The debate about health in the lead-up to the Saturday March 26 NSW election has been unusually civilised and intelligent. The main contestants – the current minister, Carmel Tebbutt, and shadow minister…
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Foundation Essay – A democracy needs conversations that range broadly, find space for many voices, accept new information, explore unexpected ideas, allow people to reach a judgement about the issues that…
In recent years productivity growth in Australia has been in alarming decline. A series of government reports have identified some of the causes: infrastructure and skills inadequacies, bottlenecks and…
All human cultures and social groups that we know of respond to music and dance. The type of music may vary but the underlying, fundamental principles of making music are the same. Our recognition of…
In any criticism of a social out-group such as Muslims in Australia there is another unstated message being communicated: that those criticisms do not apply to us. To berate Muslims for intolerance, militancy…
Australia used to be one of the most tolerant places in the world. In the 1980s when the spectre of HIV and AIDS reached around the globe, the government funded campaigns to raise awareness of the virus…
REDgroup Retail accounted for 20% of Australia’s $1.6B book market and in another life, might have been Australia’s version of the Amazon success story. Instead, last month the parent of Borders and Angus…
Over the past century most generations have grown a little taller than the last. Believing this growth was a result of improved nutrition and better health care, we have been proud of this greater stature…
It is inevitable that we will one day venture into space beyond the moon not just with robots but in person. Exploration is part of the human psyche: we are risk-takers with an insatiable curiosity. No…
Why do we feel sick at the thought of eating dog, but hungry at the thought of eating pig (bacon) with our eggs? Or how we can feel so outraged about whaling while continuing to enjoy fish and chips? Why…
Many of the nation’s most pressing problems cannot be met by any one government acting alone. Reforms to health, the environment, education, Indigenous disadvantage, taxation, business regulation and water…
What is the bionic eye? Often when we talk about the bionic eye, people get the idea of some sort of artificial eye implanted to replace visual function. In reality, the “eye” comprises a series of components…
Foundation Essay – Getting certain points across can be difficult. And yet democracies don’t function properly in the absence of broad, public discussion based on well-sourced information. Especially when…
What lessons can we learn from the March 11 Japan earthquake and tsunami? Well, hindsight is a wonderful thing. We can, of course, question the wisdom of placing nuclear power plants in coastal locations…
The March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan and complicating nuclear crisis throw into sharp focus concerns about exposure to ionising radiation. What is it, how is it harmful, how much is too much? Inside…
With the state election in NSW approaching, and the predicted demise of the reign of Labor, there is no more perfect an opportunity to reflect on the way in which law and order issues have come to characterise…
Foundation Essay – Universities are at permanent risk of getting a bad rap.. They are too remote, too elitist, too unworldly, too expensive (especially in the US). They are ‘irrelevant’ to the needs and…
The failure to adequately price carbon emissions allows the world’s affluent to impose serious climate-related costs upon its poor. But is this primarily an economic or an ethical issue? Despite fierce…
West Australian Newspapers’ $4.1B proposed purchase of the Seven Media Group to create the country’s biggest listed media group is correctly viewed by industry insiders as the start of a wider consolidation…
In January, 400 cattle were released into Victoria’s Alpine National Park as part of a research trial to investigate the influence of strategic grazing as a tool to reduce fuel loads and bush fire risk…
Climate change is affecting rates of illness, disease, injury and death in Australia and elsewhere, and the risk it poses will only escalate in future. As Australians argue about carbon pricing and its…
Since the introduction of the seatbelt into motor vehicles over 40 years ago, there have been major gains in protection to occupants in automotive crashes. This progress has not been observed in the rear…
The global financial crisis reopened furious debate about many issues the finance industry once considered settled. But one area that mostly escaped scrutiny is the way universities educate finance students…
Emissions trading is back in the news and in national political debate, as is the related question of how it will affect Australian motorists. Fair enough. This should receive attention because greenhouse…
Many public debates come down to facts – issues like “Whose costing of the Opposition’s spending plans was correct?” or “How many people died in Iraq?” Too often the media report a strident opinion from…