In the last few weeks, we have seen a number of universities begin to push for extra funding from Australian philanthropists. While this move to broaden the revenue base of universities is welcome, to…
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Yesterday, Kevin Rudd set about outlining the broad terrain of economic policy to be pursued in this his second stint as Prime Minister. In his speech to the Press Club, the PM highlighted seven core drivers…
On weekdays, around 40 school-aged children from public housing estates in Fitzroy, Melbourne, attend a breakfast club organised by the Brotherhood of St Laurence. The room is always busy, as milk and…
Australia has some of the world’s most ancient soils, many of which grow delicious produce. In this series, “The good earth”, soil scientist Robert Edis profiles some of those soils and the flavours they…
Nothing could have signalled more clearly the repositioning of the Australian government’s economic narrative than prime minister Kevin Rudd’s speech to the National Press Club. Nor was this change in…
It is so Kevin. A couple of weeks back into the prime ministership, a million things to do – and Rudd’s nipping off to Papua New Guinea. Just wanted to see the regional neighbours, he explained when asked…
Earlier this year, Byron Bay mayor Simon Richardson announced that he wants his council to pass a motion recognising same-sex marriage and to set up a “love park”. That the theme of the park is love rather…
“Music has charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak,” wrote the English poet William Congreve in 1697. These days, we tend to take music’s inherent charms for granted and…
Resource Minister Gary Gray has called for greater natural gas exploration and warned that Australia would become less competitive in Asia if industry fails to take heed. But is insufficient exploration…
In the past, pregnant women were discouraged from exercise. Pregnancy was seen as a time to put your feet up and take it easy. But this historical view of pregnancy was very much based on cultural and…
Psst! Want to buy an Australian-made car? You better be quick. Holden is reportedly requesting a further $265 million in subsidies from the federal government in order to retain its manufacturing operations…
A recent article by Jean Hannah Edelstein featured in Fairfax’s Daily Life website examines the impact of loneliness on health. Edelstein is right that loneliness exacerbates ill health and shortens life…
Australia’s small arid zone mammals have greatly suffered since European settlement. Some 11 species are extinct, and a further eight are listed as endangered or critically endangered. Their loss has been…
Rather than lock up knowledge in costly journals, increasingly universities and governments are recognising that publicly funded research should be open to all. This past year has seen new open access…
The Ashes are now upon us, and both sets of players are in the midst of the first Test at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge ground. As we sit down to watch the Test on television, it is worth reflecting on the…
As I write this, engineers at NASA and Ball Aerospace & Technologies have their fingers crossed they’ll be able to restart the stricken Kepler space observatory, which has been in hibernation mode…
While for some Australians the recent leadership spill will be viewed as a simple act of restorative justice, many others would have spectated on events in Canberra with an equal measure of indifference…
“There is a fox in the chicken coop in this plan and that is that the federal minister for education will have unprecedented power over state schools, and Tasmania, Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria…
As governments across the globe have struggled with growing government debt, the pressures of austerity and stagnant economic systems, ire has been thrown at the corporate fat cats who - according to the…
Exercise is said to foster better health and well-being as well as increasing life expectancy. But you can have too much of a good thing, it seems, as evidence shows that there may an optimal level of…
For every medical condition, treatments are most effective when measurement guides the choice of therapy and its effects. Just think of diabetes, where blood glucose levels guide the choice of treatment…
As Julian Assange remains inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London and Edward Snowden, last thought to be Venezuela-bound, attempts to avoid capture by an enraged United States, the grant of asylum has…
After weeks of rapid depreciation, many commentators are wondering just how low can the Australian dollar go. Slowing growth in China and signs of a recovery in the US have renewed pressure on the dollar…
Four years ago, a woman came to speak to my third year psychology class at the University of Auckland. Her story completely changed the way I thought about voice-hearing. Like most people, I associated…
We have a major problem with beverage containers in Australia. Between 7-8 billion are land-filled or littered every year. Nationally, less than half are recycled, and drink containers continue to pollute…