Following similar comments by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, a senator has called for the ABC to sell its Ultimo headquarters and move to the suburbs and regional centres.
Senator Cory Bernardi, who defected from the Liberals and formed his Australian Conservatives party, will wind it up.
David Mariuz/AAP
Bernardi said that at the election his Australian Conservative party polled “a tiny fraction of the votes” required. He said potential voters returned to supporting the Coalition under Morrison.
Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton speaking to the media in Brisbane last month about a recent interception of an asylum seeker boat.
Dan Peled/AAP
Australians should be concerned about any shift to an intelligence model that is based on the introduction of greater powers on the one hand, and less oversight and governance on the other.
By making funding dependent on school outcomes, the government is intensifying an audit culture that marginalises vulnerable students.
from shutterstock.com
Governments usually measure outcomes by standardised tests, such as NAPLAN. If schools are scrambling to improve their outcomes to gain funding, this can have a detrimental effect on teaching quality.
A Ukrainian rescue worker passes wreckage of the Malaysia Arilines flight MH17. The four suspects will likely be tried in absentia.
AAP
Federal environment minister Sussan Ley said the environment doesn’t necessarily need all its water, whereas farmers do. But denying rivers even part of their water can harm their health in many ways.
Little has been done to help the millions of refugees from Myanmar, Venezuela, Syria and other troubled countries find permanent resettlement options.
Nyein Chan Naing/EPA
Current responses to the world’s refugee crisis are inhumane and ineffective. We propose five ways forward to help the world’s most vulnerable people.
The report found that Australian news consumers access news less often and have lower interest in it compared to citizens in many other countries.
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Media Files: Australians’ trust in news media is falling as concern over ‘fake news’ grows
The Conversation47.1 MB(download)
A recent survey found Australian news consumers are the 'lightest' news consumers out of 38 countries, use fewer sources to access news and are more likely to subscribe to Netflix than news.
The more comfortable women feel about breastfeeding in public, the better for both babies and society.
Maxim Krivonos/Shutterstock
Promoting the benefits of breastfeeding isn’t enough when uncomfortable and uninviting public places deter mothers. Places that help them feel comfortable breastfeeding have several key features.
Artistic Director Richard Tognetti and members of the orchestra: the rock musicians whose work feature in this concert openly acknowledge the influence of the seemingly inaccessible avant-garde.
Julian Kingma
An Australian Chamber Orchestra concert features works by Jonny Greenwood, Sufjan Stevens and The Nationals’ Bryce Dessner, along with those of modern Polish composers.
A nuclear reaction is under way inside the Sun.
Emily Nunell/The Conversation CC-NY-BD
It’s true that here on Earth, if you want to burn something you need oxygen. But the Sun is different. It is not burning with the same kind of flame you would have on Earth if you burned a candle.
People between the ages of 25 and 34 are the largest group of woman who find themselves homeless.
Oleg Golovnev/Shutterstock
The largest group of homeless women is between the ages of 25 and 34, and family violence is most often the cause. Their stories testify to the dangers and stresses of not having a place to call home.
The Mascot Towers building in Sydney’s inner south is cordoned off after residents were evacuated following the discovery of cracks in the building.
Bianca De Marchi/AAP
Regulations that are meant to protect residents from building failures and fires have been found wanting. All governments must take responsibility for fixing the defective regime they created.
The use of Krokodil has fluctuated throughout the 21st Century.
From shutterstock.com
‘Krokodil’ means crocodile in Russian, named as such partly because of the effect it has on users’ skin. But skin infection isn’t the only danger the drug poses.
Compulsory super takes money out of the government’s coffers faster than savings on the pension put it back in.
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It is widely believed that compulsory super saves the government money on pensions. It does, but nowhere near enough to pay for the accompanying tax concessions. Lifting compulsory contributions will make things worse, for a century.
Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, and Jonathan Groff in Frozen II (2019).
Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures
We used to think a marsupial mum didn’t know when she was pregnant, but new research shows that’s wrong. And that could help in conservation of endangered species.
Teachers don’t care about a child’s academic skills as much as they do about their behaviour.
from shutterstock.com
Most parents know how important it is to read to their child, but not as many know the importance of helping them learn emotional skills. And it’s the emotional skills teachers find most important.
There is a link between exposure to natural settings and better psychological well-being.
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For people who aren’t able to spend time in nature every day, exposure to virtual natural environments could be an effective way of improving psychological well-being.
There are competing laws at the state and Commonwealth level that define who can be determined as a “parent,” a conflict the High Court decision did not necessarily clear up.
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The High Court has decided that a man who donated sperm to a friend is considered a legal parent – a ruling that could have a chilling effect on similar artificial insemination arrangements.
Australia’s LNG exports aren’t as good for the planet as the government seems to think.
AAP Image/Origin Energy
Frank Jotzo, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University and Salim Mazouz, Australian National University
The federal government claims that Australia’s rising emissions are offset by savings around the globe when Australian gas exports replace other fossil fuels. But the numbers don’t stack up like that.
Residents play Pimp my Suburb, an exercise in engaging the community in achieving higher density while preserving what they love about their neighbourhood.
Anthony Duckworth-Smith
Faced with local planning changes like infill development people often fear they could lose the neighbourhood they love. But serious games are proving effective in giving locals a say in their future.
Charlotte Best in the Australian Netflix original drama Tidelands (2018). Research last year found that only around 1% of the Netflix Australia catalogue was Australian content.
Hoodlum Entertainment
Netflix may be inching closer to becoming a “local” media company, with an increased presence in our small but profitable national market. Will this lead to more locally-made content?
More people are learning what they want, wherever they want.
Wes Mountain, The Conversation
Technology has disrupted the way universities offer courses, the types of skills we will need, and the duration for which we will need them. Here are three things universities must do to survive.
In the 1950s and 1960s, as more women joined the paid workforce, trade unions took up the case for equal pay.
Noel Butlin Archives Centre, Australian National University