New research looking at the attitudes of non-Muslim Australians supports the theory that contact between people of different backgrounds reduces prejudice.
My analysis suggests when COVID-19 cases reach 100 over 14 days, an outbreak gets very difficult to control — as we saw in Victoria. Over the last fortnight, NSW has recorded at least 154 new cases.
With COVID-19 spreading in Sydney’s southwest, can New South Wales avoid a return to lockdown and a similar scenario to Victoria’s second wave? The answer depends on whether there is community spread.
The business of metropolitan planning is not the natural game of state governments. The Victorian government tries but cannot manage metropolitan Melbourne.
NSW Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance announces a move to the next stage of planning for the Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link project in November 2019.
Dean Lewins/AAP
Once again, the state looks intent on pressing ahead with a huge road project without releasing a business case. Among the many concerns is the failure to look at lower-emission alternatives.
If we want to conserve ecosystems that escaped European exploitation and mismanagement, we must start listening to environmental histories to compliment scientific research.
The rise of global cities, metropolises that dominate their states, is exposing Australia’s lack of metropolitan governments. It’s time to restart the evolution of our states after a century on hold.
The neighbourhoods of Paris, Barcelona and Amsterdam with densities 3-5 times those of Melbourne and Sydney offer an insight into how we could transform our cities for the better.
Millions of Australians are struggling with unaffordable housing. It’s a systemic problem that’s been decades in the making, and only concerted system-wide reforms will fix it.
Joan Didion’s The White Album at Sydney Festival created a space for community and connection at the heart of a crisis.
Reed Hutchison/Sydney Festival
New South Wales boasts many wonderful ocean pools, thanks to a combination of climate, geology, culture and prosperity. Despite concerns about costs, economic and health benefits far outweigh these.
People in Sydney have this week been donning face masks. But they’re unlikely to prevent smoke inhalation.
Steven Saphore/AAP
With smoke haze this week at its most hazardous level yet, people on Australia’s east coast have been taking precautions to protect their health. But some methods are more effective than others.
Demonstrations against freeway construction in Melbourne included a street barricade erected in protest at the F19 extension of the Eastern Freeway.
Barricade! – the resident fight against the F19
Public protests eventually forced the scrapping of some proposed freeways in 1973. Today, we have another round of projects and people are protesting again, with good reason. Government should listen.
Declining water levels in Warragamba Dam reflect generally falling national levels of stored water.
AAP Image/Dean Lewins
Australia’s capital cities have collectively lost 30% of their stored water over the last six years. But this loss is not evenly distributed across the country.
Processes of data collection and analysis being used to decide policy need to be as independent and transparent as possible, particularly on issues as contentious as Sydney’s lockout laws.
Subel BhandariEPA/AAP
The collection and analysis of data used for making policy should be independent and open to ensure public trust in decision-making. The debate over alcohol licensing shows why this matters.
The Sydney Dance Company’s Ultimo rehearsal studios are the latest cultural space under threat from developers in Sydney – but there is a solution.
Kat Lu/Dunn HIllam Architects
Sydney’s historic buildings are facing increasing threats from developers. But we’re not just losing public ownership of our history – we’re losing our cultural spaces, too.
With more than 80% of Singaporeans living in state-provided housing, the city rates well for affordability compared to Sydney, where the figure is just 5.5%.
Bill Roque/Shutterstock
A coordinated mix of policies does more to keep housing affordable for a significant proportion of a city’s residents than the unbalanced approach we see in Sydney.
Waratah flowers stand out vividly in the bush.
Tim J Keegan/Flickr
In an often-muted bush landscape, the deep crimson of the waratah stands out like a shout.
A large bowl or pan thought to have been made in Sydney by the potter Thomas Ball between 1801 and 1823.
Courtesy of Casey & Lowe, photo by Russell Workman
Though the Indigenous inhabitants were using white clay long before them, Sydney-made pottery helped colonists maintain different aspects of ‘civilised’ behaviour.
PhD Candidate, School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania, and Senior Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney