Not for the first time Britain and Australia are at loggerheads over cultural heritage. At issue this time are two images of genuine historical significance to both countries: Kongouro from New Holland…
“We have among the lowest of budget deficits and debt to GDP of any other major economies in the developed world… If it’s so bad, Mr Abbott, why have we been given by the three ratings agencies a AAA credit…
The Ashes series is already plagued by controversy over technology’s role in cricket. The latest allegations of equipment tampering haven’t helped. Australian TV station Channel Nine has reported some…
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) meets this week to begin hearing its most prominent case in years. It pits two heavyweights, Australia and Japan, against each other in a legal and political dispute…
What manner of repercussions could Australia anticipate from any British withdrawal from the European Union?
EPA/Andy Rain
British divisions over Europe have something of a “groundhog day” feel to them, even if the current Conservative rift seems like a particularly damaging instance. The stakes are high: the United Kingdom’s…
While reporters’ political biases are always hotly debated, other biases remain - including too few voices from diverse backgrounds.
AAP/Alan Porritt
Most Australian journalists describe themselves as left-wing, yet amongst those who wield the real power in the country’s newsrooms, the Coalition holds a winning lead. But while the media’s political…
Figures regarding the original population of Australia may be way off.
WanderingtheWorld (www.LostManProject.com)
Like many people, I grew up believing Australia was colonised by a small band of people, who had most likely landed on its shores by accident; but research I published this week suggests a far larger founding…
Three-quarters of Indians say cricket helps the relationship between India and Australia, a new survey has found.
Flickr/Foxypar4
Liz Minchin, The Conversation et Nancy Youssef, The Conversation
Australia should work harder on its official and unofficial diplomacy to strengthen its ties to India, after a new survey revealed Indians had a mixed perception of the two countries’ relationship. The…
Resource issues dominate Japanese thinking on the Australia-Japan bilateral relationship.
AAP
The Australia-Japan economic relationship is broad, deep, and has an extensive history. However, issues to do with natural resources – minerals, energy and food – loom large in the politics of the contemporary…
Del Kathryn Barton’s Hugo is the 2013 winner.
AAP/Art Gallery of New South Wales
UPDATE: Del Kathryn Barton has won the 2013 Archibald Prize for her portrait of Hugo Weaving. This is the second time Barton has won the prize, her last winner was in 2008. The only other woman to win…
There’s more to a house than four walls and a door - the history of home ownership in Australia reveals a lot about our nation.
Flickr/Orderinchaos
Next time you drive through a suburban street or any country town shut your eyes for a moment and try to imagine the dreams of the people who built that house. Houses are envelopes for our desires and…
Climate change facilitated the disappearance of a pre-historic culture predating present-day Aboriginal inhabitants in northern…
The latest results of international testing in maths, science and reading means Australia’s education outlook does not look good.
Test image from www.shutterstock.com
Sue Thomson, Australian Council for Educational Research
Prime Minister Julia Gillard in September set an ambitious goal for Australian education: to be ranked as a top-five country in reading, mathematics and science by 2025. Clearly she is hoping to lift Australia…
Australian Syrians protest in Hyde Park, Sydney, in February calling for the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step down immediately.
AAP Image/Lauren Farrow
In Syria, the optimism which accompanied the Arab Spring uprising has faded into the reality of a bloody sectarian civil war. Recent media reports have highlighted the involvement of foreign fighters in…
Australia is not starving, but we do have major food distribution issues (and diet-driven health problems).
N Sawyer/Flickr
Last week saw national and international media attention on events unfolding in Parliament House. But another function in that magnificent building was arguably of much greater long-term importance — the…
The OECD report on education shows Australia could be doing more.
Report card image from www.shutterstock.com
The most recent edition of the OECD’s Education at a Glance released this week, is another report that has invariably been seen as a report card on Australian education. Australians want to know: how did…
A shared cricket heritage may do more harm than good.
AAP/Paul Miller
The past decade has seen a large increase in Indian migration to Australia. In 2011-12, 29,018 Indians became permanent migrants, the highest such number from any one country. Fellow democracies with shared…
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University
Faculty Member, Asian Studies Program, Georgetown University; Visiting Fellow, Department of Pacific Affairs, Australian National University., Georgetown University