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.

Australians, by and large, have seen America as an ally critical to our national security. But in just a few short weeks, Donald Trump has shown his administration is a threat to Australia and the world’s security. Australia may not be able to stop Trump from creating chaos, but we will undermine our own security if we don’t stand up for ourselves and for our values.

As I watched the fires in Los Angeles unfold in January this year, my mind of course reflected on the 1999-2000 Black Summer bushfires in Australia. Both these seasons have wrought significant damage to humans and other animals, and to land, infrastructure and property. There has been a huge personal, collective and financial toll involved.

Australia’s productivity growth has reverted to the same stagnant pattern as before the pandemic, according to the Productivity Commission’s latest quarterly report. Productivity is complex and often misunderstood in media and policy debates. So before we read too much into this latest data, here are six key things to understand about productivity. 1. It’s about quantities,

The apocalyptic “the end is nigh” was a popular meme for the image of despair and exclusion from the accelerating prosperity of America and the West.

When is a ceasefire not a ceasefire? When it is between Hamas and Israel, with Donald Trump as a late arrival to the treaty birthing suite in the role of midwife.

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.

In 2025 it will be 10 years since most Australian news consumers first heard the name Adani.

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.

This month, the Australian economic debate was hijacked by a report from the world’s most powerful consulting firm: McKinsey & Co. The consulting firm apparently found that declining living standards represent a “national emergency” – and the care economy, regulations and Australia’s corporate tax rate are to blame for low productivity growth. The only problem?

The Albanese government’s attempt to rush through major changes to Australian elections has been delayed in the Senate – at least until February, perhaps forever. As Australia Institute research identified serious flaws, risks and loopholes in the legislation, delay is welcome – but bittersweet, because electoral reform is needed to increase confidence in politics and democracy. Good

Do you relish the look of joy and surprise on the faces of loved ones when they open your Christmas presents?

Will the RBA cut interest rates tomorrow? Probably not. It’s Groundhog Day and they’re locked into repeatedly making to same mistake over and over again. A mistake that the recent RBA review criticised them for making just before the pandemic.

“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

Getting coal for Christmas is supposed to be a bad thing. But for Australia’s coal mines, all their Christmases seem to have come at once!

Salmon companies are ripping off Tasmania and trying to pass it off as yet another ‘jobs vs environment’ fight. This is the kind of fight that Tasmanian politicians love to have, and like performing seals, the Tasmanian government and opposition have lined up to bark and do their tricks. But the fight over salmon farming

‘Tis the season for poor process, rushed law-making and railroaded parliaments. With the end of the year rapidly approaching, governments have lost patience for democratic niceties like consultation, parliamentary reviews and public hearings.

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.

Strap yourselves in. Convicted felon Donald Trump has been re-elected president of the United States.

While voters in the United States of America await the results of the 2024 Presidential election race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, researchers from The Australia Institute will appear before a parliamentary committee to recommend improvements to Tasmania’s electoral system.

As Americans vote in one of the most important presidential elections in generations, the country teeters on a knife edge. In the battleground states that will likely decide the result, the polling margins between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are razor thin.

Since the 2022 election, commentators and reporters have debated whether the wave of new independents was part of a broader movement or just the reflection of a moment.

Three years on, there is still no compelling argument, strategic or otherwise, for Australia’s acquiring eight Virginia class nuclear-propelled submarines (SSNs). Nor is there any compelling calculation of the large lick of funding – $368 billion and more – that the program will soak up. Only Defence seems able to command such stupendous outlays when

There’s a lesson for the federal government from Labor’s narrower than expected defeat in the Queensland election: voters embrace progressive policies that address cost of living pressures.