National affairs
Election 2016: The realists, the rationalists and the romantics
Paul Rodan
4 May 2016
We don’t know for certain why people vote the way they do, writes Paul Rodan. But three theories give us glimpses
National affairs
An early victory in the next carbon war
Peter Brent
28 April 2016
By taking the initiative on the dreaded three-letter word, Labor has scored an important win, argues Peter Brent
National affairs
Victoria spends up big – or does it?
Tim Colebatch
27 April 2016
Transport is where the action is in this week’s Victorian budget, writes Tim Colebatch, but the spending isn’t quite as generous as it looks
National affairs
Underwater extremes
Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick
27 April 2016
Diary of a Climate Scientist | With much of the Earth covered by oceans, a different kind of heatwave is attracting attention, writes Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick
National affairs
A fragile economy heading for an election
Tim Colebatch
23 April 2016
This election campaign will take place amid enormous economic uncertainty, writes Tim Colebatch. How are the major parties dealing with this inconvenient truth?
National affairs
The tyranny of the present
Peter Brent
20 April 2016
In the battle to write history as it unfolds, too much notice is being taken of shifts in the polls, writes Peter Brent
National affairs
The IMF is seriously worried
Tim Colebatch
15 April 2016
The International Monetary Fund wants governments to broaden their attack on sluggish growth and inequality, writes Tim Colebatch. The alternative could be another recession
National affairs
There’s more than one way of thinking big
Peter Brent
13 April 2016
Kevin Rudd’s fate is a cautionary tale for an announcement-prone Malcolm Turnbull, writes Peter Brent
National affairs
Australia’s urban boom: the latest evidence
Tim Colebatch
5 April 2016
Governments are in denial about population growth and its impact on Australia’s major cities, writes Tim Colebatch. It’s time to take up the challenge
National affairs
Hanging off Newspoll
Peter Brent
5 April 2016
A bad Newspoll result suggests that Malcolm Turnbull has provoked the economic anxieties of the electorate, says Peter Brent. The question is: why?
National affairs
State income tax: the idea that could one day fly
Tim Colebatch
31 March 2016
Abolished in 1942, revived but never implemented in the 1970s, this might have been the tax reform whose time had come, writes Tim Colebatch. But Malcolm Turnbull’s…
National affairs
How Turnbull-in-freefall became Malcolm the strategic genius
Peter Brent
22 March 2016
The PM knows that voters have a simple question in mind when they enter the polling booth, writes Peter Brent
National affairs
The prime ministerial eleven
Norman Abjorensen
22 March 2016
Fewer than a dozen prime ministers have been ejected from office by voters since Federation, writes Norman Abjorensen. Malcolm Turnbull will be anxious to avoid their fate
National affairs
A monster of a month
Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick
22 March 2016
Diary of a Climate Scientist | El Niño is only part of the explanation for a record-breaking February, writes Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick
National affairs
Keeping the sea lanes open: a cost–benefit analysis
John Quiggin
17 March 2016
Defence and economics mix in ways that aren’t considered by military strategists, writes John Quiggin
National affairs
With friends like these
Peter Brent
11 March 2016
Tony Windsor’s online supporters couldn’t be more different from the people he needs to vote for him, writes Peter Brent
National affairs
A low-cost way to derail the housing debate
John Daley and Danielle Wood
3 March 2016
A new report on negative gearing rests on deeply flawed assumptions, write John Daley and Danielle Wood. But that hasn’t stopped the government from using…
National affairs
The crafty Senate stratagem with the unpredictable impact
Peter Brent
3 March 2016
The government’s voting legislation has been significantly improved, writes Peter Brent. But that doesn’t mean we know how it will work in practice
National affairs
The meaning of John Howard
Norman Abjorensen
1 March 2016
Elected prime minister twenty years ago this week, John Howard transformed Australia as few leaders have, writes Norman Abjorensen
National affairs
Democratic by name, secretive by nature
Marian Sawer
29 February 2016
A new controversy over a program that benefits the major Australian political parties reveals a paradoxical lack of transparency, writes Marian Sawer
National affairs
Truth and negativity in the negative gearing debate
Tim Colebatch
25 February 2016
It’s not too late for Malcolm Turnbull to regain some of the ground he’s lost on tax, says Tim Colebatch. Labor’s plan shows why he can’t afford…
National affairs
The H.R. Nicholls Society at 30: victim of its own success
Dominic Kelly
25 February 2016
After languishing for a decade, the radically deregulatory H.R. Nicholls Society is being revived. On its thirtieth anniversary, Dominic Kelly assessed its legacy for Inside Story
National affairs
CSIRO and climate: the devil in the detail
Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick
25 February 2016
Diary of a Climate Scientist | Cutting funding at this stage of climate change research comes with enormous risks, writes Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick
National affairs
Who gets to be Australian?
Peter Mares
22 February 2016
New Zealanders living in Australia have been given a new way of becoming citizens. But as Peter Mares reports, only some of them stand to benefit
National affairs
Fifty–fifty vision: the pollsters’ preference problem
Peter Brent
22 February 2016
Ipsos and Newspoll have brought bad news for the government, writes Peter Brent. But both parties would be wise to stay calm
National affairs
In infrastructure, you get what you’re willing to pay for
Tim Colebatch
19 February 2016
Infrastructure Australia’s latest report got lost in the tax debate this week, writes Tim Colebatch. It deserves a closer look
National affairs
The downside risks of Barnaby Joyce, deputy PM
Peter Brent
17 February 2016
The rise of the Nationals’ best-known MP is likely to end in tears, writes Peter Brent
National affairs
Mungo Man needs help – to come home
Jim Bowler
9 February 2016
It’s time for funds and a plan to preserve and commemorate this visitor from Ancient Australia, writes Jim Bowler, the geologist who discovered Mungo Man’s remains
National affairs
More reasons to think big about tax reform
Tim Colebatch
5 February 2016
A small tax package can only deliver small benefits, writes Tim Colebatch
National affairs
Yes, we have no bananas
Peter Brent
4 February 2016
Paul Keating might yearn to relive his version of political history, but we don’t need to encourage him, writes Peter Brent
© 2026 Inside Story and contributors | ISSN 1837-0497