National affairs
22 August 2018
From the archive | A man who seems relaxed about making life-and-death decisions might not be the best person to wield greater power
National affairs
2 July 2018
How much does it cost to stop a freeway?
International
12 March 2018
Even in modern Germany, government maladministration can have tragic effects
National affairs
1 February 2018
A new strategy would start by recognising that the market alone can’t help many jobless Australians find work
International
21 November 2017
Attempts to regulate rating agencies haven’t been notably successful. But perhaps the diagnosis was wrong
Essays & reportage
3 October 2017
The man who first imagined the Australian War Memorial was also active in the creation of another key institution
Essays & reportage
21 September 2017
The veteran press gallery reporter survived a contempt of parliament charge to report on federal politics for half a century. This is an edited version of his farewell speech to…
Essays & reportage
11 September 2017
Extract | Fiji’s tale of contemporary misadventure reveals the challenges of inheritance
National affairs
8 September 2017
A leading constitutional lawyer looks at why the High Court decided to agree with the government about the same-sex marriage survey
Books & arts
11 July 2017
Books | Edward Luce’s new book is just the beginning of an analysis of why liberal democracies are showing less capacity to respond to challenges
National affairs
3 July 2017
Malcolm Turnbull’s efforts to bring the federal government back into urban policy will be put to the test in Western Sydney
19 June 2017
A hulking ruin stands in judgement over a country adrift
Essays & reportage
10 February 2017
Donald Trump’s sacking of Sally Yates raises broader questions about how best to respond to the new administration
Essays & reportage
22 December 2016
Keith Windschuttle has assembled a highly selective case against recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Constitution
National affairs
16 December 2016
The abolition of Community Development Employment Projects has undermined economic renewal in remote Indigenous communities
Books & arts
2 December 2016
Cinema | The veteran director’s tender dive into the indignity of Britain’s welfare system tries too hard to avoid complication
Essays & reportage
30 November 2016
The appointment of the new chief justice is a reminder that diversity and merit are not mutually exclusive
National affairs
15 November 2016
George Brandis’s backdown is only the first step in clarifying and protecting the role of this key legal officer
National affairs
5 October 2016
From the archive | Relations between the attorney-general and the solicitor-general play a key role in the rule of law in Australia. So what explains George…
National affairs
4 October 2016
A slump in popularity highlights the challenges for Mike Baird’s brand of leadership
National affairs
29 September 2016
Short of constitutional change, there’s one way to sort out a dysfunctional Senate – and we got a glimpse during the hung parliament
Essays & reportage
2 September 2016
It’s time for a national inquiry into how the outback can be better funded for black and white alike, writes Patrick Sullivan
National affairs
5 August 2016
With more than 800,000 temporary migrants in Australia, the assumption that everyone who lives here is a permanent resident or a citizen has created dangerous blind spots, writes…
Essays & reportage
29 June 2016
The rise of “deficit metrics” and the federal government’s retreat from Indigenous affairs have reversed the direction set by the historic 1967 referendum,…
National affairs
16 May 2016
Another in a long line of reports on the Australian Public Service fails to understand the nature of the public sector, writes Paddy Gourley
National affairs
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
Books & arts
8 April 2016
Books | The Australian prime ministership was created out of almost nothing during the first five decades of the twentieth century, writes Norman Abjorensen
Essays & reportage
3 February 2016
Why do parties have so much trouble learning from past successes and failures, asks Anne Tiernan
Books & arts
1 December 2015
Books | Laura Tingle is right to say that government must become better at remembering, writes Paddy Gourley, but her argument has memory lapses of its own
Essays & reportage
12 August 2015
Extract | Seventy years ago this week, prime minister Ben Chifley announced that the war in the Pacific was over. Planning for peace was already well under way, writes…