacuees swelled over a fallen Berlin Wall to the embrace…
A story stranger than any coronavirus conspiracy…
Never mind a boring terrestrial virus – what would happen to our planet if aliens from another planet ever make…
EXCLUSIVE: Why is the RACV putting asylum seekers ahead of its pensioner members?
Every state has its own motoring organisation and roadside assistance service. New South Wales has the NRMA, Queensland the RACQ,…
We need strength to survive, not a shutdown of our economy
Australia needs strength to survive the coronavirus, but many policies designed to manage the spread may be counterproductively weakening our…
Forget coronavirus. Think of the bright future we can build learning from the lessons
Finally, as the curve begins to flatten, the global panicdemodium (new word) dies down and media get bored with ringing…
Italy as the model? That a brave call, even for the(ir) ABC
The health situation in Italy is dire. Tragically, over 11,000 people have died in excess of 100,000 people have caught…
Coronavirus will create zombie borrowers: still walking, but dead from debt
Plague and pestilence have always ushered in social and economic dislocation. The Antonine Plague of the second century AD marked…
Will we now finally act on industrial relations – or lose even more jobs?
As the national cabinet scrambles to implement policies to contain coronavirus and lines stretch hundreds of meters outside Centrelink offices,…
Our school standards are poor enough already, but what if children can’t access online learning?
For millions of young Australians, it’s homeschooling from now on. As well as getting their heads around months of staying…
Coronavirus: not just a health crisis, but a crisis for our economy and liberty
Coronavirus is first and foremost a health crisis. But it is fast becoming an economic crisis as well. Some observers…
EXCLUSIVE: Extinction Rebellion hails the “beauty” of coronavirus
We all remember Marlon Brando and Rebel Without A Cause. Meet the rebels without a brain, Extinction Rebellion. Their latest…
How red tape is compounding the coronavirus commerce crisis
Red tape is exacerbating the economic fallout brought on by the coronavirus crisis by making it more difficult for businesses to adjust…
A wartime crisis requires wartime speeches: Scott Morrison and the battle for hearts and minds
The government’s battle against coronavirus is also a battle for the hearts and minds of Australians. If the Prime Minister…
Why the left just love a crisis
“Never let a good crisis go to waste”. This short and catchy dictum was articulated by Rahm Emanuel, former Obama…
Mental health in the corona crisis: we’re all in this together
While many are talking about the physical health and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, few have been highlighting the…
Thank you, Earth Hour fans
A big thank you to all the people who are about to turn their lights off for Earth Hour. So…
You wouldn’t bloody believe it, but guess who’s asking for money – again
What do Fonzie and Adam Bandt have in common? They both jumped the shark. We were laughing earlier this afternoon…
The getting real we had to have
Something had to happen, it couldn’t go on forever. Coronavirus was unplanned but it will turn our world upside down.…
What doesn’t Adam Bandt get about social distancing?
Adam Bandt wants the Morrison government to emulate the Tories and pay workers who have lost their jobs because of…
