It’s a big week for Australian culture, with announcement of the shortlist for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, one of the country’s top writing prizes.

Labor’s planned reforms to superannuation tax concessions may be being reported as “controversial” but the fact is they are popular.

If you feel like you are going a little insane at the moment, you’re not alone.

Now that the dust has settled on the 2025 federal election, what does it mean for the representation of women in Australian parliaments? In short, there has been a significant improvement at the national level. When we last wrote on this topic, the Australian Senate was majority female but only 40% of House of Representatives

On a whistlestop tour of Fiji, Tonga, and Vanuatu in May, Foreign Minister Penny Wong wanted to focus on climate change, security, and aid funding.

If you’re sick of ads for sport betting interrupting the footy – or anything else you watch on TV – you’re probably not alone.

An on-the-ground video investigation into the priceless aboriginal rock art at Murujuga, and the damaging effect of gas industry emissions.

Updated 30/05/2025 The outer-Melbourne electorate of Calwell was named “Australia’s most unpredictable seat” by The Age after the election and was – aside from those going to a recount – the last seat to be called. The AEC labelled the counting process for the seat “likely the most complex in Australia’s history”. The count is

Everyone agrees we need to do something about housing in Australia. But first we need to ask a very obvious, but often ignored question: what is housing is for?

We are about to see who the Australian Labor Party really is, in 2025.

In the final days of the campaign, independent MP Monique Ryan and Labor’s housing minister Clare O’Neil faced questions about the support of the Hubei Association for their respective campaigns.

The PM and the education minister have made big noises about easing cost of living pressures for Australians with large HECS/HELP debts. But they’ve been very slow to do anything about the high cost of getting a degree in the first place.

Football, meat pies, kangaroos and gambling – there’s nothing more Australian.

The housing crisis continues to grip Australia and it’s a central part of this election campaign. Unfortunately, while both major parties have made housing policies key parts of their election platforms their policies mostly tinker around the edges and fail in four key ways. They do not address Australia’s distortionary, expensive, and regressive tax concessions

A competitive and diverse news industry is key to a democratic society, keeping institutions accountable and transparent. But the ability of Australia’s Fourth Estate to perform that role is increasingly in doubt. Australia was once labelled the “land of the newspaper” by British visitors, with a flourishing and diverse news industry, but for over a

Governance at Australia’s universities is in a dire state.

The Australian Government’s latest report into the state of live music – “Am I Ever Gonna See You Live Again?” – makes some great recommendations, including for: tax offsets to be given to venues that host live music; training and education programs to help foster a love of music among young people; a rebate or

Not so long ago, former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was branded “Mr Harbourside Mansion”, a moniker bestowed upon him by his own side of politics.

In Australia, prize-winning artists, writers and musicians pay more tax than some multinational fossil fuel companies with turnover in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The busiest shopping weekend of the year is upon us, where shopping malls become a desperate frenzy of overindulgence and waste. But spare a thought for those who can’t afford even the trimmest of trimmings this Christmas.

Extreme heat is the number one cause of weather-related illness and death in all parts of Australia, except Tasmania. Older, poorer, and sicker people are more vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat. Our new report identifies the locations around Australia in which the greatest number of vulnerable people will be affected by extreme heat. Targeting these areas for support will ensure the greatest number of vulnerable people are helped during periods of extreme heat.

Australians are hungry to grow their own food and the reasons are simple: growing your own food is healthier and better for the planet. Whether it’s herb pots on a windowsill or a rambling backyard veggie patch, Australians say that growing some of their own food makes them feel better, eat better and tread lighter on the planet.

How is Australia’s system unfair? If you get caught speeding in Australia, you will be fined with a flat-rate traffic fine. Exceeding the speed limit by 12km/h in New South Wales earns you a $361 fine, whether you are on government benefits or a billionaire. This is not a fair system. What about the principle:

“An Albanese Labor government will restore Australia’s climate leadership, and listen and act on Pacific island warnings of the existential threat of climate change.” Despite a clear election campaign commitment to listen to Pacific Island nations and act on climate change, the Australian government continues to enable and encourage new and expanded fossil fuel projects. When it

The government’s latest housing affordability policies, “help to buy” and “build to rent” are the latest in a long line of policies from both major parties that will do nothing to ease the housing crisis.

The potential social and economic benefits of early childhood education and care are huge.

Right now, final submissions are being made by private health insurers to the government for an increase in insurance premiums next year.

The prices of many goods and services have increased dramatically across Australia since 2021. This has resulted in hardship for many households—along with $100 billion in increased profits for major companies. These corporate profits have been a key factor driving inflation.